A/N: thank you ferret in NYC for the review! Lol, I hope I get more SOMETIME. Anyway, I don't know a lot about Hitler's death, all I know is it was suicide, his burned body was found with his burned wife, and that's about it. So the other stuff that I may tend to add is made up, please don't hurt me. And I called Peter and Willie's real dad "Dedrich" because once again, I stink at names. Dedrich is actually Thomas's dad, but oh well. Enough with this. Here is… (suspense builds)… Chapter TWO!!!!! *insert applause*
I walked into the house and found my mother waiting for me. "Will," she said. "Where on earth have you been?"
I'd become very good at lying over the years, so this wasn't a hard question. "I just went for a walk, mother," I replied calmly, hanging up my coat. "Why?"
"Adolf Hitler is dead," she replied, looking troubled. "His body was found in his room this morning along with his wife's. They were burned."
Though this was good news for me, I couldn't show it since it was obviously bad for her and "father." "What's happening, then?" I asked. "What has changed?"
"Everything. Nazis no longer mean anything. Everything is changing back to the way it used to be. Concentration camps are being shut down, and-"
"Peter?" I interrupted eagerly. "Will he be freed?"
"Yes. I'm making arrangements to send him to your Aunt Delores in America."
"Why isn't he coming home?" I demanded, suddenly angry. "He's family… my brother… I, I love him. Can't he come here?"
"No, no," she said, shaking her head. "He would never belong back here in this house. Not with your father here, especially. They don't take to each other, and it would be far too complicated. No, this way is the best way."
"My father is dead," I said harshly. "That man, that… creature, that "Nazi" is Karen's father, not mine."
"Don't you dare speak that way about him!" she snapped. "He is not your real father, no. But he has been more of a father to you than Dedrich ever was! He cares for you, he supports you, he pays for your education, and he puts food on the table to keep you strong."
I wanted to hit her so hard that she'd fly straight up to the ceiling right then, but I've learned to respect my elders. Instead, I stormed past her into my room. It may have been childish of me, but I didn't know what else to do, and I certainly didn't want to hear her talk badly about my father.
Because he was a wonderful one, I just knew it. No matter what my mother said, he loved us. Anyone who loves his kids is a good father, and that's how I was able to be so sure.
My eyes fell on Peter's empty bed. It was still there. After six years, his bed was still sitting there in the exact same spot it always had been. I'll never know why. Maybe a last shred of decency that survived in my mother wanted him to come home. Maybe somewhere she still hoped…
"Hope," I muttered. "It has spoiled us. Those who never hope are never disappointed."
A small noise drew my attention to the crib next to Peter's empty mattress. In it lay Karen, my two-year-old half-sister. She was adorable, I had to confess, but I still hated her, because she was a mix of my dear mother who I used to love and the monster who slept with her.
Then I remembered Peter's words. "I won't have him sitting or sleeping where my father did." I remembered also the vicious slap that those words had earned him, and how later that night he told me that no one was ever going to take him away. He lied. And had he been here, he could have prevented their marriage. And Karen.
"If I could love you, I would," I told Karen. "But I can't. It's too hard to love an accident. Too hard to love someone who has even a little bit of Nazi in them. Your father… he was a nice man. Really. But no, he follows the wrong person. He does the wrong things. But it isn't your fault. Not your fault that you were born to such horrible parents, such a strange family filled with mix feelings. But I could never love a mistake like you, Karen. I'm sorry. You deserve a loving brother, but I just can't."
A/N: sorry for the short chap, but at this point the presentations that were being given ended, and I had to go to another class. =) that's right, I did this during class. But don't tell my teacher, please! ;-) Oh, and if you like it, review and encourage me to update. If you hate it, review and tell me how bad it is. Either way, you must review!!! (I can handle flames, try me! =)
