Refuge (Five minutes freewrite)

It had been her hiding spot since as long as she could remember, long before she ever needed a place to hide. The low-hanging branches of the willow-tree came down to the ground like the green walls of a round little house where you'd expect a fairy to live. She'd sneak out of view and hide under the tree and they pretended they didn't know where she was. 'Now where could she be?' they'd ask, then they'd call out her name until she couldn't contain her laughter anymore and they'd both crawl in and smooch her and tickle her to death.
It was such a perfect place Mom put an old blanket on the ground and Susan would play there for hours. One time, when she was about five, she decided to go on a camping adventure and Dad gave her his old sleeping bag, big enough for the girl to snuggle inside comfortably, with Mr Teddy and Mrs Giraffe. But she got scared by the wail of an ambulance and she started to wail herself, until her father came and scooped her up, carrying her to the safety of her own bed.

The house under the tree became her hiding spot the summer they started to hate each other. Especially in the evenings, when they both got home. They'd give her a hug and ask about her day, like normal parents do, but she could sense another fight brewing, just like those days when the clouds are low and dark and you know a storm's coming.
Their fights were not like your typical summer thunderstorm that clears up quickly and the sun comes out and you can run out again, skirting the puddles. Their fights were more like a never-ending dreary autumn rain that chills you to the bone. It might stop for a little while, only to gather enough force to start again.
At first, they'd keep their voices down, while they showered each other with torrents of scathing remarks about who works harder or brings home more money or who's flirting with whom. By that stage, they'd be shouting, oblivious to the fact that their daughter was right there in the garden and the tree curtains could not stop their bitter words from reaching her ears. Susan tried not to listen, sometimes she'd hum a little song, sometimes she'd press her hands over the ears, rocking gently back and forth, waiting for them to be done, so normal life could resume. The worst thing was that she heard everything and even though she loved them both, some days she felt like her Mom was right, but than other days it seemed like Dad made more sense in his accusations.
She feared the day when they'll have her sit down on the couch to talk to her about getting a divorce, like she'd seen in a movie. But then she overheard Dad saying he was never going to get a divorce as he didn't want to lose Susan and he threatened his wife he would kill her if she ever tried to take the girl away. The idea that they both loved her so much made her even sadder, she didn't want to see them tearing each other apart over her. Without Susan, they could get a divorce and Dad would not have to hurt Mommy and everything would be fine.
When they called her to dinner that night, they found the house under the tree deserted. They called her name all night, but they never heard her laughing.

Story written for @mariannewest's freewrite challenge. Today's prompt was: Tree! Check out her blog and join our freewrite community.

Image: Pixabay