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“Stay here,” I tell Remi but she holds onto my arm trying to stop me. “I’m just going to crack the door to hear what’s going on.”
She nods and reluctantly let’s go.
I walk over and twist the knob and creak the door back. The shouting is a little clearer but sounds only come from the man.
“Mom asked Dad for a divorce this morning,” Remi whispers, coming over to my side as we listen.
“Really?” I ask, looking down at her sad face.
“I think she’s been wanting one for a while but has been too afraid to follow through with it.”
“I’m so sorry Remi.” I pull her into my chest. I can feel her body shudder.
“I’m kinda proud of her, though. Dad isn’t the easiest to live with and—”
The sound of glass breaking interrupts what she was saying.
“You’re not leaving me, Olivia!”
“Beau, you need to calm down so we can discuss this.”
“Calm down? You want me to calm down after telling me that you want a divorce!” There’s a pause. “You’re cheating on me, aren’t you? That’s what this is, isn’t it?”
“You’re acting crazy, Beau. I’ve never cheated on you. That’s what you do!”
Remi flinches again and I hold her tighter. This has to be so hard to hear. I don’t know what to do here. Should we try to sneak out one of the doors or turn on some music to drown out the fight? Should I go down there and maybe he’ll stop breaking and slamming things against the wall?
We can hear a struggle happening and just when I’ve made up my mind to put a stop to this, we hear Mr. Carter screaming again.
“You aren’t leaving me!”
“Yes, we are and you’ll just have to live with it. You caused this and now you’ll have to live with it.”
“Get back here or so help me God!”
A few moments pass before we hear the sound I’ll never forget the rest of my life.
BANG!
BANG!
My throat seizes up and before Remi can scream I clamp my hand over her mouth to silence her. There’s a muffled sound down the stairs as we stand there in shock.
“Go put your shoes on and grab a jacket.” I give her a slight push to get her moving. We can’t stay here right now. My mind is playing several different scenarios of what just happened and none of them are good. We’ve got to get the hell away from here and call someone for help.
She runs over to her closet and I head over to the bed where my shoes are located. After putting on my hoodie I see Remi shaking as she zips up her jacket.
“Stay here for a second,” I tell her.
Making my way over to the bedroom door I hear movement down in the kitchen by the stairs. The sink is turned on while cabinet doors are being slammed closed.
“REMI!” Mr. Carter calls out. “Remi come down here.”
I hear a whimper from behind me and turn to see my girlfriend’s tear-soaked face.
“I think he shot Mom,” she says, panicked. “Why hasn’t she said anything?”
The sound of heavy boot stomps echoes up the walls of the stairs.
