I shut off the vacuum when I hear the doorbell ring. Sighing, I walk out of the formal living room, into the actual living room. Nathan is helping Noemie with her psychology study guide, Raylen is doing his math, Caroline is working on her multiplication tables, and Noah is reading a book.

"Noah, did you do your homework?" I ask. He glances up at me.

"No."

"Do your homework." I say.

"Yes ma'am."

He marks his page and grabs his backpack. I walk over to the door and pull it open.

I've only met the kid twice, but I know it's Jake by the busted lip, double black eyes, and crooked nose. The living room is right by the front door so they can all see and hear me. I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Jake." I say politely. "I hear you want to have sex with me."

"Uh..." he trails off, looking me up and down.

"You are a child." I say. "And your mother should have put you in therapy if you think it is okay to have sex with people that are old enough to be your parents, if you think it's okay to bully a fourteen year old, or perhaps try to rape her." I glare at him. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to Jake."

I laugh, wiping fake tears, and then I cut off abruptly.

"You are not allowed near my children. Leave my property."

"I will see Jake at school." He says coldly.

"No you won't. Leave."

"Please let me speak to Jake or Noemie."

I feel the door open wider behind me.

"Go." Nathan's voice is harsh. "I will call the police."

He has needle marks in his arms.

Has my son does this too?

Jake sighs and turns around, walking off.

I notice something shiny and black peeking out of the back of his jeans and I realize it's a gun. I rip the door from Nathan's hand and lock it.

"Nathan, get the kids and take them to the basement." I whisper.

"Why?"

"Just do it!" I snarl.

He jumps slightly and listens, turning around and rounding up the kids, rushing them downstairs.

I sprint around the house, locking all the outside doors.

When I lock the one by the second staircase, closest to Noemie's room, I hear shooting outside and a window next to me shatters, glass spraying my arm.

I hear a gunshot go off outside somewhere and Caroline screams. I clamp my hand over her mouth, my eyes widening.

"Mama's upstairs!" Noah gasps, and he starts sobbing.

Odeletta is upstairs alone. Oh god. I feel like I'm going to throw up. All the kids are shaking and Caroline is sobbing into my hand. I hear the gun going off insanely.

"I need a phone!" I hiss. "Now!"

"Mama has mine." Raylen says, shaking uncontrollably.

Odeletta told me years ago she wanted a landline in the basement and I told her we didn't need one.

All the phones are upstairs with my wife and the shooter.

I start to get up, but four hands shoot out to yank me back down.

"Dad, are you crazy?" Raylen hisses. "Jake could kill you!"

Odeletta. Oh my god. I start tugging at him.

"Daddy, you can't!" Caroline sobs. "You have to stay!"

But Odeletta.

I got upstairs as fast as I could, hiding in the hall at the top of the stairs. There's just one window near me. I can hear glass shattering downstairs and I keep my hand over my mouth.

What if he gets in the house and shoots Nathan or the kids? Raylen and Noemie are a direct target.

I start wracking my brain for a weapon wildly.

I crawl across the floor, the windows nears me shattering, letting in the crisp night air.

I need a phone.

I stand up and run down the hall between the kids bedrooms. Caroline's door is open and a bullet whizzes right past my face. I drop down fast, shaking as I crawl across the floor.

There's a balcony that overlooks the window to the front of the house and the window to the back. All I can hear are gunshots. The entire house is silent aside from the gunshots and the glass shattering. I'm shaking so bad, my chest rising and falling repeatedly as I have flashbacks of the gunshots I heard the night Nathan was shot.

What if he shoots all of my kids and Nathan?

I reach the balcony.

I need to get into the bedroom where Raylen's phone is. I need to get a weapon and I know I have a bat in the bedroom.

The door is shut. I have to sprint across the balcony and get the door open. The lights are on in the house. He will be able to see me like a white dot on a black paper.

It's for your family. Just run.

I hold my breath and run hard. I feel something hit my arm and I bite back a scream when I feel something warm running down my arm. I see my vision spotting with black and white dots as I rip open the door to the bedroom and run to the side table, grabbing Raylen's phone. I hold down the power button.

Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead.

Blood is dripping down my arm and seeping into the carpet and gunshots are still going off. The white screen shows up, and then the phone powers on. I hit the home button until the lockpag appears and then I hit emergency call, dialing 911.

It rings once and then stops.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"Some drugged teenager is shooting up my house I have four kids and a husband and I think he shot me I need help fast.

I hang up.

I hear the gunshots stop. I grab the baseball bat from under the bed and hold my breath.

I her the sound of boots crunching glass in my living room and I go to the opening of my bedroom, peeking one eye out.

He's standing right at the bottom of the balcony. My arm feels like it's about to fall off and my clothes are soaked in blood. It hurts so bad and I'm so lightheaded. I left a streak of blood from where I was shot to the bedroom. Blood is all over the floor. I see him standing below me. I silently sneak out above him, raise the bat, and drop it. It hits the top of his head and I hear him yell in pain.

In his disoriented state, I jump over the edge of the balcony and fall down. He's keeled forward, his hand not gripping the gun on his head. The gun goes off when I land on his back, shooting a bullet into the basement. His body crumbles under me, his head colliding with the wood floor. He stops moving, but his chest is still going up and down.

There's so much blood. So much fucking blood. Did I kill him?

I look over at my arm, sliding off of the kid. There's glass all over the floor and I feel it dig through my jeans and into my ass. My arm feels like it's about to fall off and I feel hot tears streaming down my cheeks. I need to stop the bleeding, right? I'm so dizzy and lightheaded and things are spotted. I can hear sirens blaring in the city. I keep pushing myself away from Jake with my left arm. My hands feel cold. My whole body feels cold. I can feel blood trickling down my arm.

I shove the kids off of me.

"Stay here." I order, sprinting up the stairs.

All four of them follow me.

The moment I reach the landing, I notice a lot of blood on the floor. Jake is unconscious, a gun still in his hand, a baseball bat on the floor.

"Where's Mama?" Caroline sobs.

I look around wildly for Odeletta, my hands shaking as I start throwing open doors wildly.

"Oh my god." Noah starts sobbing. I whip around.

Odeletta is unconscious on the floor of the living room.

It's her blood.

"No." I choke, running to her. Her lips are pale. I grab the stop of my shirt and yank, hearing the buttons popping off. I pull it off of me and reach for the wound. It's her arm. It's just her arm. I grab her arm and the moment I move it, she wakes up and starts screaming pleading for me to stop. "I'm sorry!" I gasp, tears gushing down my cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." But I keep moving it, tying my shirt tightly around the bullet hole. The kids homework is covered in glass, there's blood all over the floor.

"Am I going to die?" She whispers. The four kids are sobbing at the sight of her. She's bleeding through the shirt. "I'm still bleeding." She says, sobbing. I move to her left side and cradle her in my lap, kissing her head.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

She just got shot in her arm. Just her arm.

But it doesn't matter if she loses too much blood.

"What's taking the police so long?" Raylen shouts.

I need to her to the hospital.

"Raylen, I need you to get rope and the keys for Lucia." I order. "Now!"

"Beau." She whispers. She's shivering in my arms, blood dripping onto the floor. "You can't leave the kids home with him."

She's pale, so pale. I can't let this happen. No, I have to do something.

"Nathan, I think I might be dying." She mumbles.

"Don't go to sleep!" I plead. "Oh god baby, please don't close your eyes." I cradle her to my chest. "Stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake." I keep mumbling it over and over. I see lights outside the window and the front door busts open, a hoard of police officers running in, guns raised.

"He's down already!" I say. "I need a paramedic, please, my wife!"

Two paramedics roll in with a stretcher while they put Jake on another one, strapping him down.

"Why are you taking him first?" Raylen shouts. "Get my Mama!"

They come over to Odeletta and I lift her up, laying her on the stretcher. I want so badly to go with her, but I can't. I need to bring the kids. I keep kissing her head and telling her I love her as they steer to the ambulance.

And then they shut the doors and take off.

_____