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Caitlin is crying again, grizzling into the grotty pillow that she and Martin share. He pets her dirty hair and makes desperate shh-ing noises, Daddy’s just downstairs, he thinks, please be quiet. He cuddles her closer to him on their little mattress and pulls the thin sheet up and over their heads. Mum and Dad are downstairs still, shouting and stomping and no one can get to sleep. Something smashes downstairs and Caitlin begins to scream. Simon throws a balled up sock at them from across the room, “Can’t you get her to shut up?”
Martin panics silently, if he can’t get Caitlin to quieten down then Simon will start shouting at him. If Simon starts shouting then Dad will hear them arguing. If Dad hears them arguing then he’ll come upstairs and he’ll, he’ll…
No, Martin thinks, he won’t. He’ll calm Caitlin down and then they’ll both go to sleep and then it will be tomorrow and it’ll be quiet again. Martin pushes the sheet down a bit and pulls himself up to lean his back against the wall. He tugs Caitlin up onto his lap and holds her close. She’s still sniffing and she’s whimpering a bit but she isn’t screaming anymore and that’s good.
After a while, Martin’s legs start to go tingly but Caitlin is almost asleep now so he can’t push her off! He tries wriggling a bit and one of Caitlin’s eyes open to peer up at him. Martin freezes, please don’t scream, please be still, please go back to sleep. Caitlin’s other eye opens up and she frowns, oh no, she’ll start crying again. He shifts again, maybe if he can cover her mouth with his hand before she starts screaming. He moves his legs again and the frown disappears, Martin tries bouncing his knees gently and a little smile appears on Caitlin’s face. He keeps jiggling his legs and eventually Caitlin’s eyes close; she takes a deep breath, and another, and finally, finally falls asleep.
And that’s how their mum finds them when she pokes her head in, Martin’s head is tipped back against the wall and Caitlin is curled up on his lap. The sheet is pushed down at the end of the bed and they’ll wake up cold in the morning, but at least it will be quiet.