It was grownup stuff, none of it interested me much at the time. I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying because they were shouting so loud. The voices were inside again and they were getting louder. We heard their voices move out into the garden followed by a loud bang. 'It's been like this everyday for the last week,' he said. I had never seen or heard Pete's parents argue before so I tried to make a joke about it, but he didn't laugh. We were in his room and everyone else was due in less than an hour when we heard something smash downstairs, followed by a lot of yelling. He had invited twelve kids from our class to his house for a barbeque. I stopped coming after Pete's fifteenth birthday. They took it for granted I would probably show up.
Some afternoons after school, I would show up with Pete unannounced and his mother would always have enough food ready, just in case. I could just walk right in, even if I wasn't with Pete. I was so familiar to his parents I didn't need to knock. I have lost count of the number of nights I spent at Pete's house throughout my childhood and well into my teens. Have you ever noticed how people's homes often have a certain smell? That's how I knew it was different. The house looked the same as it always had and yet this time, it felt like I was going behind enemy lines.