Well, I've been inactive for a really long time. Gomen! I've been fiddling around with this idea for a few months though, and I have finally decided to post it. All the chapters except for the last are complete, so hopefully, I should be updating regularly - about every week or so (I'm a very busy person). No changes will be made to this story, and also, it isn't very long, so gomen to those who really love long stories. I like reading them but I can't write them. You will, however, have a say in how this thing ends out.

WARNING: In this story, no mercy is given to my characters, therefore, some may want to avoid reading completely.

Anyway, enough of my idle chatter. I give notice to the usual and obvious disclaimers, so on with the show. Enjoy!

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

THE STRUGGLE

Alice lay curled up on her huge bed in a foetal position. She could hear his footsteps coming towards her door. Soft and measured. She placed a hand over one of her ears and she used the other to stifle the sobs that were welling up in her throat. She began to panic. She pulled her thin sheet over her head and prayed that her parents would come home soon. Very soon. His footsteps stopped abruptly.

Alice's breath hitched in her throat. Three sharp knocks came on the door. Alice squeezed her eyes shut. Tears were pouring down her cheeks now. He opened the door, hesitated for a bit, then stepped in and closed it behind him. Slowly, he walked over to the bed. Alice gasped when she felt the soft material sink underneath his weight. He lifted the covers and ever so gently placed Alice in a sitting position. Her face was flushed red and her tears mixed with the cold sweat that trickled down her face. He stroked her smooth porcelain skin and a small smirk rose to his lips when she flinched.

"Joseph. Pl-please stop. This is wrong." The young blonde didn't reply. He only began to slip the sleeves of her white gown down.

"Joseph, stop. Why do you like hurting me so much? You're supposed to be looking out for me, not abusing me." Alice felt all her strength to resist Joseph leave her.

"Shhhh." He whispered into her ears, inhaling the scent of her silky hair. "It's only for a while." Joseph pushed her against the headboard. "Now just relax and try to enjoy it." He cupped her cheek with one hand and supported his body with the other. Dipping his head slowly, he took her lips in his. Alice began to whimper when his hand slipped from her cheek to her breasts, then to her thighs. Joseph smiled when she tensed and intensified the kiss. After a few moments of caressing her legs, Joseph rested her on her back and slipped his hands between them. Alice gasped and began to cry harder. She tried to push him off, but he had a firm grip on her. Breaking the kiss, he nestled his head in her bosom and continued to violate her.

Fifteen minutes later, a vehicle pulled into the driveway. Joseph's eyes widened when he heard this. He quickly leapt off the bed, telling Alice to go bathe and get some clean clothing on. He bounded off to his bedroom to clean his own self up and make it seem as if he was doing homework. Poor Alice was left lying on her bed. Her underwear thrown carelessly aside on the bed just proved how violated she had been. Ever so slowly, she crawled off the bed. Taking her underwear with her, she waddled into her bathroom. Eyes downcast, she climbed into the shower. It felt good to wash herself – to cleanse herself of all traces of him. Even though it hurt between the legs, she felt relieved that she could be out of his presence for a few minutes…

"Joe, Ally?" Mrs Gehabich said as soon as she stepped into the hallway. Joseph came down the stairs about three minutes after his name was called. "Hi mom. Hey dad," he said. He went up to his mother and hugged her. She ruffled his dirty- blonde hair and Mr. Gehabich gave him a nod and a smile. "Where's your sister?" Mrs. Gehabich asked. "Taking a shower," Joseph replied smoothly, mounting the staircase. "If you need me, I'll be in my room working on some Physics." Joseph then turned around and began his climb. He lingered outside his room for a bit until Alice passed by. He looked her over, up and down, raised an eyebrow in interest once, then went inside.

Before stepping out of her room, Alice had prepared herself for Joseph to do something like that, so, when she passed him at his room door, she didn't start falling apart on the inside. I can't understand. What have I done to deserve this? Why can't anyone realize he's lying? Alice wondered as she approached her parents. When they made eye contact with her, she almost automatically slapped on a false smile.

"Alice, sweetheart, how was your day?" Mrs. Gehabich squeezed her daughter in her arms.

"The usual, mother," she replied, returning the hug. "Father, how is the research going?"

Mr. Gehabich scratched his golden brown hair. "Well, today we were successful with the tests on the reaction that hydrogen has on lunar soil and rock sediments. Ally, we're one step closer to artificially creating water!"

"Wow! Father, can I help, please. Can I at least watch? Like tomorrow after school." Alice's eyes widened in genuine interest.

"Sorry dear. No kids allowed on site." Mr Gehabich watched as Alice's shoulders drooped.

"Then tonight, may I help you to document what went on today? I can be your typist." Alice looked up hopefully.

Mr. Gehabich shook his head. Sorry Alice. I did that already. To make up for it, go to Joe's room and learn some more about Physics from him. Mother and I will make you a special dinner."

Alice nearly burst into tears when she heard what her father said. It wasn't like she could just ignore him, because then he would get suspicious, and besides, his word was final. To fool them a little more, she put on a brave face, folded her arms, pouted, and looked away from him. "I'll be waiting." With that, she pretended to be angry and stomped up the stairs.

As soon as she was safely out of sight, Alice took her mask off. He always does this. Disappoints me, then tries to please me with treats and lessons from Joseph. Joseph…I should tell on him. No. Even if I did, they wouldn't believe me, and they'd probably ship me off to a boarding school. Besides, he still is my brother. But he keeps on hurting me. It's not fair to me. I should tell someone…No. I can't. I think he has a problem. An illness. A mental one. I should just keep giving him what he wants. No! He's a sick selfish bastard. I'm not sure if I should tell on him, but at least, I can put up a fight for now. Yes. That'll build my confidence, then I can talk to someone. Not those two downstairs, though. Someone I can really depend on.

