What you need to know before you continue:

Callie and Jude's mother didn't die.

They both had the same father who died four years ago.

Their mother, Colleen, is not the same person she was portrayed as in the show.

Jude is younger in this fic, around 9, so Callie is 14.

It's written in Callie's point of view.

And this fic was inspired by the book "Flowers In The Attic" by V.C. Andrews.


Chapter 1: Paper Flowers

I'm sitting in my bed watching my brother play with the paper flower kit that our mother brought him just a few minutes ago.

FLASHBACK

I watched as she came into the room with her tennis dress on and new fancy jewelry. The skin on her face was vibrant and flushed with color, but I couldn't understand why she would even smile every time she saw us.

We looked like hell. Our faces were pale and our eyes were darkened from complete exhaustion and lack of nutrients, from the sun that we had been deprived of for years.

Jude had hardly grown since we'd been locked inside of this attic for the four years after we lost our father.

The few outfits we actually had were completely faded from having to hand-wash them for so long.

But once every week our mother would walk into the room with a huge smile on her face with her red lipstick that put me in a disgusted mood every time she would leave us with her kiss mark.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Callie, do you want to come help me?" Jude asks with an eager smile on his face.

I found it amazing that he could still smile after all we'd been through.

I couldn't smile and actually mean it.

I give him a fake smile in return. "Sure, bud," I answer as I grab one of the pieces of paper from the box. I didn't want to help him because the thought just upset me even more.

It was just a reminder of what we were missing.

She wouldn't give us real flowers because she knew they'd just die from lack of sunlight in this attic.

So why did she think that it was okay to keep her own kids hidden away and locked up in here for so long?


Chapter 2: Denial

Colleen comes into the room again with a plate of powder-covered cookies. "Guess what I brought my baby dolls?" she says happily as she closes the door behind her.

Jude comes out of the bathroom and runs over to give her a hug and she returns it.

That would be the only hug she would receive tonight and she knew it.

But even I didn't want her touching him any more.

He was mine now.

I was the one raising him.

"I'm guessing it's not your father's death-certificate?" I ask angrily.

Colleen puts the plate down and looks at me, "Callie, sweetheart, I told you that it was going to take a while for my father to die."

"You said two weeks!" I yell. "Then, it was two more weeks, then another month, and then another month! Colleen, it's been four years! I'm tired of being locked in here with Jude, and having to listen to your lies!"

"Callie… The doctors say it should be any day now," Colleen says desperately. "Do you really want everything I've done for us to get ruined because of your impatience? I'm doing this for us," she says as she tries to run her hands through my hair, but I immediately back away from her.

"For us? Or for you?" I snap.

"Of course it's for us. You know very well, that he can't find out about the two of you. He'd disown me and make sure to take me out of his will. Then, we'll all be put out on the streets before you know it… Callie, Jude, I know this is difficult for the two of you, but you have to understand that I'm doing this for us. I promise that the second he passes, I'll take you two out of here and you never have to see this attic again. Okay?" she smiles at me but I just glare at her. She gives me a kiss on the forehead anyway, "I love you."

But after four years, her words mean nothing…

I watch as she walks out of the room and listen to her lock the door behind us with her key, the sound that I was beginning to hate so much.

"Why do you have to always do that?" Jude asks angrily. "You know mommy loves us. She brings us gifts all the time," he says as he takes one of the white cookies into his hand and licks it before eating it.

"Jude, she's been saying the same thing for years. She doesn't love us."

"Don't say that!" Jude snaps as he grabs the plate of cookies and walks over toward the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.


Chapter 3: In Sickness And In Sin

I'm woken up this morning by the sound Jude's moans at the foot of my bed. I instantly sit up and see him standing besides it. I can tell that he's uncomfortable and that he's probably sick. "Baby, what's wrong?" I ask him, immediately in big sister mode.

"Callie, I feel really sick."

I put my hand over his forehead to check for a fever but don't find it warm. Then, I notice his hand clutching his stomach, "Does your belly hurt?" I ask.

He nods his head.

I glance around the room for something for him to eat, crackers or bread. But there isn't anything.

I remove my blanket a little, so that he can come into my bed. I hated it when he was sick, but all I could do right now was hold him so that he would feel safe. He gets in reluctantly and allows me to play with his hair until he falls asleep. I follow soon after.

A few hours later we both wake up when we feel the blanket being ripped off of us.

