Chapter I

Her life was falling apart; first her dad had hit her mother last night resulting in her not going to work, then she has been hearing rumors that her so called "boyfriend" cheated on her, and no she got a D minus in her AP Chemistry. Serah Farron nearly banged her head against her locker, today had been exhausting and it was only second period. She looked down the hall to see her best friend Courtney at her locker with her best friend Jeremy. Their eyes locked and Courtney waved at her, which Serah quickly waved back. Courtney's facial features suddenly turned sour and she quickly turned away. What's wrong Serah thought and she turned around to about run into someone. It was him. Snow. Her boyfriend.

"Hey Serah. I didn't see you this morning."

She fiddled with her necklace that Snow had gotten for her birthday, "Um, yeah I was late sorry."

Lies a voice in her head mocked. Obviously Snow didn't notice, he looked the same as ever. With his oversized football jersey and his black bandana wrapped around his head. He looked worried though, and she could tell.

"Snow? What's wrong?" She asked praying that the rumors she had been hearing were false.

"Ehhhhh, listen Serah-"

Here it comes. The knife to her chest. The bullet through her heart.

"I think we should take a break."

The rumors were true. She had been such a fool, she should have known when Snow started blowing her off. First it was just that he had too much homework or football practice. Then it was about his parents or his friends, and then it came to him just saying that he was too tired. She needed to know who it was. Who he was with. Who she was.

"Snow, I knew this was coming. All I've got to ask is who is she?" Serah asked biting her lip. Her heart was beating a million miles per hour.

"I'm so sorry Serah. It was all my idea so if you're going to be mad, it's me you should be angry with. It was-"

Brrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnggggggg

"Shit! I've got to get to class; coach will kill me if I have another tardy! Sorry, see you later!" Snow called as he ran down the hallway, leaving her right in the middle of the hallway by herself. Her didn't even say who she was.

Screw school, wasn't like she needed it. Vanille and her had skipped plenty of times before, so what was different. Only this time she was alone. Walking down the sidewalk on her way into town, she hummed a little tune as she walked on the edge like a tightrope walker. She passed many buildings on her way into the small city, one being the New Bodhum Preparatory School, where her sister Lightning went. Of course Serah had the choice of going there, but instead she chose to go to school with her friends and her boyfriend. The school wasn't that much different from their school, but it had more advanced classes and more competition for certain things like sports and academics. Something Lightning always strived for, being number one. She wondered if Lightning would be home tonight. Usually if their father was home, Lightning was gone, spending the night at someone's house, away from the chaos. The last time she had seen her sister was over a week ago, but her father hadn't had a business trip in a while, so maybe he'd have one soon. Lightning wasn't afraid of their father, but he and her usually got into conflict when he would start drinking; especially when he would hit their wasn't one to keep her mouth shut, and neither was her dad. Serah could hear the school's bells signaling that class was over. Did she really want to go back that hellhole or did she want to start a new life. Her depression wasn't gonna get any worse going back, but the other school looked like a beacon of hope. She began walking up the stir of the Preparatory school, wondering with each step what her father would say and what her mother wouldn't. She finally made it to the doors and pulled open the wooden doors. It smelled familiar, like she had been here before; maybe something for Lightning. To the right was an office, which she assumed was where she needed to get the transfer papers. The office was rather large for an office and the secretary was rather small for the big room. She wrinkled her nose when she noticed Serah walking up.

"Claire Farron! What are you doing out of class again!" The lady said pointing her finger at the pink haired girl.

Serah blinked, "Um, Claire's my sister. I'm Serah Farron."

The women did a doubletake and adjusted her glasses, "Ohhhhh, my bad sweetheart. Claire was just down here a few moments ago. What can i do for you Miss Farron?"

"Oh I just needed the transfer slips to come to this school."

The woman smiled, "Well i'd be happy to give them to you Serah. If you're anything close to Claire then you should be an excellent addition to our school."

