Crash of bottles echoed through the small apartment, followed by her father's angry shouts and her mother's sharp cries.
Nina clutched her small teddy bear tightly, pressing its soft fur against her cheek as if it could shield her from the darkness of her home.
From the corner of the dim living room, she watched her father stumble across the floor, reeking of alcohol, his fists raised in anger.
Her father's voice slurred, sharp with anger.
The muffled sound of fists hitting flesh made her stomach twist.
Her mother's soft cries cut through the quiet night, but Nina didn't understand why.
She only knew that the woman who held her close, who smiled at her in the mornings, was hurting.
Every night was the same.
After the blows and the yelling, her mother would drag herself to her room, locking the door, tears silently soaking the pillow. Nina would crawl to the floor, hugging her teddy bear, wishing she could do something, anything, to make the pain stop.
Her little heart ached, but she was just a four-year-old girl.
Nina would sit silently in the corner, hugging her teddy, wishing that somehow, she could take the pain away. She didn't understand why the world was so cruel, but she knew one thing she would always stay by her mother's side, even if she could only watch.