AN: Hey guys, I decided to write another Four Brothers story. I didn't really like my first one, I wrote it while I was at work so it was short and choppy. This one is hopefully going to run a lot smoother. I don't own Four Brothers or any of the characters from the movie.
Eleanor Mercer, known by all but a few as Ellie, sat staring out the plane window. As the clouds passed underneath her mind filled with thoughts of her mother and the reason for the impromptu flight to Detroit. Her brother Jeremiah had called the day before to let her know that her mother had been brutally murdered in a liquor store hold up. The reality had yet to set in. It was if a horrible numbness had taken over her entire body during that phone call and she still hadn't gained back any feeling. She just couldn't bring herself to comprehend that she was never going to see her mother again. How could something like this happen to Evelyn Mercer, the nicest and most caring woman in the world?
Ellie looked to her left and saw the sleeping form of her boyfriend, Neal. They had only been going out for a few months but he had been living in her apartment in Madison, Wisconsin with her for the past month. She hadn't really been ready for a live in boyfriend but he had been kicked out of his apartment and if he didn't have a place to live he would have had to drop out of school. Ellie had given in and invited him to live with her in her small apartment near campus. Ellie and Neal both attended the University of Wisconsin. Ellie took classes part time and served drinks at a small campus bar to pay for tuition and rent. She didn't know what was in her future now that her mother had died. Making Evelyn proud had become Ellie's life goal and her motivation to get a college degree. The thought of life without her mother made the acute pain in her heart start again, she just didn't know if she could handle it.
She tried instead to focus on the thought of seeing her brothers again. It had been so long. It had been at least two years since they were all together. Her brothers all meant so much to her. They each had a special place in her heart. They were just as responsible for any success she had as her mother was. Ellie was the first to admit she was a mess when Evelyn had adopted her. Jack was only a few months older than she was and they had become great companions. He had really helped to calm Ellie down and teach her patience after she came to the Mercer family from multiple foster homes. Angel, who was the next closest in age was always protective of Ellie, especially when it came to guys. She always figured it was because he was such a player he knew how guys thought and didn't want her to get played. Jeremiah was always the reasonable one in the family. Ellie knew she could go to him for advice at any time. Bobby was her oldest brother and the leader of the pack. If she thought Angel was protective, he was nothing compared to Bobby. She could always count on Bobby to get her out of trouble though, even if it meant getting himself into trouble.
Her brothers had definitely helped Ellie become who she was today. But none so much as her mother. Ellie had been born into an abusive family, while her drunk mother tended to be psychologically abusive, her even drunker father had been violently abusive and ended up killing Ellie's mother when Ellie was seven years old. After that Ellie had been shuffled between unfit foster homes for almost three years. Ellie became accustomed to the beatings she received and some thought she even brought them on herself. She had developed a wicked tongue and constantly back talked. She developed an uncanny ability to push people's buttons and insult authority, which almost always led to more beatings. Evelyn was the first person to break through the defensive barrier Ellie had built with her sheer kindness and love. Ellie still cringed thinking of the first few months at Evelyn's before she suppressed her instinct to insult her. It took a while before Ellie no longer had to bite back her acerbic comebacks to Evelyn's kind words.
The transition wasn't just slow at home. Ellie had trouble at school as well. She still remembered the first day of school at her new home. "Students I would like you to meet our new student Eleanor Mercer" the young teacher said as Ellie stood in front of the class as twenty young faces stared back at her. "My name is Ellie" she defiantly replied as a few girls in the back of the class snickered. The only people to ever call her Eleanor had been beating her and Miss Evelyn, or mom as she was now supposed to call her, had promised that that was never going to happen again which meant goodbye to the name Eleanor. "Okay Ellie, it looks like there is an open seat in the back row."
Ellie had made it through the whole day ignoring most of the giggling and whispers that followed her around. Apparently the name Mercer came with a reputation, not that Ellie needed any help in making a name for herself. A few people had tried to approach her but she stared them all down until the fled in the opposite direction. It wasn't until after school that shit really hit the fan. She was on her way to the corner where she was supposed to meet her brothers to walk home when the "queen bees" of her school surrounded her. They started taunting her and calling her Eleanor. Not one for temperance, Ellie snapped and punched the first girl in her face. The girl screamed and started pulling her hair as Ellie knocked her to the ground and rained punches down on her in a storm of fury. Ellie felt someone lift her up from on top of the girl and spun around to punch the offender when he quickly grabbed her wrist, effectively disabling her. It was her brother Bobby. Instead of yelling at her like she was expecting, he smiled, "We were wondering where you were" he turned to her other brothers who were breaking up the crowd that had formed around the fight, "She really is a true Mercer. Jackie, maybe you should take some lessons from your little sister". They quickly shooed everyone away and briskly lead Ellie away from the fight and towards their home before the school authorities showed up. That was when Ellie realized she could trust her brothers and that they would always look out for her.
Ellie was shaken from her thoughts by the captain announcing their descent into Detroit. She poked Neal to wake him up. "Hey babe, we're here," she told him. After the plane landed they were herded off and towards baggage claim. "Hey, why don't you go get a rental while I get our bags?" Neal suggested. Ellie quickly agreed; she hated crowds. After a few minutes Neal met her out in the parking lot with their bags. They silently got in to the car and Ellie started driving towards the church.