Chelsea's story.
My name is Chelsea.
I'm 13 years old, and I think I might be the only person in the world who was actually happy when my parents split up.
Mum and dad were fighting so often that I was totally sick of it.
It was worse when they'd both been drinking.
It would wake my little sister up and she'd force her way into my bed, making me super tired for school the next day.
When dad finally moved out, I don't know how, but things managed to get worse. Not better.
It was as if my parents started treating us like toys they wanted to fight over.
They raced each other to the school gates to try and pick us up first.
Mum started buying us really expensive toys that we hadn't even asked for.
While dad treated us to McDonald's so much that it didn't really feel like a treat anymore.
My little sister, Lily loved being pampered and basically felt like a princess the whole time.
I was the opposite.
Every time mum and dad insulted each other, it felt like two monsters were scratching either side of me with their claws, deciding who got to take the first bite.
I didn't talk to anyone about what was going on for a really long time.
Every time I tried to put the words together, they managed to sound really ungrateful.
Who wouldn't want gifts and nice meals and trips to the cinema?
My friends at school were acting as if I'd won the lottery, I could get whatever I wanted.
But all I actually wanted, was to be a normal family, and that felt like pretty much the only thing I couldn't have.
I wanted to talk to my family about things that were going on at school, about my G.C.S.E options and boyfriends, well, girlfriends, actually.
I've had a girlfriend called Iqra since September.
She's in my class and things are going really well.
I was thinking of coming out to my parents just before they said they were splitting up.
I wish none of this was going on, so I could just focus on her and my schoolwork instead.
To be honest, I've started to wonder if things would just be easier if my sister and I went away for a while.
If we weren't around, muom and dad would never have to see or speak to each other ever again, and the hurt would stop for everyone.
If they'd never had us, they would be able to break up easily and get on with their lives.
They'd stop shouting each other down the phone or asking us to choose who makes the best pasta sauce or which grandma's the nicest.
And if I could be somewhere else, if I could run away from everything, maybe I would stop feeling so anxious and uncertain about everything in my life.
So one night I told my little sister to stop her favourite toys and clothes into her school bag.
The next day, I skipped my last lesson and ran down to the primary building before either mum or dad could arrive.
When I got there, my sister was sitting with her teacher and her clothes and teddies were spilled out on the floor.
Someone had discovered our secret plan before we had even got out of school.
It turns out that even if your parents would never want to hurt you, sometimes they still can.
That's what mum and dad said to us, when they had to come and pick us up from school.
After they sat inside Lily's teacher's office for a long time, while we waited outside.
It was the longest time they'd been together in months without screaming, but they both came out with blotchy faces and red eyes.
I wondered if Lily's teacher had told them off, like she does with the little kids.
Things have gotten better since that day at school.
My parents are definitely not best friends or anything.
But they respect each other a bit more now and they don't ask us to choose between them anymore.
When I was younger, I used to think that having a parent who lets you do what you want would be the best thing ever.
But I actually like mine better when they're being normal parents, rather than trying to impress us with toys, or iPads, or fancy trips.
When they're just being mum and dad.
I feel much safer.
I can finally relax.
And even though Lily misses being treated like a princess, I can tell that she's happier too.