"Nat, I don't want to go on a blind date. I hate blind dates!"

"Come on Chelly, please! This guy is hotter than hot. I'm sure that his brother is just as hot. Please!"

"Fine, but if I don't like him, I'm going to have a family emergency."

"Fine, but I'm sure you'll love him."

"Whatever. You know what tomorrow is right?"

"Yeah, the anniversary of the last time you saw your brothers. Twelve years, right? You know, you still haven't told me why you haven't been in touch with them."

"You really want to know? It is a sad tale."

"Yes tell me, please."

"Fine, you know how I said that my dad beat on me?"

"Yes." Nat didn't want Chelly to stop talking, she knew her for five years now and still had no idea what happened to her as a child. All she knew was that she never talked about her family. She was surprised that Chelly was finally opening up.

"Well, actually, he would beat me, cut me with a knife, and then pour bleach into my wounds. He wanted to break me. I was the more rebelish twin, you knew I had a twin right?" Chelly asked looking at Nat. When Nat shook her head no, she went on. "Her name was Lyndsay. She was the quiet one. He didn't beat on her as much because of this. I think that might be one of the reasons I acted out so much, to keep her form getting hit. Anyway, he wanted to break me. He said that one day he would have complete domination over me. He wanted to rape me, but he wanted me to give in to him rather than beat me senseless and do it. My teachers noticed a bruise on my cheek one day and asked my dad about it, he was usually careful to hit us in places that people would not see. He told them that my brothers did it. Then he put a restraining order against them for me and Lyndsay. They weren't allowed anywhere near us. He said that we would try to fight it because we were scared that the boys would come and kill us if we didn't. I tried to fight it as soon as I turned 18, but he insisted that I was still traumatized by them. I tried everything, but then the boys started to avoid me, I don't know why. I decided that even after my father died, I would leave them alone, because that is what they seemed to want. I think they thought me weak, or something that made them ashamed of me. Anyway, that is my story and I'm sticking to it." Chelly said with a laugh, trying to break the tension.

"Wow. I never would have guessed that. I am so sorry. I can't believe that. You are my hero." Chelly just gave a Nat a weird look. "What? You went through hell, and look at you, you are my beat friend and the best person I know. So what happened between you and Lyndsay?" With that question, Chelly actually flinched.
"Daddy had to go on a business trip; we loved it when he was gone. We could do anything and wouldn't get beat for it. He was supposed to be gone for two weeks, but he came home a week early. I was out horseback riding and Lyndsay was at the house. When I got back to the house and saw his car I new something bad was going to happen. I went in and he and Lyndsay were gone. I panicked and called the cops. They found Lynsay tied up hanging upside down." Chelly was in a trance, completely zoned out. Nat just listened, not knowing what else to do. "He had raped her, and then he- he," Finally coming out of her zone, she looked Nat straight in the eyes as a tear slid down her cheek. Nat's eyes began to tear up, this was horrible. Chelly took a deep breath and returned to her story. "he poured bleach into her vagina. He wanted to "clean her out". She died of a chemical burn from the inside out." Looking into Nat's eyes, Chelly silently begged her to let her continue. Nat just nodded her head in encouragement, knowing that her friend needed to get this off of her chest. "He was found nearby, crying. He said that he found her like that. I was devastated. My identical twin was dead, I felt as if a part of myself was missing." Chelly looked at the wall, "We were only six years old. No matter how hard I tried to beg for them not to make me go home with daddy, the police said that that would be the safest place for me. Right, as soon as the police let us go home he ripped into me, saying that it was my fault, that he killed the wrong one, and that if I had been home where I should have been, she would still be alive. I believed him for a while, but I came to my senses. I started to hang around school after hours and just avoiding being home. He wasn't home much any more anyway, but when he was, there was hell to pay. I started to play possum and he would get bored. He still used bleach occasionally, but as soon as I turned eighteen, I was outta there. And now here I am, twenty-six, single, no family, and still missing my sister. I will always feel a hole where she was." Finally Chelly had finished her heartbreaking story, and Nat just reached over and hugged her.

"Chelly, honey, I don't know what to say,"

"You're the first person that I've told. My dad died right before I met you. I never did go to his funeral. Honestly, I'm surprised that he left me anything in his will, let alone everything. Heck, now I'm so rich that I don't have to work for the rest of my life. I guess he does owe me, right."

"I totally agree, he owes you big time. I can't believe that you are being so calm, telling me this."

"I've had a lot of time to work this stuff out in my head, it still hurts but I've cried all the tears that I am willing to cry. I can't say that I am over it, but I have excepted it."

Note: I haven't decided if there will be romance in this or not. Not with Chelly and her brothers, but aren't older brothers supposed to have HOTT friends!! ;p