Hey guys. This is my first fanfiction since my friend passed, so please be gentle with me if you have any criticism :) I'm still kinda sad because of her and also my play that I've been working on for months has ended and I miss my castmembers SO MUCH! But I wanna get back into writing now so I can have a way to channel my emotions (so I don't get all angsty!). Here's some things you need to know about this story:
(IMPORTANT!)
-this is a modern-day story
-Pitch is the father (45)
-Aster (Bunny) is the eldest brother (17, almost 18)
-Nick (North) is the second oldest brother (16)
-Tiana (Tooth) is the eldest sister (14)
-Sawyer (Sandy) is the third oldest brother (13)
-Jack is the youngest brother (6)
-Bailee (Babytooth) is the youngest sister (1 1/2 (18 months))
Pitch is an abusive father (turn around now if this is a sensitive subject for you)
Sawyer is mute
Bailee was a premature baby, and has trouble walking
Tiana has muscular dystrophy (very minor case, but it still causes problems as you can imagine)
Jack is beaten daily, and has scars/lumps/bruises/cuts that need to be covered at school
Pitch has threatened to kill Jack if the others call child services, otherwise they'd be outta there!
They are also afraid of being split up
Pitch works for SANA, an evil company that designs and sends hospitable rockets up in preparation for the end of the world so a small selection of humans can survive after they dispose of the planet
The older kids (Sawyer and older) work at said rocket company, since Pitch forces them to
The kids like their jobs, but not the cause (the part about building rockets is awesome; destroying the world, not so awesome; forced child labor, not so awesome)
Jack stays home and watches over Bailee since he's not strong enough to work
Their mother is dead. She died giving birth to Bailee
Pitch has a sexually abusive girlfriend named Onyx (she abuses the kids, not Pitch)
The kids aren't evil, they have moments of darkness, but it's the fruit of their horrible father
Pitch isn't entirely evil, he is angry over his wife's death and Onyx feeds his fury
Alright, I think that's it. If it's still confusing, tell me :)
You have been warned. This is rated M for a reason. There are no ships except PitchxOnyx obviously.
Six year old Jack cried out as he was thrown down the short flight of three stairs. Each one left a large bruise on his back, knee, and forehead.
"WHY DID YOU STEAL THAT FOOD?!"
Tiana's gonna have a fit! he thought as he stood up, knowing what was coming next. With a loud smack, his face was jerked to the side and his left cheek exploded in pain. His head recoiled on instinct as he stepped back, and he immediately stiffened.
Why did I move? Why did I move? Why did I move? He hates it when I move! he panicked.
"You little brat. Did I say you could move?" his father, Pitch, snarled in his face, the stiff stench of alcohol on his breath. Jack's toes curled at the smell. His cheek was yet again smacked, "Did I say you could move?" he whispered this time, a terrifying development. Whispers meant blisters.
The tall and dark man towered over the child and went over to the stove. He flicked on the bottom left burner, the only one that worked. The tiny orange flames stretched up and tickled the air. Jack's arm was placed in a vice-like grip, and he knew that struggling meant a broken wrist. He didn't want another one of those, not while Tia was gone and couldn't make him feel better. He was pulled over to the stove and his arm was lifted up higher and higher. As it slid over and over the blaze, side to side, it got closer. After about ten seconds of slow sweeping over the flame, Pitch got bored and held his arm even higher. This time his arm stayed in one place, giving his skin no time in between to cool off. Within moments, his arm was subjected to a searing hot pain. He hated fire.
It hurts! It hurts! he screamed as he forced himself not to struggle or scream, knowing it meant more punishment. His arm was finally removed form the heat source just as it was starting to blister.
"You'll be wearing long sleeves tomorrow to school." his father stated coldly. Jack gulped. It was late spring, and today's temperature was ninety-five degrees (Fahrenheit, thirty-five degrees Celsius), the coldest weather of the week! He would be melting in his clothes tomorrow! But... he didn't have any long sleeves... all of his 'long sleeves' were too small and short.
"Daddy, I don't have any long enough sleeves," he confessed, "They're too short." he whispered. Pitch's reaction was instantaneous.
"FIGURE SOMETHING OUT, YOU LITTLE INGRATE!" he huffed and visibly calmed down, "Now. I'm going to work. You stay here and look after the brat. And don't even think about stealing any more food, or I will beat you into the ground." Jack cringed, knowing it was true. He would beat him into the ground, he'd done the same to the others, "And try to get stronger. You'll be joining your siblings at work soon. For now go clean something and try to stop existing if you can. Do not steal any more food.I will see the guilt on your face and I will make you regret it. Little unappreciative bastard." With one last huff, he was gone.
"But I didn't take any, daddy" he whispered to the door. he finally let the tears fall, not afraid anymore to show weakness. After he had cried for a good thirty seconds, he aggressively wiped away any tears and scolded himself for being so weak.
"Come on, Jack, you gotta be stronger than this!" he whispered again, "This wasn't even that bad, he's done much worse.
But it doesn't matter how much he hurts you. It still hurts every time. Plus, the others aren't here to make you feel better he argured with himself for a few more moments until he heard a small voice behind him.
"-Ack?"
He whirled around and saw at the end of the room stood his little sister, Bailee. She had just gotten the hang of standing a few days ago and was still having trouble with walking, falling down at every attempt. To his surprise, Bailee took a tentative half-step forward, merely gliding her little foot over the thin carpet. She almost fell over, frightening herself. She stared at the ground like it was her most fearsome enemy.
