Pray to the moon

She ends the call right away.

In less than a minute, I hear the sound of knocking. It's like a bull is slamming itself against the door.

"NELL SOLOMON, OPEN THE DOOR!" 

I know that I am dead if I open the door. "Mother, if you promise that you won't hurt me…"

"I AM GOING TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!!!"

I knit my brows hard. Maybe I should escape through the window. Is the ladder still there? I look out of the window. My stepfather is standing near the bottom of the ladder.

"What are you doing?" He signals me to come down. "She will kill you if she catches you."

My stepfather is the best man in the world. I climb down the ladder. "Dad, please call me when she calms down."

"Don't believe anything unless you hear me say the codeword." He lifts the ladder and places it at the bottom of the tree. "Your mother might make me call you."

She might also threaten him. But I need to save my life today.