"Mommy?"
She slowly crept down the stairs only pausing for a moment when she heard a loud scream. The yelling had finally stopped after hours, keeping her awake as it usually did. Still she couldn't place together why it had finally stopped. The silence made her curious.
"Mommy?" She poked her head into the kitchen, her small eyes going wide.
"Natalie! Look away!"! Her mother was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. Her blond hair always piled high on top of her head and her bright eyes always fixed up perfectly with make up. Her father had always called her mother a whore which, made Natalie confused. She asked her mother one time and the word made her cry. She never asked again.
"What's wrong with daddy?" Natalie reached out for him only to be held back by her mother. The same red substance that pooled around his head were dripping from her mother's hands. Despite all that, her mother held Natalie's face on each side and pulled her close. "Natalie you must never tell anyone what you see. Mommy is going to pack us some things and then we are leaving. You pack some things up too and wash your face. If we don't leave I will be gone too. Do you want that to happen?" It was the first time her mother had sounded like that towards her.
"No mommy." She tried to put her head down but her mother held it up, still staring into Natalie's eyes. "I'm sorry this had to happen baby. Now hurry."
Natalie did as she was told, running up the stairs and grabbed her small backpack, wondering what things to take. Her mother had come in moments later throwing a few toys into another bag and telling Natalie to get some clothing.
"And wash your face! Quickly Natalie!"
Moving at rapid pace, Natalie ran to the washroom and went wide eyed at her own reflection in the mirror. Red smears were across her face, some patches were a runny ruby color while other spots had dried. \
Natalie couldn't help but stare at the spots as she wiped the blood away.
"Natalie let's go!"
Her face was clear and her bag was still empty. She grabbed a few things before running down the stairs getting one last quick look at her father before her mother yanked her away and threw her into the car.
"Mommy where are we going?" Natalie asked, watching her home slowly disappearing.
"We are going to visit grandma for awhile. She doesn't have much room but we will work with it. A lot of things are going to be changing for us. Natalie, you will have to be a very good girl from now on."
Natalie bit her lip and the salty drops fell from her eyes as she could see her house no longer.
'What about my friends? My school?'' Her mind wondered. A small whimper left her lips and she leaned her head against the car window, glad her mother seemed to be in her own world. 'What about daddy?'