"It's okay, it's okay. Don't look down, just look at me." he encouraged. He sure wished Tia, Sawyer, Nick and Aster were here!
"J-Jack!" she cried out to him, making him want to run to her and chase away her fears.
"No, baby. You gotta come over here first. I know, I know it's scary, but you're gonna be fine. You're not gonna fall down! I promise. You've gotta believe in me!" he urged. He got a trusting sigh in response.
"You wanna play a game? We're gonna play 'meet me in the middle'! Like we play every day."
The game was simple. Jack would take three steps closer to her, then she would move closer to him. Previously, someone would hold her hands every time she tripped or stumbled, but Jack was confident she could make it this time. Just to make it easier for her, he made sure to take as large steps as possible.
"It's as easy as one... two... three!" he cried as he took three large steps, consuming most of the distance with his wide strides. He crouched down, ready to dive for her if disaster struck. Bailee put on a determined face (which was freaking adorable in Jack's opinion) and picked up a foot. She set it down carefully and waited to take the next one. A third followed (her personal record), then a fourth, then one more baby step remained. Jack waited with baited breath. She took the step and promptly fell into his arms. He jumped up, swinging her around.
"Yes baby! Yes! You finally did it!" He yelled.
"Did what?" a gruff but warm voice spoke suddenly, "Ah. Don't tell me the ankle-biter finally did it while we were gone!" said Jack's eldest brother, Aster. He looked beat from a day of working.
"What did she do, Aster?" a feminine voice called out.
"Tia! Aster! Bailee finally took her first steps!" Jack crowed.
"WHAT?!" Tianna yelled as she ran into the room, looking just as exhausted as Aster, but excited about Bailee's success. She bounded over to the trio and scooped Bailee up into her arms, "Our baby finally did it?" she yelled.
"Did what?" spoke a deep voice. Two more males walked in, the one slightly shorted than Aster and the other looking a bit older than Jack.
"Oi! Sawyer, Nick! You two are making my head pound with all that yelling!" he fondly scolded.
"But Bunny, Sawyer can't talk." Jack pointed out. The whole group burst out laughing.
"I know that Jack, I was just making a joke." Aster smiled down at the nickname. He'd earned it because he'd once tried to hide eggs for Jack for Easter, but Jack had seen him, confused him with the Easter Bunny, and the name stuck.
"So, what is the big news?" Nick asked again.
"Jack, you tell 'em" Aster said.
"Okay," he paused for effect, "Bailee took her first steps today!"
"Ah! She did?" North ran out of the room, only to come back with a pair of orange and brown leather baby shoes.
"Oh, Nick! They're beautiful!" Tianna praised. Nick had always been good at making thoughtful and well-crafted gifts.
"I was saving them for her birthday, but since she is in need of them early, now is fine. She won't know the difference." He reasoned. The little shoes were still a few sizes too large, but they were beautiful and if Bailee grew fast, she could wear them by her birthday, a few months later.
"I suppose we can give them back on her actual birthday, when they won't be too big." Aster suggested.
And so the small group chatted on until Tianna saw Jack's bruises and burn.
"Jack! What happened?" she asked, pointing to his arm.
"Oh. Daddy thought I stole some food, but I didn't, so he threw me down the stairs. Then he burned my arm on the stove." He gestured toward the rusty piece of junk sitting in the corner.
"Oh, Jack. C'mon, let's get you patched up." Tianna said as he grabbed his hand.
"Okay, Tia."
Tianna cleaned his burn and slapped some Band-Aids on his small cuts, but the bruises were still there. She couldn't cover those up. Poor Jack looked exhausted.
"Are you sleepy, Jack?" she asked softly. Rightfullyly so, it was way past his bedtime.
"Mm-hmm" Jack grunted, only half awake. At that moment, Aster walked in. He saw how tired Jack was and scooped him up into his arms, minding his burn.
"You little drongo, what are we gonna do with you?" he whispered to the dozing child.
He looks so much smaller while he's asleep. Aster thought He looked at the injuries and cringed. He remembered when Sawyer looked like this. It was only two years ago. He remembered how their own father had made Sawyer scream so much his vocal chords were damaged beyond repair.
"I think it's time for him to go to bed." Tianna whispered. Jack softly snored.
"Ya think?" Aster joked. As Aster lumbered away with Jack in his arms, Tianna let her tears come. Why was Jack subjected to thinks like this?
She cried until Nick came to find her.
"Tia, I know this is hard, but we have to be strong for Jack!" North urged, "I know that it is hard, but we made it through the same thing with Sawyer. He will be fine, we just need to watch over him and fix him when he is broken. We will make it through this, and I know that you are helping him the most. You are his mother, his sister, his friend, his nurse, and his sensitive heart he can go to when he needs assistance. You are one of the only lights in his world, and so are we. We are a family, and family stays strong. Forever."
Tianna could only nod, in fear of releasing a new round of tears.
HAHA! Done! I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written! Feel free to review, Pm me, or not to. Hope you enjoyed and this didn't completely thrash your feels. Next Chapter: Jack has a nightmare, Sawyer helps him, and Tianna sings! (Ideas for songs? I was thinking "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift, "Angel with a Shotgun" by The Cab, "Somewhere over the Rainbow", or something)
That's all for now my tart sweets, Natalia Out!