Serah nodded, even though she knew she was nothing like Lightning. Lightning was bold and courageous, Serah was fragile and quiet. They were anything but the same.

She was about to leave when she suddenly thought of a question, "Wait, Miss?"

"Yes dear?"

"Does the transfer slip require a parent's signature?"

The woman nodded, "Yes from both parents or a legal guardian."

On the outside Serah looked perfectly normal, and she waved goodbye to the lady and exited the school. On the inside however Serah felt hopeless. How would she be able to get her dad to sign it? She could lie, but if he found out she did she would be dead. She decided to go home and check on her mother; maybe just maybe her mother would say something to her dad. So Serah walked through town, past the bank and the grocery store, and past the bridge until she came to the small neighborhood filled with large mansions. Their house was a large white one with large white columns on the front. She walked up the driveway until she got to the garage, where she quickly typed in the sequence of numbers to open the garage doors. She slipped under the doors about halfway up and ran over to hit the button to shut the doors. Serah entered her house, and quietly shut the door. The noise of claws on the tile floor filled her ears, and she fell to her knees just in time to embrace her loving beagle named Mog. Serah has had her for years now, and she was her own little baby to care for. After holding the dog for a few minutes, she decided to go check on her mom, who would probably be in her room sleeping. It's what she always did after he hit her. Mog followed her over to the kitchen, where she set the paper down, and then she headed up the carpeted stairs up to their second floor. Her mother's floor was the last door on the right, it was also the master bedroom of their house. Quietly, she peaked the door open and glanced inside. There was her mother's body under many blankets, with her hair tousled and a bruise appearing on her cheek bone. Serah opened the door wide, walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down. She gently felt her mother's long soft hair, and moved some strands away from her face. Her eyes opened and she just stared at Serah for a couple of seconds.

"What are you doing home so soon?" She asked, voice full of tears. It almost made Serah want to circle up and cry.

Serah bit her lip, "I kinda just left. Snow broke up with me. I got a D minus on AP Chemistry."

Her mother, Charlotte, shook her hand and reached for Serah's hand, "I'm sorry Serah. You studied so hard for that test, and you and Snow were so made for eachother."

"Guess not." Serah sighed and held her mother's hand, "How are you feeling?"

She didn't respond for a minute, and then she let go of Serah's hands, leaving them cold. " It's not like I haven't been hit before by your father." She spat, causing Serah to flinch.

"Sorry I asked."

"No I'm sorry, you're just making sure i'm ok. I feel fine right now, good enough for me to get up and head to the store to get some things for dinner tonight. I'm gonna make your dad's favorite. I invited Claire over too."

"Good luck getting her to sit at the table with Dad." Serah laughed for the first time that day. Her mom smiled to and laughed a little.

About an hour later Charlotte was dressed and was getting her keys and purse. She waved to Serah as she pulled out of the driveway and went on down the road. Serah didn't know how she did it; with all that had happened with her dad, the idea of living was still foggy to her. She decided that it would be best to go take a quick nap so she could stay wide awake through dinner. She made her way to her bedroom, a large room with pastel pink paint on the walls, and with large windows with white curtains. Mog came running in and jumped right onto the perfectly made bed, making some pillows fall off the side. Serah curled up next to her dog and quietly drifted off to sleep.

Flashback

5 years ago

"Higher Lightning!" 13 year old Serah called to her older sister as she pushed her on the swings.

"Any higher and you might fall off." Lightning chuckled and continued to push Serah.

"Girls! Dinner time!" A voice rang out from the house, and the two saw their mother appear at the back door.

"I'll race ya." Serah sang getting into a sprinting position.

"Oh yeah." Lightning laughed and got in a running position too.

"Ready? Set. Go!" Serah yelled as she started running as fast as she could towards the house. Lightning was already ahead of her considering she was a head taller than her sister. Lightning reached the back door first and quickly pulled it open. Serah arrived seconds later as the door was about to shut.

