How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
There had barely been time to scramble into the clothes Nikki had picked out for us before we felt her hands at our backs, literally pushing. And then the apartment door slammed behind us, the dead bolt clicked audibly into place on the other side, and we were left on the inner stairs, with nothing to do but step down, down, down. (21.5)
When Nikki doesn't want her kids around, she simply pushes them outside and locks them out of their own home. She doesn't care where they go or what they do; she just wants the whole place to herself.
Quote #5
Property. My mind lingered on that word. Property. Yes, that was the truth: We were Nikki's property. We were—I looked down at my book about the Civil War—we were like her slaves. She owned us. The whip could come smashing down at any time, and there was nothing we could do about it except try to dodge; try to take care of each other. (26.12)
Nikki doesn't treat her kids like they are autonomous human beings, but instead like they all belong to her. If they do something that she doesn't like, she can punish them in any way she sees fit. That doesn't seem like real love.
Quote #6
Some slaves had run away. If I'd been on my own, I realized, I might have done that. (26.13)
Poor Matthew is trapped in his life and in this apartment with his crazy mother. Even though he's old enough to run away and perhaps make it on his own, he just can't. He has his siblings to think of.