The hood of the dust blue sedan slammed shut as a frustrated girl ran her hand through her long, dark brown hair.

"Try it again, Toby!" Her voice was rough as she ran through all the car information she knew. The young boy crawled over the center dash to the driver's side. He turned the key in the ignition and listened. The engine revved, clanged a few times, and then stopped.

"Did you check the belts?" He asked as he craned his head out the driver's window.

"Yeah." She replied immediately.

Biting her thumbnail and cocking her head to the side, she assessed her knowledge further. Toby sighed and slammed his head down, accidentally setting off the alarm.

"Dammit Tobes!" She jumped as her heart skipped a beat, the horn bringing her from her deep thought process.

"Well… at least we know that works…" Toby informed her sheepishly. "Sorry, Sarah."

Sarah sighed and shooed him to the passenger seat as she sat in the driver's seat. They waited for a few minutes until she lifted her head, and stared determined at the dusty road before them. Sighing she heaved herself out of the car with her keys in her pocket.

"Come on kiddo. We have a long walk."

Toby groaned and grabbed two umbrellas from the trunk of the car. The duo slung backpacks over their shoulders, complete with two bottles of water each. Sarah counted the cash she had on hand, wondering what was wrong with the car and how much it would take to fix it. The car itself was only six years old but Sarah was the third owner. The two before her roughed it up a bit so she was able to take it for a steal of a price. It also only had thirty-four thousand miles. Sure, the mirror was duct taped on when she first got it… and still was… that would all be fixed with time and paychecks.

It was the first time in a while that the two were able to spend time together. But that would soon end. Throughout the years she noticed a change in her family dynamic. Her stepmother, Irene, grew more and more… aggressive. Her father was away so much on business that he was unable to be there for his children. Sure, they compromised time away from home with a fat paycheck, but Toby and Sarah missed their father. It was harder for them to be alone with Irene now.

It all started when Sarah turned sixteen. Her father had been laid off from work and their budget was tight for about a year. Of course, this caused marital issues. Her father and Irene soon argued once every week, to twice, and so on until it was two times a day. He soon found there was no way to insert logic into Irene's insane delusions about what she thought was going to happen to them. So he signed them up for marriage counseling. He already had one failed marriage, and damaged his child from it. He did not want it to happen again.

The counseling helped for a while. What really improved their situation was when he was offered a job opportunity for an executive chair in Konti Electronics. Irene was elated. Sarah was as well, thinking that the increased income would satisfy Irene's hunger and anger. The evil stepmother's mood improved even more once Robert was away on business, and she could spend however much she wanted to. That lasted for about a year. Soon after, Irene began to manage more bills for the household. Robert was not able to, being away on business and all. She began to see how much money was 'wasted' on the children. At this time Sarah was eighteen going on nineteen and headed for college. Irene did not like the thought of spending 'her' money on continuing Sarah's education. She started to talk Sarah down from attending college. Of course, like the bull she is Sarah did not back down from her dreams. The conversations escalated into arguments, and twice into physical fights. She struck Sarah twice the first time, rendering her unconscious. The second time Sarah held her ground and only fought defensively, attempting to block the hits from Irene. She was turning into a monster. Constantly complaining about how much money the children wasted, and said she might as well waste money herself. That's when the gambling addiction started. And from gambling and anger, came the alcoholism.

She was the perfect wife when Robert was home, always perfect for Robert. Sarah ended up taking a year off from any school before she attended college. It was up to her to raise funds to further her education. She cried the day she threw away the brochures for the acting college in central New York that partnered with Broadway. Instead she started a secret back account for Tanis Community College. She worked two jobs during that gap year, totaling 40-45 hours each week. She had to admit she saved up a good chunk of change, but Irene started to demand to see Sarah's paychecks. This was a fight Sarah won easily. She promised through clenched teeth that she would give Irene one hundred dollars from every paycheck she earned; to make up for 'her being a tremendous burden'. She soon had to fork over an extra fifty dollars to cover Toby's expenses. It was safe to say Sarah's bank account slowed after that.

Sarah had regular communication with her father, but told him not to tell Irene that they talk. He became suspicious, and paid more attention to the way Irene acted when he was home. Sarah was careful not to fully out Irene and her actions, she could put up with less money. If her father knew then it would be hell from Irene when he was not home. She could defend herself but she was worried about Toby while she was working. Home was not fun. Sarah tried to let the comments from Irene roll off her shoulders, and constantly assured Toby of his worth after a screaming session from Irene. During his next visit Robert noticed a bruise on Sarah's cheek, and nail marks on Irene's arm. He thought it was his imagination making him paranoid, so he thought nothing of it at first.

