I need to get this out before I like… explode or something. It’s 2 AM and I’m supposed to be editing some terrible TikToks for this influencer who pays like, fifty bucks for a whole day’s work if I’m lucky. But my brain is just… full of everything. And it sucks. So, okay. My dad. He’s been like, extra bad lately. Like, way worse than usual. Mom always makes excuses for him, right? She’ll be like, “Oh, your father is just stressed with work, honey,” or “He’s had a really rough week.” And I just nod because what else am I supposed to do? But it’s not just rough weeks. It’s like, *every* week. And I see how he treats her when no one else is around. Like last Saturday. We were at Aunt Carol’s for dinner, which is always a nightmare because Aunt Carol likes to ask a million questions about my future and college and all that stuff, which, hello, I’m barely making rent on my side hustles, like, chill. But anyway, Dad starts in on Uncle Mark about politics, and it gets LOUD. REALLY loud. His face gets all red and he’s like, pointing his fork and practically yelling across the table. Mom, she’s doing that thing where she laughs a little too loud and keeps saying, “Oh, Robert, you know how passionate he gets!” And she’s smiling, but her eyes are doing that thing where they’re kinda glassy and she keeps glancing at me. Then, when they were leaving, Dad almost knocked over a lamp in the hallway because he was still arguing about something stupid. Mom grabbed his arm and was all like, “Robert, darling, let’s go home. You’re just tired.” And she looked SO EMBARRASSED. Like, she was trying to shrink into herself. And then she gave everyone this big fake smile, like, “So sorry, he’s just had a *really* long week.” And everyone just kinda mumbled, “Oh, we understand.” But you could tell they didn’t. Or they did, and they were judging. Probably both. And then, when we got home, the yelling started. I heard it from my room. He was like, “Why do you ALWAYS undermine me?” And she was trying to be quiet, but I could hear her saying, “I was just trying to help, Robert, you were upsetting Carol.” And then he just started saying stuff… really mean stuff. About her cooking, about her clothes, about how she’s always “so sensitive.” And I could hear her start to cry, like, really soft little sniffles. I just pulled my blanket over my head and cranked up my headphones. Cuz what am I supposed to do? The next morning, it was like nothing happened. Mom made pancakes and was all cheerful. Dad was reading the paper, completely silent, like he always is after one of his tantrums. And Mom just kept saying to me, “Your father is just under so much pressure, you know.” And I just ate my pancakes and pretended to believe her. But I don’t. I really, really don’t. I see how she looks at him sometimes when she thinks no one’s watching – like she’s scared or something. And then she catches my eye and puts on that smile again. It’s like a mask. I dunno. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy. Like, am I the only one who sees it? All my friends, their parents are normal. Or at least, they don’t have these public outbursts and then private… awfulness. And I just hate it when she makes excuses for him. It makes me feel like… like she’s pretending it’s okay, and if *she* pretends it’s okay, then maybe *I* have to pretend it’s okay too. And it’s NOT okay. It’s never okay. And it’s kinda worse because she always tells *me* to be strong, to stand up for myself, to not let anyone walk all over me. But then she just… lets him. She just lets him do it. And I don’t get it. Is she like, stuck? Is she just… old now and it’s too late? It just makes me feel so… helpless. Like I should do something, but what? What can a seventeen-year-old kid who barely makes enough money to buy her own snacks do? Nothing. I just wish she would stop defending him. Just once. Just stop. And look at him. And maybe say something back. Instead of just smiling that fake smile and telling everyone he’s “stressed.” He’s not stressed. He’s a jerk. And she knows it. And I know she knows it. And that’s the worst part, I think. Knowing that she knows. And still letting it happen. Ugh. My head hurts. I gotta try to edit these dumb videos before the sun comes up.