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I never imagined my family would become a statistic. I only thought we were a normal group of people that lived together.

I was about fourteen when my parents began fighting. I'd hold my ear to my bedroom door, hoping to hear enough of a sentence to understand what was going on. I was confused and scared. Although, I never thought it was serious. To me, it was just another thing that would blow over.

One night my dad punched the refrigerator. (He would never hit my mom; he loved her too much.) The impact was so loud. I heard her crying, followed by the slamming of the front door. Pain surged in my throat. Reality swept through me as quickly as logic would allow. The next morning, my mom didn't come home. I went to my parents’ room to make sure. Instead of finding what I hoped would be my parents making up, I found my dad crying. He was shaking intensely. It was the first time I'd ever seen him cry. He looked like a little boy, sitting there on his bed, getting nothing he wanted, and not knowing what to do about it. I knew it was over. I just didn't know how to handle it. Should I break down, too? I knew that wasn't the answer. I had to be strong. My brother and I were never really close (he was three years older than I was and we never had anything in common), so we never talked about it. My mother always had been my best friend. Now I lost both. I felt so alone. Plenty of times, suicide crossed my mind. I knew it was a cowardly thing to do but my life felt like it had fallen apart. I knew this was the time I had to talk to someone. I finally let my pride go and talked to my dad. We talked for hours, describing how we felt. We tried to understand what happened and why it got that far. Both of us knew we couldn't change anything, but it was easier to deal with if there was closure involved.

Two years later, my dad was remarried and had another baby girl. He's never seemed so happy. I finally see him as more than the man that lives down the hall. He's the best person I know. Although it was the most difficult time in my life, I'm thankful for gaining the courage to be strong and the strength to cope. For anyone going through a rough home life, don't depend on yourself. Talk to someone you trust. They can help you get through it. It may feel like the end of the world, but you have no idea what you have ahead of you. Don't jeopardize it.