A loud bang reverberates through the house once again followed by Nadia’s harsh shouting from somewhere below and I snatch up her bag. There’s no way I’m leaving her in this godforsaken place any longer.
With Autumn finally compliant, her small bag packed and ready, I grab her hand firmly and lead her out of the room. She flinches as we pass Nadia, drunk and slurring obscenities on the stairs, when she tries to block her daughter from leaving. But her mother’s hateful words barely register, drowned out by the sound of my heart pounding in my ears.
I briskly descend the unstable stairs, my blood boiling with an anger that flares up even hotter as I pass Frank in the living room. For a moment, I stop to stare at him, my gaze hardening as he raises his eyes to meet mine before quickly looki
