Later that night I am woken by something smashing downstairs. Climbing out of bed I make my way to the door and open it. Dad is standing outside his bedroom door. He turns towards me and places his index finger to his lips. He whispers. "Get your brother and sister somewhere safe and don't come out until I come to get you."

"Okay,"

Mom steps out of the bedroom and she has the phone up to her ear. She says something to them before handing me the phone. "It's the 911 operator. Talk to them while I check on your father." She heads towards the stairs and walks down them.

Putting the phone up to my ear I say. "Hello,"

My hands and legs tremble as I move towards my brother's room, my heart starts to race and shivers run down my back. Opening the door to Nate's room I see him covered in his blankets.

A low snore comes from his direction telling me that he's fast asleep.

I hope I don't scare him.

Shaking him I whisper. "Nate, you need to wake up."

Nate's eyes open and he's about to scream. Clamping my hand over his mouth I stop him from making a sound. He looks at me and then starts to settle down.

When he's calm. I remove my hands and whisper. "Someone broke into the house. We need to get to Aleysa and hide in the closet until Dad gets us."

He looks around his room, before asking. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"They went downstairs." I hand him the phone and say. "That's the 911 Operator. Can you talk to her while I get Aleysa?

Nate climbs out of the bed and puts the phone up to his ear. He talks to the operator and tells her that I'm going to get our sister.

Walking across the hall I open the door to Aleysa's room and see her snuggled up with her white bear. Lifting her up I carry her to the closet.

Nate is still on the phone when I close the door behind us.

Aleysa opens her eyes and looks at me. whispering she says. "Why are we hiding in the closet?"

"Someone broke into the house," there's no way that I'm going to lie to her. she deserves to know the truth.

Sitting up she looks at the closet door and says. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

"They're downstairs." Looking at my siblings I say. "I haven't heard anything downstairs in a while. I'm going to see if Mom and Dad are alright. I'll knock three times on the door, so you know it's me."

Aleysa grabs my hand. "Don't go," she whispers. Tears fall down her face.

Wiping away her tears I lean forward and kiss her forehead. "I'll be back, Leys. Listen to your brother while I'm gone."

Exiting Aleysa's room I make my way down the hall. I stop at Nate's room and grab the baseball bat that's kept behind the bedroom door. Holding onto the bat I head towards the stairs and descend them.

On the third step, it squeaks under my feet.

I hope whoever was in the house didn't hear me.

At the bottom of the stairs, I make my way through the living room, trying to avoid the things that were smashed. Gripping the baseball I move toward the kitchen. I enter the kitchen I slip on something and land hard on my butt. I pull myself up and look for the light switch. Flipping it on I see blood on the floor.

Where's Mom and Dad?

Stepping around the corner I see so much blood on the floor and next to it is my parents. Mom's bathrobe is covered in so much blood, that I can see where the wound is. I turn towards Dad and he's covered in blood as well.

I scream.

When the police arrive at the house I'm still in the kitchen, kneeling on the floor close to my parents. Everything happens around me fast and I can't seem to function properly.

A jacket is placed around me and someone helps me off the ground. "Can you tell me what happened?" I am led away from the crime scene and helped into a chair in the living.

Blood is still covering my hands and I keep looking at them.

My mind goes back to my parent's bodies lying on the floor covered in blood. Tears start falling down my face.

Aleysa, Nate.

The officer keeps asking me questions, waiting for me to reply and when I don't he asks another.

I try to open my mouth and nothing comes out. Wrapping the jacket around me for comfort I look at the mantel where the family photo's used to be and they're scattered all over the floor with shattered glass close by.

A couple of minutes later, I see my siblings being escorted by some officers. "Chloe," Aleysa yells, and she runs over to me wrapping her arms around me.

Nate stops at the stairs and looks around. "Chloe, where's Mom and Dad?"

The officer that was questioning me, stands up and he walks over to my brother and tells him what happened."

Nate shakes his head before falling on the ground. "No," his eyes collide with mine, begging me to tell him that it's not true about our parents and I can't do that.

Aleysa lifts my hands and looks at them. "Are you hurt, Chloe?"

Shaking my head, in a low voice I say. "Mom and Dad are gone." She wraps her arms around me tightly and starts crying.

I have to be the strong one for my siblings.