I could hear Clara's voice floating through the wall.

My little sister was across the hallway in mom's room,

and even though she wasn't speaking loudly,

I caught every word.

The walls in our house are thin.

Most of the time, I wish they weren't.

Mom, mom, there's something in my cupboard.

I tenced under my duvet and shifted position.

The bedroom around me was all shades of black and gray.

The only light came from the glow- the dark stickers I've had blue tacked

to my ceiling since I was little. The house was quiet. I thought I could hear a faint rustling

sound from mom's room, the noise of bodies shifting

under beds, but I couldn't make out a voice.

I couldn't hear any voice at first.

Then, after a few seconds of silence, I heard Kevin.

What the hell are you on about? Go back to bed, Clara.

Kevin was mom's new boyfriend, the latest in a line that stretches back to the day our dad moved out.

He's been living with us for about a month now, and every time I think of him sleeping in my parents'

room, I feel sort of sick. I didn't feel sick right then, though, because I heard something in Kevin's voice I didn't like.

Anger.

I can't go back in.

Clara's voice was a mosquito whine floating through the walls.

...