Page 86 - It Ends with Us

works two miles from he re, so he ’s al way s ho me right af ter five.

We hav e a gar ag e, but only one car can fit in it becau se of al l my dad’ s
stuf f. My dad keeps hi s car in the gar ag e an d my mom keeps he r car in the
dr iveway.
Well, yesterday my mom got ho me a little bit ear ly. Atlas was still at the
ho use an d we were al most finishe d wat chi ng your sho w whe n I he ard the
gar ag e do or star t to open. He ran out the bac k do or an d I rushe d around the

living room clean ing up our soda can s an d snac ks.
It had star ted snowing real ly hard around luncht ime yesterday an d my
mothe r had a lot of stuf f to car r y in, so she pulled up in the gar ag e so she could
bring it al l in through the kitche n do or. It was work stuf f an d a few groceries. I
was he lping he r bring ever ythi ng inside whe n my dad pulled up in the
dr iveway. He star ted ho nking hi s ho rn becau se he was mad that my mom was
par ked in the gar ag e. I guess he didn ’t wan t to hav e to get out of his car in the

snow. That ’s the only thi ng I can thi nk of that would mak e hi m wan t he r to
move he r car right the n an d there, instead of just wai ting until she was
finishe d unloadi ng it. Come to thi nk of it, why do es my fat he r al way s get the
gar ag e? You would thi nk a man wouldn ’t wan t the woman he loves to get the
shi ttier par king spot.
Anyway, my mothe r got that real scared look in he r eye whe n he star ted

ho nking an d she told me to tak e al l he r stuf f to the tab le whi le she moved he r
car out.
I’m not sure what hap pened whe n she went bac k outside . I he ard a cras h,
an d the n I he ard he r scream , so I ran to the gar ag e thi nking maybe she had
slipped on ice.
Ellen . . . I do n’t even wan t to de scribe what hap pened next. I’m still a little
sho cked by the who le thi ng.

I opened the gar age do or an d di dn’t see my mom. I just saw my dad behi nd
the car do ing somethi ng. I took a step closer an d real ized why I couldn ’t see my
mom. He had he r pushe d do wn on the ho od with hi s han ds around he r throat .
He was cho king he r, Ellen!
I might cr y just thi nking ab out it. He was yelling at he r, star ing do wn at
he r with so much hat red. Somethi ng ab out not hav ing respect for ho w har d he

works. I do n’t know why he was mad, real ly, becau se al l I could he ar was he r
silence whi le she struggled to breat he . The next few minutes are a blur, but I
know I star ted scream ing at hi m. I jumped on hi s bac k an d I was hi tting hi m
on the side of hi s he ad.