Lily grips my hand tightly as we enter the living room. My mother lays on the couch, her face buried in my grandmother's old quilt. I hear her silent sobs from across the room, but she doesn't seem to care. I rarely ever see my mother cry. With a name like Joy, being happy comes naturally.

My father stands in the corner, his face solemn. He doesn't look at me or my sister, and I begin to think he does't even know we are here. Until, he parts his lips and says, "We need to talk."

I nod, and I lead Lily over by the fireplace, in an old rocking chair that we've had since I was young. I sit down, and then Lily sits in my lap. I pull her close to me, for fear of what is about to happen.

My mother takes a short gasp of air and lifts her head, emerging from the thick, black water that she was previously anchored down in. "Just say it, Warren, just say it," my mother says coldly, like the icy dark ocean in her mind.

My father's back stiffens, and his nose twitches. For a moment, I thought I saw a tear forming in his eye. "Joy and I are taking a break."

I feel my muscles tense and my brain turn to muddy water. The room around me seem to sway, this way and that. I try to keep my feet grounded; my head up high. I don't even realize how tight my grip on Lily has become until I hear her cry with anguish.

Lily jumps up, her once pure and beautiful blue eyes, now beady, cold, and narrow. "You did this." She points at me.

"What do you mean?" I sit up.

"You came in this afternoon and made Mommy cry!" Lily keeps her skinny finger pointed towards me, until Mom stands up and intervenes.

"Dani had nothing to do with this Lil." Mom tries to tell her, but she won't listen.

"I hate you! I hate all of you!" Lily cries and begin stomping up the stairs. "I just wanted a perfect family!"

Mom falls to the floor at my feet and lets out a sob. I kneel down to comfort her, but she pushes me off. "Just leave me alone. I can't take any of this right now."

I stand up, and glance over at my father, who stands by the window. I walk over to him, power and anger guiding me to him.

"So you're not going to say anything? You're not going to tell Lily that this isn't my fault?" I cross my arms to guard myself from his stupid lies.

"Why should I tell her that? This is your fault. You told your mom, not Lily. Not me." Dad doesn't look at me. Doesn't turn to me to comfort me. He just stares out the window, watching the gray sky. From behind us, I hear my mother choke out a sob.

I take a step back, too flustered to make a comment right away. "You're joking...right? I'm being blamed for this? You have the guts to say to me that I'm the cause of this family breaking apart?" I let out a huff of hot air, and I can nearly see it linger between me and my father, distancing us. My feelings begin to fall down my cheeks. "Let me tell you something, I didn't do this. You did. You hooked up with other women. Not me, not Mom, not Lily." I ball up my fists. The only thing keeping me from attacking my father is the wall of air, so heavy and warm. "So don't you ever look at me and say this is my fault. Because none of this will ever be my fault."

And with that, I rush up the stairs, slamming my door, and locking it. I have to get out of here, I think to myself. I collect a bag from off the floor, with clothes in it from the last time I spent the night at Amity's house. I pack some new clothes, removing the old ones. I take my stuffed frog off of my bed, one that I've had since I was a baby. Frogger and I went everywhere together. And I'm not sure when I'll be coming back.

I shove extra items in my bag, my phone charger, some tooth paste, deodorant. I also grab the bottle of water from my nightstand, and my wallet full of cash on my dresser. I stick the wallet in my back pocket. I check the weather app on my phone, and it was going to get super cold tonight with a possible chance of snow. Great. I take out a gray sweatshirt from my closet and slip it on over my shirt.

I let out a sigh, and collect my bag from the bed, and my phone from the nightstand. Before making my way over to the window, I shut my phone completely down. I open my window. My bedroom might be on the second floor, but it was connected to the roof of the garage. I take a deep breath.

Knock, knock, knock.

Three soft knocks emerge from my bedroom door. Three knocks signaling Lily was standing on the other side.

"Mommy wants to see you." I hear her snap from the other side. I hear her twisting the knob on my door. I hear her calling my name when she figures out my door is locked.

And then I'm on the ground. I glance up at my window. I hear Lily screaming at Mom and Dad that my door won't open.

I take off running.

If there's one thing I might hate more than my father right now, it's running. Especially in the cold. My lungs burn and my heart aches. My breath visible in the air in front of me.

The sun is setting. The moon is rising. The people are sleeping. The monsters are lurking.

After knowing I'm a good distance from my house, I find a bench on the side of the road, an old bus stop that no one ever uses.

I take a seat, letting my breath and heart slow down to normal pace. As I rest, I start thinking about where I could go. I have a grandma who lives a couple of towns over, probably like an hour and a half drive from here. But my grandma would take me straight back home, and I'd be locked there forever.

I have an aunt who lives on the mountain, my Dad's sister. Her name is Sophie, and she's a talent artist who paints landscapes nearly as good as Bob Ross.

But, like my grandmother, Aunt Sophie would turn me in just as quickly. I let out another heavy sigh, and look around for some hope.

I see a sign for an old diner me and my family used to go to every Christmas Eve, waiting up on Santa to bring gifts. That all stopped when Lily turned five, though. I never really knew why.

I stand up and begin walking towards the diner, trying to remember the famous apple crisp pie, or the juicy hamburgers they use to serve us. I finally reach the diner's door, a neon green and yellow sign out front that reads Sally's Diner: Open Late!

I take a deep breath as my fingers graze the metal bars on the door, and instantly the tips of my fingers become cooler from the metal. With a shove, I push the door open, and the smells of grilled burgers and sweet cinnamon waft into my nose.

Making me feel at home for the first time all evening.