Sarah happily began her undergraduate degree in Film Production, with a minor in creative writing. If she couldn't act in theatres, at least she could be involved in the production of tv shows and movies. She excelled in most of her classes. There would always be one teacher here and there that was tough to impress, but she made dean's list every semester. She made a few great connections at the end of her sophomore year, and she was given a well paying job in a local theatre as an usher. She made her way up the chain to assistant manager by junior year. She worked about 20 hours a week, refreshing compared to her previous jobs. For her junior and senior year she partnered with Westwood State University and completed her degree with honors distinction.

Toby was quite the genius in his school as well. He developed a quick fascination to technology while Sarah was taking a class about lighting and cameras freshman year. His curiosity eventually lead him to website design. He was not quite sure what he wanted to do with his future. As no six-year-old typically does. He just knew he liked to watch his older sister work on homework for one of her prerequisite coding classes. Building a website from basic words and symbols fascinated him, it seemed like she was creating life.

Keeping her grades up was not easy. Not that she didn't understand the material, but because of her home life. The older Toby grew; the more Irene would lash out. It took Robert two years from his first suspicions to actually figure out that she occasionally beat Sarah. By the middle of her sophomore year, Sarah vowed that she would take Toby with her once she graduated. She declared it to her father during her junior year. Toby was ecstatic, while Robert fell into a depression. He failed his other child even though he tried so hard to not let it happen again. Sarah accompanied her father to counseling during her senior year, she refused to let him become anything close to Irene. As a graduation present Robert announced that he would be divorcing Irene. He allowed her a fair amount of fortune while the papers were being processed in order for her to leave the rest of the family alone. She gladly gave up custody of both children. The last part of the agreement hurt and confused Toby more than anyone. Sarah was good at helping him through his tough time, she was abandoned by her mother as well. She doubted Toby would ever fully recover from the thoughts of being abandoned, he was too sweet and caring. She herself struggled with her abandonment issues at times. Robert worked out the details with his company, stating that he needed to be home more after his divorce to take care of his son. It was a difficult process, as business never makes much room for children. But he accepted a position in an office only an hour away from their home with only occasional travel.

Throughout the years prior to the divorce she occasionally saw Toby sitting at his desk with one of his notebooks. His face was scrunched up in thought as he hurriedly wrote, filling up page after page. Sarah was happy he found journaling during their difficult times. She was worried he would be a child that bottled up all his emotions. Sarah did at times, but she mostly spoke her mind unless she knew Irene would deal out harsh punishments. She asked him about the journal, but he always avoided detail. She sighed, perhaps it somehow was damaging his masculinity talking about journaling to his elder sister. For birthday presents she would typically buy him packets of nice writing pens, all different colors. She bought him some nice stationary and higher quality sketchbooks. He began to draw much more frequently. His favorite letters to use were the ones with birds on them, he was quite a fan of birds.

He would occasionally leave a note to Sarah when she was working late or studying all night at school. It would always be in the center of her pillow when she eventually made her way back to her room. They warmed her heart, he typically said what he was excited for during the week or thanking her for being such a good sister. Sometimes he drew her pictures of birds, or faeries, or dragons. Sometimes when Irene was on a drunken rant, Sarah would come home to Toby sleeping on her floor in front of her floor length mirror. Sometimes he would be tucked into her bed with his favorite stuffed owl she got him for his fifth birthday.

Soon Toby asked if he could have a mirror in his room just like Sarah's. It was an odd request, but she bought one for him nonetheless. She passed his room once and swore she heard him talking to someone. Slowly she cracked the bedroom door and saw him sitting in front of the mirror, putting his drawing he made for her up to it.

"And this is what Sarah looks like now." He whispered as he glanced around and shoved another drawing against the mirror.

Sarah quirked an eyebrow and left him to his imagination, she never called him out on his quirks. He had enough of that from Irene. All Sarah did was keep an eye on him, just to make sure his fantasies never drifted too far from reality. It was important for children to have an escape from reality every once in a while. Occasionally she asked him why he drew so much, or why he wrote so many letters. Did he really have that many friends? He had trouble making friends, but she knew of his two closest buds.

Sarah was brought out of her thoughts as Toby grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the road.

(A/N)

Hello all! I fixed some of my run-on sentences and clarified the time before and after the divorce. I know the last issue was confusing for some. Run on sentences are something I constantly struggle with. Thank you all for your feedback though! It helps a lot. I hope my mistakes are not distracting you too much from the story. I also have the past in italics now so it is easier to distinguish time. I am not adept at organizing time differences, so I hope this helps slightly. If anyone has any suggestions or critiques I really appreciate it! Maybe point me to any references you think would benefit me. Mostly my grammar and punctuation. I have a book from college on grammar that I will re-read when I have the chance. I typically write late at night before I go to bed so there are lots of spelling errors I'm sure. I'll fix those when I see them. Okay, enough rambling. Enjoy! Thank you so much for reading!

11:19 - 06/05/2017