Eralia’s POV
Mom doesn’t come back until the early hours, and when she does appear, she’s not alone. I hear the door open and slam shut, the raucous laughter of a group of people before music starts playing, reverberating through the trailer from the living room.
Pushing up from my mattress on the floor, I glance over at the bunkbeds across from me, thankfully my siblings are heavy sleepers and are undisturbed by the ruckus just down the hallway.
I pad my way over to the door in my sock covered feet, pressing my ear to the chipped wood as I listen to what’s going on outside. Laurie is laughing loudly, and I can hear at least two male voices chuckling and talking though I can’t pick out what they are saying.
I flick the flimsy lock back, inching open the door, my mother and her friends’