We're greeted by the sound of our grandmother's creepy voice, "Well, well, well, look what we have here. The devils spawn at it again."

I immediately sit in front of my little brother, so that she couldn't hit him, "We weren't doing anything. Jude was just feeling sick."

"Well, he looks fine to me!" she yells as she slaps me hard across my face. I immediately grab hold of my brother's arm and give him a reassuring squeeze, so that he knows that I'm okay. "I thought I told the two of you there would be no sinning in this house! Little boys and girls do not belong in the same bed!"

I wanted to yell back at her, but I knew I'd just be punished more for talking back. It took me awhile to learn that lesson, especially when defending Jude but I knew better than to do it. The only time I did was when I wanted the older woman to stop putting her hands on my brother.

"Bathroom," the woman instructs as she points toward the door and looks directly at me. I instantly get up and watch her reach into her robe, and I know exactly what's coming next.

"I'll be fine, Jude. I promise," I tell him as I offer him a small smile and walk away.


Chapter 4: Lies and Venom

It had been a week since our grandmother whipped me with her whip, but it didn't hurt as bad as long, as long as it wasn't Jude's back that had the marks and scars to remember them by.

I watch as our mother walks in with another plate of powdered cookies with her normal giddy expression.

"How are my dolls today?" she asks us, and I'm too mad to respond to her.

"Fine, mommy," Jude says as he lay in his bed with the comforter covering his body.

"Your son is sick," I tell her harshly, not that I think she actually cares. "He's been throwing up, getting nose bleeds… He even has bruises that he doesn't remember getting."

"Baby, are you sick?" she asks in a sad voice, as she places the plate of cookies down onto the nightstand and lays next to him.

Jude nods his head yes.

"I'm sorry to here that," she says as she plants a kiss on his forehead. She looks back over to me, "What about you, Callie? Are you sick?"

"Yes. Sick and tired of caged up like an animal," I answer harshly.

"Soon, sweetheart, soon," she says as she gives me a hug and then a kiss that I don't return. "Eat a cookie," she says as she grabs one from the plate and hands it over to me. I grab it just to get her to shut up and leave.

It was getting depressing to see her showing up more often.

All she was doing was reminding us of what we were missing out on.

The second she walks out I glance at the cookie. I hadn't even tried one, considering I was so mad that it was her bringing them to us. I didn't want to accept one thing from her anymore. Not until I was out of this room.

But the smell of the actual cookie has a weird aroma to it that I notice.


Chapter 5: Escape

The second I hear Jude moaning in pain again, I drop the cookie on the bed and stand up quickly to grab our bags from the closet that we had brought with us when we first moved in.

"What are you doing?" Jude asks in confusion.

I raise my index finger to my lip so that he'd get the hint. I didn't need him waking up the entire house before we got a chance to leave.

Thankfully, we didn't have a lot of stuff so packing didn't take very long. In matter of fact, I didn't even need to fill both bags since we barely had anything besides the clothes on our back.

I throw the bag around my back and remove the sheets, to put Jude's shoes on his feet.

"We're not supposed to leave, Callie."

"We'll come back," I lie to him. "But I need to get you to the hospital."

Surprisingly, he doesn't put up a fight and follows me out of the window. Once, we're both on the top of the roof, we slide our way down the other parts of it, trying to make as little noise as possible. The second we have only one story left, I look for the easiest way to get down, but realize that the only way we'd be able to was if we jumped.

I glance at the tall bushes and realize that I'd have no choice but to go first. "Okay, bud. I'm going to go first. And when I tell you I want you to sit down at the edge and jump after me okay."

"I can't do this," he says while shaking his head no.

"You have to. I promise, Jude. I'll catch you, okay? This is important. I can't have you—" I pause once I realize I might scare him even more. "You have to be brave, okay? You can do this. I know you can," I assure him.

When I'm sure that he's ready, I drop down into the bushes and can feel the stems puncturing my legs. I don't scream and hide my face from Jude completely so that he wouldn't notice how much it hurt.

I quickly stand up and motion Jude to jump now. After a few seconds, he does and luckily falls on top of me instead of in the bushes.

We both quickly get up and start running as far away from the Foxworth mansion as possible until Jude started slowing down.

"What's a matter baby? What's wrong?" I ask him.

He clutches his stomach in pain, "I can't run anymore."

"Okay," I say as I glance behind us and worry even more, when I can still see the mansion. Out of fear I pick him up and run with him as far as I could…