Ok, so this is my first fanfic and I'm still new to this, but I'll give it a try and I'd appreciate any criticism.
Ok, so here we go.
"Liz?" I whisper in the darkness of our shared bedroom.
"Yeah?" she replies, stifling a yawn.
"Are… are you alright? Do you need me to get antiseptics and bandages?" I ask, already halfway on my way to the door. The reason she might need those was that Marcus, my stepdad but her actual dad tonight was once more of the opinion that I needed to be punished by having to watch him whipping my baby sister to near unconsciousness.
It all started when I was eight years old. I still don't know exactly why, he only says that I'm not selfless enough. Oh well, maybe that's a good enough reason for him to beat children… At first it only happened, when the rest of the family, namely my mother Natalie, my older Stepbrother Tobias and my younger half-sister Elisabeth, were out of the house and the two of us were home alone.
Naturally, that did not happen too often, so I was fine. But he would get bolder or find silly excuses, why he and I needed to stay home. At some point, Tobias got suspicious and eventually found out what happened. Well, he found me at age ten bloody, gagged and tied up in the wardrobe upstairs. Not many questions needed to be asked, I guess.
At this point he has proven himself to be a real big brother, even though technically, we weren't related. He stood up for me and tried to defend me against Marcus, but he still was only a twelve year old, so he didn't stand a chance against his father. Marcus was upset at Tobias, because he disobeyed his father by helping me and it didn't take long until he was beaten nearly as regularly as I was. It has been like this for four years in which we succeeded in not only protecting our baby sister but also in keeping all the unpleasantness from her. We were never actually sure what was with mom, if she got beaten and whipped and cut as well, but we knew that she would be no help to us.
However, everything changed two years ago, when Tobias transferred to Dauntless. It took me a lot of persuasion to make him leave. He wanted to stay, to protect me, but I would have none of that. Sure, I loved my big brother and he was always there for me, understanding me, treating my wounds. And my live got a lot better when he knew what was going on and I didn't have to bear the burden alone.
Sure, I'd rather not have my brother beaten, but you can't have everything and in the end you need to make the best of what you have. That at least is my philosophy that made me survive those years. But, back to the point, I would never, ever let him stay here, always near Marcus, always having to pretend in front of others, that Marcus actually was the loving father that he should be.
I assured him, that I wouldn't be alone and, after all, I had survived alone before. In the end, he saw reason and transferred not without promising Liz and I that he would meet us every other Thursday at midnight at the tracks near Abnegation. That is, when he survived Dauntless Initiation. And, what can I say? He has yet to break that promise.
As glad as I am for him, and I am glad. Very so. Still, the night he left was the worst night yet. That night Marcus was in a never ending rage. He blindly hit everyone that came in his way. Mom tried to protect us. And she did, but she paid with her life. Marcus didn't stop hitting and kicking her until she stopped moving, stopped breathing.
I still remember the bloody mess she was, as she lay on the floor in our grey Abnegation home, her red blood forming an odd contrast to the never changing grey. And I remember the expression in his eyes when he turned to me. I was convinced that I'd be next, lying just as motionless next to my mom. And it came close, but Lizzie yelled for him to stop, which made his attention turn from me to her. She probably saved my life that day, but she paid a horrible price, since she as well became a punching bag. But mostly to make me suffer, because it hurts me more to have to watch helplessly than to be beaten myself.
"No, wait! – Tris!" my sisters voice pulls me out of my thoughts. "It's alright. There's no blood. I've had worse. Just don't… don't leave me alone, will you?"
My heart immediately softens at her request and I crawl into her bed, like I already did so many nights before. I would always hold her in my arms, tell her stories and hum lullabies until her breathing evens out and she is fast asleep. So I also do this night.
Unfortunately sleep won't come as easy to me. It has been years since I've gotten a good night's sleep that wasn't interrupted by nightmares of that man that is supposed to care for me. But tonight that's not the only thing that is keeping me awake. What denies me all hope of sleep is the fact that tomorrow I will take my Aptitude Test and the day after that I'm going to decide where and how to live for the rest of my life. So many possibilities.