I’ve done it again.

I’ve let him take you, screaming, kicking, and crying.

Standing in the hallway I put on my armor and prepare for battle. My station - in front of your cracked bedroom door.

Even though I am scared, I am used to this. This armor has weighed on me since you were old enough to talk. I became your shield, your champion, your guard. Nobody can hurt you when I’m around.

And when I start my advance, I am hit with a dark, frantic, gaze that freezes me mid stride; sending chills down my spine, and my only way in vanishes instantly with a muted wooden slam.

I failed. I failed. I failed. I FAILED.

I really believed I could save you. That my words would actually make him stop this time. But I am small, and he is big, and scary, and violent.

And I am nothing.