Family

He's yelling again
The harsh noise scraping against my ears
Dark and rough words
Blaming me for his own faults
Blaming me for mum's death
For Tatiana's suicide
For Alexis being running
For Dmitri and Trissa being taken away
It's only me and Nikolai now
The others scattered
Like beads from a necklace snapped
Our beautiful family
A whore
A criminal
And all their children
He strikes me
Nikolai pushes him away
He yells
The abrasive Russian slurred by drink
I dash for it
To slow
He yanks my hair
Kicks my stomach
Then leaves me
I crawl to my twin
Unconscious but breathing
I lock us in our room
Whisper a prayer to deaf ears
And try to sleep
Only to endure this all again
When he wakes up