She took in a few deep breaths to regain her composure.

Alice pushed the door open. It was fairly dark inside, save the bedside lamp that was switched on. Joseph sat around his computer desk, his back turned to her. "Shorter than I expected," he muttered to himself. He switched on the soundproof setting and locked the door from where he was. Slowly, he rose from his chair. Turning to face her with a smirk, he asked, "May we resume from where we left off?"

Alice stood rooted to the spot. She glared at Joe and fisted her hands at her side. In a few moments, her back was against the wall. She tried her best to push him off. When that didn't work, she bit down on his arm. Hard. Joseph instantly released his grip on her. For a moment, he became red in the face, and she could practically feel the anger seeping out of him. He raised his hand and hit her on her head.

Alice reeled back when the blow made impact. Refusing to give up, she grasped his arm as quickly as she could and bit him again. This time, she could taste blood. Outraged, Joseph gripped her wrist. He reached onto his bed for a belt, and began to slap her. The first few slaps were painful, but not enough to make Alice cry. She bit down on her lower lip and resisted the urge to cry out. This made Joseph even more enraged. He switched the ends of the belt, then began to beat her bruised skin with the buckle. Finally, Alice sank to the ground. She screamed in pain and the drops of her tears mixed with those of blood on the floor.

Joseph's face relaxed. He stopped beating her. Amusement filled his eyes at the sight of his little sister, lying helpless on the floor. He chuckled a bit and licked his lips. Waving the belt in his hand, he tried to decide if he was satisfied or not. He wasn't. Smiling widely, he whacked Alice on her tender spots with the belt's buckle, eliciting a few soft sobs. Satisfied at the state she was in, Joseph laughed out loud. He kneeled down before her, not caring that his pants were being soiled with blood. He lifted Alice's chin up, revealing her features. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears continued to stream down her face. Her lower lip was bleeding from where she was biting it before.

Joseph leaned in and licked away a trail of tears that was running down her cheek. He moaned in pleasure when she flinched. Still, Alice tried to push him away and crawl back to the door. Joseph easily caught her arm, though, and he pulled her close to him. "Why do you try so hard?" he mumbled into her ear.

"Why me? There are so many other girls out there. Why your own sister?" Alice managed to squeeze out. She didn't try to wipe the tears away.

"Why you, you ask. There are several reasons. I've tried other girls, but they're all the same. Easy to read. Easy to get. Why do you think I come to you so often? Because of your body? Not really, even though your body is simply perfect. The secondary reason I see you is because I like to experiment. I love exploration. It runs in the family after all. But, my sweet sister, the primary reason is because you're so expressive. I've elicited emotions from you that I would never have imagined. These ones are first class – I haven't gotten them from any other girl. They've all pleaded with me to stop, and when I refused, they decided to enjoy the moment instead. When they enjoy things, I get sick. Literally."

"You're sadistic," Alice mumbled weakly.

"Yes. I thought you and the dimwits downstairs would have realized by now. You know, it's funny. People say that a masochist and a sadist make the perfect pair." Joseph frowned. "That's a lie. The masochist would continue to be in eternal bliss because she enjoys feeling pain. The sadist would only be in half of that bliss because he enjoys inflicting pain and inflicting pain not only means hurting the person physically, but you want to hear them and feel them suffering consciously. That feeling is the best feeling there is."

Alice's face became downcast. She had honestly thought that her brother could have been saved. But now, she was starting to think that he was too far gone. She seen small traces of sadism before, but now, there was no mistaking it. She never expected him to go that far.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I didn't damage your face. I'll have to carry you down to dinner and say 'Mom, Dad, we had a fight. Can I stay from school from a few days to tend to Alice? After all, I'm really sorry that I let this get out of hand.' They'll say yes, and when we're alone for a few days, I'll finally get to perform a marvellous experiment. Can you guess what it is?"

Alice brought her hands up to her ears, trying to block him out.

Delighted with her resistance, Joseph picked her up and placed her on the bed. He began removing her clothes. "Prepare, sister. This is our last night of being virgins." Unable to contain herself, Alice began to cry harder. Soon, all her tears dried up, and she was like an empty shell. All that remained was a look of utter defeat on her face. Joseph looked at her and laughed once more. She didn't stop him when he threw her back against the headboard. She didn't stop him when he pushed his hands up between her legs. And she didn't stop crying or cringing in pain when he made her sore; when he placed his lips on her breasts; when he accurately described her emotions and state of mind.

After she was painfully showered and dressed for dinner, Joseph scooped her up into his arms. Alice clutched his shirt and surprised herself when she relaxed in Joseph's arms. She was crying inside. She wanted her loving bigger brother back – the one who'd never dream of hurting her.

"Joe, were you always like this?"

"No. When I was younger and ignorant, I had no idea of what really made me happy. Now I know."

"I miss the younger you so much."

Joseph narrowed his eyes. "Good riddance. I won't tell you to accept me for who I am, because if you do that, you'll rob me of my joy. Deep down, something is always telling me to say something to make you feel better, but battling that is another feeling that makes me want to torture you even more, and there's a tiny fraction of my mind that's just begging to be tortured by you – emotionally that is. That little part gets satisfied when you cry."

Alice fell silent. A psychology book said that sadists often carry masochistic traits and vice-versa. I suppose it's true. If I'm satisfying him every day, then he really must be happy.

N.B. There is nothing wrong with me. I just like being a little evil to my characters is all. Also, sorry if there are any grammatical or spelling typos. I tend to miss them sometimes.

I hope it wasn't too intense, but putting all doubts and apologies aside, I crave your support and reviews.

Thought for the week: 'A loving heart is the truest wisdom' - Charles Dickens

Sayonara