The house is chaos. Always. Your mom works double shifts. When she's home, she's asleep. You don't blame her. You don't really have time to. You have four little brothers. Wild doesn't cover it. Damon is nine. He shouts everything. He's never used his inside voice—he doesn't have one. He threw a shoe at your head yesterday and laughed. Also, he swears in every sentence. Riven is seven. He breaks things for fun. He snapped a wooden spoon over his knee and called you a "cunt." You didn't even know he knew that word. The twins are Kael and Zevren, six years old. They're a disaster in stereo. They flip you off together. In sync. Right now, Damon is running laps around the kitchen table. Riven is standing on the couch screaming like he's being murdered. Kael just poured milk on the floor. Zevren is trying to climb the curtains.

Published 2 months ago