Because of You

Grace held he breath and squeezed her little brothers hand. They were hidden in the closet, hidden from the monster that paced outside outside. Sometimes it felt like she was also hidden from the world. Usually the closet was the safest place, unless the made noise. Grace sat there and prayed that her two-year-old brother, Adam, would be smart enough to be quiet. Ever since their father had lost his job a little over a year ago, he had become an alcoholic, and abusive. Their mother had left when it had first started and left fifteen-year-old Grace to take care of adam. A glass broke outside the closet and both Grace and Adam jumped. Adam let out a small whimper and Grace looked back at him, willing for him to be quiet.
A glass broke outside the closet and both Grace and Adam jumped. Adam let out a small whimper and Grace looked back at him, willing for him to be quiet. They waited there in the closet for over an hour before they heard the loud snoring that meant that their father had finally passed out. Grace quietly opened the closet and stepped out, with Adam following close behind her. "I'm hungry." Adam whispered. He never really talked unless it was to her, and even then he usually never got above a whisper. Grace knew that he was hungry, they always were. She looked down at his tiny figure and took his hand. 
They quietly walked into the kitchen, they had to be extremely careful about what they ate or moved because if the slightest thing was out of order, their dad would kill them. Grace grabbed a loaf of bread and took out two pieces, then she got out a jar of peanut butter. She stuck her finger in the jar and pulled out a gold of peanut butter, letting it fall onto the bread. Using a knife or spoon was out of the question because their dad would know if one was missing and he would hear the water if she tried to rinse it off. She used the other piece of bread to smear the peanut butter around, the she handed the sandwich to Adam and put everything back in it's correct place. 
She picked Adam up and carried him to their room. They shared a room because when their mother left, most of the abuse was aimed toward her, but once it escalated, Adam became involved and Grace was too scared to leave him alone for fear that he would get hurt. When she got in the room, she put Adam down and closed the door. 
She sat on the bed while Adam ate his sandwich, she pulled out a deck of cards and looked at him. When he saw the cards, he smiled and quickly finished his sandwich. His favorite game was War, and he always wanted to play it. He came over and sat beside her, she turned so that she was facing him and laid out the cards.