Alrighty! First story on . Now, I don't own Frank or Joe Hardy, but I do own Cypress and Sami. So yeah. Enjoy!

Sami's POV

"Joe! What is going on downstairs!" I yelled. All I could hear was muffled yells and a few scattered banging noises. It just sounded like an argument over who cooks. Nothing horrible. As I walked downstairs, what they were saying became much clearer. Cypress and Frank were arguing. I stayed halfway up the stairs so I could listen in unnoticed.

"You little son of a bitch, why don't you just listen to me?!" Frank yelled.

"You know that you're insulting yourself by calling me a son of a bitch, right?" Cypress retorted.

"Oh, really?" Frank said sarcastically. "Well then I guess I'm not related to you anymore."

"What the hell?! You can't just NOT be my brother anymore!"

"Well you still have Joe to save your sorry little ass when you get kidnapped," Frank snapped. I couldn't stand to hear them argue. I ran down the rest of the stairs and in between their argument.

"Guys! Stop argu-" I didn't say three words before Frank slapped me to the ground. I just lay there, confused. Why was he like this? "F-f-frank…" I stuttered. Cypress broke her eye contact with Frank to look down at me for a split second. Her eyes filled with horror.

"Frank, what did you do?" She breathed. I got up and shook my head at Frank. Bolting back upstairs, I slammed my bedroom door shut behind me. I flopped down onto the bottom bunk, crying into my pillow for two reasons. My face stung, and our family was being torn apart. Ever since dad started taking on more cased we weren't allowed to help with, things have been pretty tense between all four of us.

Joe knocked lightly on the door and poked his head in my room. "May I come in?" I lifted my head off the pillow and nodded. He walked over towards me and sat down on my bed. He rubbed my back absent mindedly, though it made me calm down. "Look… I know Frank hasn't been himself lately. I don't even know why." He said, combing a loose brown curl back behind my ear. "I'm sure he's sorry… Just don't do anything to irrational before taking that into consideration, alright?"

"Yeah, sure…" I sighed. I lightly brushed my cheek with my hand. "But he slapped me,"

"I know he did. Please, just trust me and give him a chance. He's been under stress lately. With dad being gone, he expects Frank to watch you, me and Cypress all at once."

"And we all know how hard it is to contain a Hardy," I laughed.

"See? Already laughing again. I knew you'd understand," Joe smiled. He wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug that made me feel safe. He let go and got up off my bunk bed.

"I'll be down in a bit… I just… I just need some time alone." I said.

"Alright. I just knew you'd be okay." Joe said. He walked out the door and downstairs. I couldn't help but start crying again. Not out of pain, but at the thought of leaving Joe. I had put a lot of thought into it, and I really wanted to run away. I was only 16, but I knew I would be able to get somewhere in life. I really didn't want to leave any of it because I knew that I would miss it all. But because of dad taking more cases, and Frank being too stressed out all the time, I wasn't quite sure if I would be able to handle it. Making up my mind had been the hardest thing in my life. I had been contemplating leaving for months, and this was the last straw. I was leaving.

I pulled out my teal carry on suitcase and a plastic bag for basic needs like deodorant and toothbrush and toothpaste and brush. I ran across the hallway quickly and grabbed the few things that would fit in the quart sized plastic bag and ran back across the hall. I walked over to my closet and pulled out two pairs of jeans, a pair of sweatpants and four t-shirts. As I laid them down in my suitcase, I noticed that my hands were shaking. And it wasn't like a faint tremble, they were actually shaking. I didn't know how I was going to get out of Bayport, but I had to somehow. I wasn't going to stay in New Jersey. If I did, they would find me no problem. I was going to stay hidden as long as possible.

"Sami! Are you okay?" I heard Frank yell from downstairs. I opened my mouth to yell something back, but all that came out was a whimper. I cleared my throat a bit.

"Yes, I'm fine." My own voice sounded alien-like to me. It was shaky and very uncertain. Completely unlike my usual tone which was strong and confident, and for a girl, suprisingly masculine sounding to a lot of people. I guess if you knew me I sounded like a girl. "I'll be down in a minute..."

"Okay... Dinner is ready."

I sighed and pulled out my backpack. I shoved a sketchpad, some of my colored pencils, a sharpener, a few books and a few other notebooks for who knew what. I packed my computer and tablet so I could doodle until my computer died, and plugged in my iPod so that it could have a full charge when I left in the dead of night the next day. I set a pair of headphones on top of my iPod so I wouldn't forget them and headed downstairs, but not before putting my suitcase and backpack neatly away in my closet.

As I walked downstairs, I could hear Frank, Joe and Cypress talking. I didn't bother waiting to finish coming down the steps, I just walked right in on their conversation.

"i'm just surprised she hasn't-" Frank stopped talking. "Oh, hey. Would you mind eating dinner with us?" I looked at him, trying not to let the sadness that had overcome me show in my eyes. I nodded and sat down. Chicken, mashed potatoes and peas. Frank sure did know how to make me feel better, even if it was through food. I smiled at Frank.

"I'm sorry I slapped you... It was an accident and it was in the spur of the moment. I promise I didn't mean to." Frank said guiltily. I felt bad making him feel that way.

"It's alright..." I choked, poking at my food. I wasn't hungry, despite the fact that what Frank had cooked was my favorite meal.

"Are you not hungry, Sami?" Joe asked, giving me a worried glance. I looked up from my food. I nodded slightly and stared at my plate.

"I'm not hungry... Can I just go upstairs?" I asked. Frank and Joe stared at me. Not waiting for a response, I left my plate where it was and trudged upstairs. I couldn't believe I was going to risk leaving all of what I had, but what would I rather have? Freedom, or fighting?

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!