For the Most in a Month Competition and the Themes Challenge (write about a lie that keeps someone alive)

He's known this moment would come sooner or later. After all, a Squib is the greatest shame the House of Black could have. It's been a merciful miracle that his father has let him stay this long, hidden away and never spoken of. Of course it would come to an end eventually.

"I'm being thrown out, aren't I?" Marius asks softly, swallowing dryly.

His father is silent. Marius prefers it to the rage he's experienced since that dreadful day when the truth came out.

"You will tell your sisters that you've decided to leave on your own," his father says at last.

Marius snorts. Somehow, he isn't surprised. His father can be a cruel man, but he would never try to break his precious daughters' hearts. "They would never believe that," he says simply.

"Then you will make them believe, or you will learn what happens to your kind. Be grateful I haven't treated you the way a Squib ought to be treated, boy."

Marius shivers. Yes, his father is a cruel man. But he's never been a violent man. Still, he can hear the threat clear as day.

"Tell them it's your choice, it's for the best. Make them believe, or I will not hesitate to end you, boy. Is that understood?"

Marius nods, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Understood, sir."

…

"What's this?" Dorea asks when Marius enters the parlor.

Cassiopeia looks up from her book in the corner, frowning as her eyes fall upon the single suitcase in Marius' hand. "Father has thrown you out, then?" she asks sadly. "Only a matter of time."

"No. No. I want to leave."

Dorea steps closer, taking Marius by the hand. "If I plead with Father, perhaps he-"

"Dorea, I have to leave," Marius says, his voice cracking. He wishes she would let go and accept it. Goodbyes are hard enough as it is. "There is nothing left for me here, dear sister."

Cassiopeia joins them. She has always been colder than Dorea, more willing to follow the family blindly, so Marius is surprised by the pain in her eyes. "You can't leave. Where will you go?" she asks.

It's getting harder by the second. Perhaps he should he left a note and stolen away in the night. Marius looks between his sisters, and tears threaten to fall. He forces a smile and hopes that it's convincing enough. He has no doubt in his mind that his father will make good on his threat if he does convince them. "I'll figure that out. There's a whole world out there. There has to be a place for me in it."

"Your place is here," Dorea insists. "Your place is with your family, Marius."

"A family that can barely stand the sight of a Squib," Marius says bitterly. "A family that hides me away and speaks of me with nothing but shame and disappointment."

Dorea flinches at that, dropping her hand and pulling away. "Marius-"

"This isn't a life for me. You and Cassi have so much ahead of you. Me? I have nothing."

"You have us," Cassiopeia whispers.

Marius shakes his head. He wants to cry, but he knows that those tears will betray him. He has to stay strong. "And I will always have you in my heart. Perhaps we will meet again one day," he says. "I love you both more than anything in this world. I'm doing this for you, so that you do not have the shame of a Squib brother hanging over you like a shadow. Let me go. This is what I want."

"Be safe. Write me," Dorea says. "Every day. Just write me so that I know you're okay."

"And me," Cassiopeia adds.

Marius swallows, forcing another smile. "Of course," he says, and he wonders if they know that it's just another lie masquerading as a promise.

…

His father waits for him by the door. Marius takes a deep breath, ducking his head.

"Thank you," his father says.

Marius shrugs before pushing past him and leaving. He wishes he could turn back. He wishes he could stay with his sisters for just a moment longer.

But he was right. There is no place for him there. He has to find his own life out here in this strange new world.

He smiles to himself as he steps out onto the street. He will do something. He doesn't know what yet, but he has to believe that it will be something extraordinary. And one day, when he sees his sisters again, they will be proud of him.