p style="text-align: left;"emspan style="text-decoration: underline;"Chapter 1 - Lullaby/span/embr / I was surrounded by people who claimed to be my friends. But by now I wasn't stupid. I waited and took a deep breath. Then it happened; my so called "best friend" shoved me down to the ground. I landed with a thud while the other kids just laughed at me. I curled into a ball, feeling humiliated and small. The other kids started to shout insults like "freak," "ugly," and "stupid." Some continued to laugh at me while others began to kick me. / The laughing echoed through my head and I could feel the bruises spread across my body. I began to cry, feeling all alone. No one would help me. Nobody liked me. They started to kick my head so I covered my face. I feared that I would die, then and there. I had no voice. I felt so weak and defenseless. I was a child, but felt no different than a baby. Just when I felt I was on the verge of death, or a black out, I heard a loud / I sat up in bed in a cold sweat, panting and in a panic. The only thing I could do was scream. My hands started to shake and I could feel someone coming. Running. Just as I looked up, my door slammed open and my big brother ran in. He jumped onto the bed and held me, trying to offer what comfort he / "Shhh... Amber, everything is okay now. You're awake... No one will ever hurt you for as long as I live... I swear." he whispered to me. Every time this sort of thing happens, he'll always recite that, but it still helps me calm down and not lose control of myself. I took a few deep breaths and hugged back weakly. With a small smile, I managed to whisper back, "Th... Thanks Ash..."br / "Anytime little sis," he replied with a soft / "Ash, I'm seventeen. I'm not 'little' anymore."br / "Really? Then what am I doing in here holding you like a baby for?" he joked. Although he didn't mean it, the remark brought the dream back up. I put my face to his arm, my brown and red bangs falling over my face like a veil. He noticed this and sighed. "Too far?"br / "A little..."br / "Sorry sis..." he said quietly, then asked, "That same nightmare?"br / "Mhm..."br / "From when you were seven?"br / "... Mmm..."br / "In Deluca-"br / "Don't judge me!" I said, a little louder than I intended, but it got my point across. Deluca... That place was horrible... Well.., some what. There were a few perks, but there were drawbacks too... For example, Ash couldn't come with me to learn how to heal. Or rather, he didn't want to...br / "Alright, alright," he said, finally dropping the discussion. "So, it's about 2:37 in the morning. Want me to sleep with you?"br / "No, go to your own room! I don't need you to 'protect me from bad dreams.' You did that when I was a kid. I've emso/em grown out of that."br / "Yeah, uh-huh. Move over." he chuckled once again. I huffed, but moved to give him more room. I was kinda upset that he was still treating my like a kid, but then again, he knew me too well. He knew how lonely I could be and that my frequent nightmares were the effect of that. My main loneliness issue started after Mom and Dad died. We don't talk about it since it brings back too many / Ash could be a real butt head sometimes, but he's my butt head. I loved him and wouldn't trade him for the world. I lied on my side while he settled in. I was on the right, facing the right while he was on the left, facing the left. Even though we weren't touching or looking at each other, I could tell he was there and that itself calmed me down amazingly well. Eventually, I fell into a calm yet sad sleep... Sad because I fell asleep thinking of the lullaby Mom used to sing me when I was little.../p