“I don’t know what it is about, but they just keep on screaming at each other. It never stops.” You muttered softly, hoping that your parents wouldn’t be able to hear you. Though you doubted there was anything that could be heard over their loud voices. While pressing your phone against one of your ears you pressed your face into the pillow, wishing that you could shut everything out. It had been going on for weeks now and you were slowly starting to get towards the point that it became unable for you to handle this. Until a few months ago your parent’s marriage had been perfect. They had been happy together. There hadn’t been a single sign that things had started to go wrong and if there had been one then you had completely missed it. It was as if you had missed the clue, while everyone else had all seen it coming. You had no idea when it had all started to go wrong, but all of a sudden they had started having these discussions with each other. Usually they had been about the smallest things, like someone who had forgotten to clean up their socks or who had forgotten to bring something in the grocery store. There had never been any major things, so you had never made a big deal out of it. As an only child you had always been used to the fact that your parents worried about you, not the other way around.

But a few weeks ago, things had escalated. The small fights had turned into constant big ones with shouting and yelling. It had all happened so fast that you had no idea when exactly it had happened or what had been the cause of it. At a certain point they had started to fight in the car, in the middle of restaurants, while your friends were over. It was terribly embarrassing that they were all doing this right in front of you, it was as if you didn’t even exist when they started a fight. There was always something about the other that wasn’t good enough, always something to complain about. They were fighting when you got home from school and didn’t say a word towards each other over diner. They probably wanted to let you think that everything was fine, that nothing was going on. But you had figured everything out a really long time ago. Though as soon as you would go upstairs to get ready for bed, they would start all over again. It was like a never ending circle and at this moment you were just tired of it. “I’m so sorry babe. I know this is hard for you.” Baekhyun said over the phone and you tried to warm yourself with the warmth his voice seemed to give you. He had been your anchor there past few weeks. When things had been too hard for you to bare, he was the one you could always turn to.

Most of the times he knew exactly what to do or say so he could cheer you up, even when he wasn’t visibly here with you. Though today the negativity had settled deeply inside of you and not even his sweet words were able to make you feel any better. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. It’s like they are in the middle of fighting a war and I’m one of those pathetic people who is watching from the sidelines, while there is nothing I can do to stop it. I feel like they expect me to pick a side. But how can they ever want me to do that? I can’t choose one of them over the other?” Your voice sounded thick because of all the emotions that were rushing through you at this point. In one way you were angry, mad, because they weren’t thinking about your feelings and your needs as they continued to fight with each other. You were the one who had to sit here in the cold home, who had to study throughout all the noise and who had to live with the constant stress everyday. But on the other side, you were also very hurt and upset. Every single child wanted they parents to stick together until the end and love each other forever. Knowing that both of them were unhappy right now and that they were thinking about breaking up made you feel terrible. Deep inside you couldn’t help but think that you were also to blame. Maybe if you had done something more or had done something different then this all wouldn’t have happened.


Your whole life you had known nothing else than seeing your parents happily together. The two of them by each other’s side and at yours, and now that was all going to change. “I’m scared Baekhyun. What if I loose one of them? What if one of them doesn’t want to see me anymore after this? I can’t take that.” You admitted, feeling tears burn inside of your eyes as a strong sob broke free. For the past few weeks you hadn’t once cried about what was going on in your house, but you had had enough. The only thing you wanted was to be free from all this drama and pressure. You wanted for all of this to end. Even if that meant they had to separate, because then at least this hell would be over. “Hey, don’t cry.” By the sounds in the background you could hear that he was leaving the others and he went looking for a more private place for the two of you to talk. You didn’t mind that s knew what was going on with your family. Ever since they had known about your issues they had always been supportive of you. They wanted things to be better for you again, because just like your boyfriend, they hated seeing you sad. “I’m sure it’s not like that! Your parents would never force you to pick sides, they know they can’t ask that from you.” He tried, but you shook your head at the thought. Even if they wouldn’t directly ask you anything about it, in the end it would still come down to it. Just the thought that you would never see them together again made you feel sick.


“It’s just not fair! Why can’t they just think about how I’m feeling for once? That I’m the one sitting here in my room all alone while they are accusing each other of all different kinds of things. I don’t want to hear any of this! God, I don’t even want to be here right now.” You growled in frustration as fresh tears streamed down your cheeks and you blindly reached over towards your nightstand to grab a tissue so you could at least blow your nose. It was a good thing that he wasn’t able to see you right now, because you were sure you looked like a mess. Baekhyun had never liked to hear or see you cry. Over the year you had been dating he had always tried his hardest to keep a smile onto your face at all times. To his saying, he was happy when you were happy, and the rest didn’t really matter. Honestly you knew that you shouldn’t be bothering him with your silly problems right now. He was in the middle of promotions, preparing for his next world tour with EXO. He had probably practiced late, had worked hard and he was probably exhausted. But instead of letting him sleep you were pouring out your heart to him, as if he didn’t have anything better to do. When he didn’t say anything you heaved a deep sigh as you stared up at your bedroom door. It had become your shield during the past few weeks, it was as if the wood was protecting you from everything that was going on behind it. At least while being up here, you didn’t have to be a part of everything that was happening downstairs.


“I’m sorry, I know you'd didn’t call to hear me go on and on about this. Jeez, listen to me, talking about myself while you’re so busy. You should rest…” You started, but he interrupted you bluntly, as if he hadn’t even heard what you had been saying in the first place. “How about I pick you up in fifteen minutes and you stay here tonight?” He asked and you fell silent as you tried to progress what he had just said. Suddenly you felt all confused and you stuttered when you tried to answer him. “What? Where?” You squealed, pushing yourself up into a seated position, almost as if you were able to hear him better when you were sitting upright. Baekhyun cleared his throat, and his voice cracked slightly when he spoke again. “With us, as the dorm. You shouldn’t be there all by yourself right now. It’s not good for you.” He said and you blinked your eyes a few times while thinking about his offer. This was the very first time he had ever proposed such a thing. It wasn’t like the two of you had never slept together before. That would be terrible, being together for over a year and never sleeping with each other yet. But you had never stayed over at the dorm before, you two had always shared the bed at your place or his parent’s house. It just didn’t seem right for you to take in the small place they shared together and to intrude their manly sphere. They were all busy enough, they didn’t need another dramatic girl with them who would shake things up. “But what about the others? I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” You admitted sheepishly but were surprised by hearing him chuckle slightly on his side of the phone.


“Don’t worry about it ______________, they love to have you here and you know it. I just asked and they all agreed it would be much better for you to stay here tonight than at your parent’s house. What you need is a good night of sleep, so you’ll be fit again. I’ll drive you to school tomorrow. There’s nothing you still have to worry about, all you have to do it pack your bag and make sure you have everything with you that you need. I’ll be at your door in ten minutes, okay?” He said and you could feel your lips curl into a small smile as you nodded, but then noticed he couldn’t see that. “Yeah, I guess I can do that.” You muttered and with a few more goodbyes the two of you hung up. Fo