"Ha, beat you again!"

"Whatever, you probably cheated somehow…." Serah laughed as they both walked into the kitchen.

Then her blood ran cold. There was her dad sitting at the table with a beer in his hand, looking already way too intoxicated for her liking. Her mother quickly sat dishes down at the table and brought over glasses of water. It was Dad's favorite, spaghetti. Serah always hated it but she always forced herself to eat it to please her father. Serah took a seat next to her father and Lightning sat on the other end of the table; she had already begun rebelling against their parents.

"Lightning. How was school ?" Her dad asked, sipping a little more of his beer down.

"Fine." Lightning barely spoke.

He blinked, "What was that young lady?"

Lightning looked him dead in the eye and said once again , "Fine."

He just smiled and downed the beer, next turning to Serah, who sat there watching her hands.

"What about you Serah? How was school?"

"It was great Dad. Today in math we learned how to add fractions and decimals. Also in science-"

"LOOK AT ME WHEN YOU TALK!" His voice boomed and made her jump almost out of her chair. Charlotte dropped a glass as well shattering it into pieces.

He angrily stood up and walked across the room to where she knelt, picking up large glass shards.

"You're such a clutz Char! Can't you do anything right!" And with that he slapped her across the face. Serah gasped and Lightning cringed. He just laughed and told her to clean it up. This was the first of many times that Serah's dad hit her mom. And it wasn't even the worst one yet…..

Serah sat up, drenched in her own sweat. It was just another dream she whispered to herself as she laid back down. The smell of marinara sauce filled her nose; her mom must have came back. She quickly glanced over at the clock, it read six thirty eight. Serah stood up and pushed the curtains open to look outside, where her mom's car was parked. Her dad wasn't home. Lightning's car wasn't there either. She sighed and shut the curtains and decided to go see what her mom was doing. Out of her room and down the stairs she went, until she reached the kitchen. Her mom quickly noticed her presence.

"Honey, what are these?" she asked holding up the transfer papers.

Serah blinked, "Uhhhh, those are my transfer papers. I want to go to New Bodhum Preparatory."

Her mom looked back at the papers, "Oh, I see. Why do you want to transfer though, I thought you liked your school. I mean what about Snow, Courtney and Jeremy?"

"Mom, can you just sign the permission slip." Serah sighed rubbing a finger on her temple.

"Oh i suppose so."

And with that she hastily signed her signature at the dotted line. One down, only one left. Serah heard the door open; hoping it was Lightning she ran to the door to see her father enter with a beer from the garage. He looked annoyed, maybe not a good day at work.

"Hi Dad!" Serah smiled sweetly as her father just brushed past her. He mumble something but she couldn't quite make out what it was.

Her mother scrambled in the kitchen to put dinner onto plates, and she quickly made it out in time to place his place before he sat down. Charlotte signaled Serah to come sit down at the table, even though Serah was still waiting for Lightning to show up. She gave into her mother and took a seat at the table across from her and next to her dad.

"So honey, how was work?" Charlotte asked beginning to twirl her noodles with her fork.

"Terrible. I was let off."

Serah gasped and quickly regretted it because of the look her father gave her. Charlotte took a sip of her water, and sighed.

"What are you going to do?" Serah quietly asked, hoping she wouldn't get a hand across her face as an answer. Wrong answer Serah.

He swung and hit her right in the cheekbone, knocking her off her chair and onto the cold tile floor. Her vision went black for a moment and when it came back to focus, her father was standing above her.

"I tell you what we're going to do," he growled, "we're going to sell your filthy ass as a prostitute."

He sat back down and continued eating, while Serah picked herself off the ground and ran off to her bedroom. She could hear her parents begin to argue as she climbed up the stairs, followed by Mog. Serah ran into room shutting the door behind Mog, and then she collapsed on her bed. She would have to get her dad's signature somehow, but did she know how. No, not a clue.