I (18M) live with my two younger sisters (13 and 11) in a high-rise condo on the 22nd floor. Our parents are currently out of the country and have been for a few weeks. About a week ago, there was a pretty intense earthquake. As soon as it happened, I grabbed my sisters and we ran down the fire escape.

After we got outside, I called our mom, and she told us to drive to our aunt’s house and stay there. So that’s what we did. We were all safe, but the sleeping arrangements weren’t great—my sisters were on the sofa, and after one night, they were already complaining of stiff necks and backs.

The next morning, I called the condo admin, and they said the building didn’t have any cracks or obvious damage and that it was technically okay to return. But our aunt was still worried and asked me to wait a few more days just to be safe. My sisters really wanted to go home, but I felt like I should listen to the adults here and err on the side of caution.

I called my mom again, and she basically told me, “It’s your call.”

So I made the decision to stay a few extra nights at my aunt’s. I even went out and bought some pillows to try and make my sisters more comfortable. They weren’t happy, but I figured safety first.

A few days later (on the fourth day), a friend from the condo texted me and said a team of engineers had officially inspected the building and declared it safe. I called the admin again to double-check, and then I took my sisters back home.

Everything’s fine now, but they’re still salty about how uncomfortable it was at our aunt’s and how I “should’ve just taken them home.”