CHAPTER ONE

TEN YEARS OLD

PATCH

I was laying in bed thinking about my latest prank and wondering how long I'd be grounded for this time when I heard my window slide open. Nora.

"Patch?" I heard her whisper.

"I'm awake." I was used to her sneaking in my room in the middle of the night. The truth was I looked forward to them, I just hated the reason she did. "Do I need to get the first aid kit?"

"No. He just slapped me this time and yelled a lot." I felt her sit on the edge of my bed and scooted over automatically like I always did so she could lay down beside me. The first time she snuck into my room we were five and her dad had given her a black eye and a split lip because she had accidentally broken a glass when it slipped out of her hands and hit the floor. It scared me when I heard her tap on my locked window. It happened so often after that I just left my window unlocked for her.

"He said it was all my fault Patch." I heard her sniff once she was settled next to me.

"What was your fault this time?" I hated her dad, he was always blaming her for something and usually with his hands.

"He...he said..he said it was my fault my mom got sick!" She broke down in a sob, her whole body shaking against me.

"That wasn't your fault. Your dad's a jerk and he's lying. I heard my mom and dad talking and he cheated on your mom that's why she went crazy and had to be taken away." I raised my arm and pulled her into my side as she cried. I wouldn't do this for anyone else, I have a reputation already for getting in trouble and being a bad ass, I didn't need my soft and mushy side getting around school and ruining it because I didn't have one. Except with Nora. I spend more time grounded, about to be grounded and suspended at school then anything else. Even the older boys feared me. My midnight black hair on onyx eyes caught peoples attention but I had a grin that both attracted and scared the hell out of people. I looked every bit the trouble maker that I am. Nora is the only one who see's a different side of me, besides my parents who border between loving amusement and total horror at my pranks and behavior.

"He said it was my fault, if I hadn't been born they'd still be together. I don't even know her Patch!" She sobbed. At ten I didn't really have experience comforting anyone, I just hoped I was doing it right as I rocked her gently like my mom did to me when I was little and got hurt. It always seemed to calm her down so I continued to do it.

"Shh, it's not your fault. You've never even met your mom. She was hospitalized in that place before you were born." I hated that she felt guilty for something that wasn't her fault.

"I hope your right. I miss her and I don't even know her." Nora sniffled then yawned.

"Of course I'm right, I'm always right." I gave her a playful poke in the ribs. "We should get some sleep before you have to sneak back out." She was snoring softly before I even had the words all the way out. I knew she didn't get much sleep when she wasn't here with me. You could tell by the circles under her eyes. Nora was a pretty girl with brown hair that had red highlights when the light or sun hit it. Her eyes were a soft gray that changed in depth with her mood. When she was mad or defiant they would turn steel gray, when she was depressed or upset they looked stormy, but most of the time they were a soft, kind shade of gray that displayed her personality perfectly.

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NORA

I woke up as soon as I heard the clock radio go off, it was playing some song with the words 'good day sunshine' in it that I didn't recognize but hoped were true. I quickly and quietly got out of bed and reset the alarm for 7:30 am when Patch would need to be up. It took him ten minutes to shower and five to get dressed since he wore the same thing every day: dark blue or black jeans, a dark color Henley, usually black or gray with an occasional maroon or dark blue, and black motorcycle boots. That left him 15 minutes to get to school and since the bell rang at 8:15 he would have 5 minutes to spare.

I glanced over at Patch and whispered thanks to him before climbing back out the window to get in my bed before my dad found out I wasn't there. I didn't need to give him anymore reason's to hit me then he found on his own. Patch and I have been best friends since I can remember. We live next door to each other and from the time we could walk we've been inseparable. Patch is eight months older than me. He was born in February and I was born in October. His personality can be as cold and frosty as the month he was born in, but to me he's sweet and protective. I'm not an outcast, but I'm not popular like my half sister Marcie who has our dad wrapped around her finger. She's the bubbly one that everybody likes, too bad she's an airhead. She only cares about herself and our money, or should I say 'their' money. Her and dad are two peas in a pod and we've never gotten along. I'm only here because my dad has no other choice. I've never met my mom since he won't take me to see her. People say I look just like her, I have to take their word for it since I really don't know. The only person I have in my life is Patch, well, his parents too. His dad is a prestigious lawyer and his mom is chief of surgery at the hospital here so they're gone most of the time. They love me like they do Patch, his mom is the closest thing I have to a mom. Since his parents are gone so much they have a nanny who takes care of Patch, her name is Dorothea. His mom and dad made sure to tell her that I'm welcome there anytime and to make extra after school snacks and dinner for me because I'm over there more than I'm home. I don't have to worry about being hit when I'm with Patch. No one messes with him, he's been in more fights than any other boy in our school and he's won them all.

"Nora! Get your but out of bed or I'm going to tell dad your making me late!" Marcie was standing in my doorway yelling at me. She lived to get me into trouble and embarrass me. Her and her mother were the bane of my existence. As if my dad didn't hate me enough they were perfect in his eyes and they did everything they could to rub that in. Our first day of first grade Marcie stole my chocolate milk. The second day she "accidentally" spilled the chocolate milk we fought over, she won, all over my favorite new school shirt. I didn't get clothes very often like she did, I got just enough to look nice so that people wouldn't notice the way I was treated compared to my sister who got anything and everything she wanted. I didn't care about material things, I just wanted him to see me like he saw Marcie. I worked hard in school, did my chores without arguing, I didn't get in trouble but no matter how hard I try my dad doesn't care or take any interest in me. I just keep hoping that if I continue to try some day he'll love me like he does my sister.

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