Chapter 1

Melanie snapped her fingers loudly.

"Lukas! Where's my fucking tea?" she yelled. Amelia looked up from the book she wasn't really reading, and decided to join in as well.

"Lukas, where's my coffee?" Her voice was kinder, but in a way, that was worse. False love.

The said person, Lukas, kept his face blank as his hands groped around for the coffee pitcher. Melanie's tea was already on boil, and he couldn't do anything to make it go faster. Yet they would probably still punish him for it. At least they weren't picking on Emil anymore.

Emil had grown up a lot, so much that he was barely recognisable as the wide-eyed child he had been before. His hair had grown messily, and the rest of his body started to fit the size of his head. Unlike Lukas, however, he didn't work; Emil's face was buried in a book twenty-four seven. Most of the time, he spent his days up in the attic, where he shared a room with Lukas. It was pretty cozy up there, despite the heat and chills of the passing seasons. It was probably better if he didn't work. Then no one would hurt him.

Wait. He found it. His hands clasped around the glass jar, and he proceeded to heat it's contents. Amelia probably wouldn't even drink it. She would just pour it on the floor and make him clean it.

"Lukas. I don't have all day. Olivia's coming over later, and you still have to curl my hair." He nearly groaned, but quickly stopped the sound from escaping. Olivia. He hated her. She was worse than Amelia in her worst mood. She was worse than Amelia and Melanie in their worst moods. She was just...Bad.

"I'm coming." The kettle sounded. Lukas poured the water into a mug and carefully plopped in a tea bag. He was almost sure his sisters were just stalling him. He still had to curl Melanie's hair, wash Amelia's clothes, wash Mother's clothes, mop the entire house, cook lunch, clean the numerous stain-glass windows- Gods, the list never ended. It had been a long time since any of them threatened Emil, but he knew that they wouldn't hesitate to do so.

"Lukas!" Amelia shrieked. He placed both mugs on an ornate tray, and hurriedly ran over to the living room. Big mistake.

He hadn't seen Shinati, Mother's Siamese cat, a devil albeit it's cute appearance. She had been lounging under the doorway, ignorant of the fact that others actually needed to go through it. Lukas had almost stepped on her.

Shinati made an annoyed hissing noise, irritated at the sudden intrusion, and ran through Lukas' legs, causing him to trip and fall to the ground. The coffee mug broke, and it's contents leaked out onto the rug, mixing with the liquidy tea that had also spilled. It looked like milk and mud. Shinati crawled over him to look him in the eye. Lukas looked the cat in the eye. They had an intense staring contest, firing invisible rays of hate at each other, when suddenly, the cat yowled and pounced away. Lukas didn't understand why until he felt the end of a club dig into his back.

"Hey Melanie. Heads or tails?" Amelia towered over the boy, leaning on the handle of her wooden club. Thank god she hadn't been carrying the one that had nails in them. The leaning motion pressed the wood deeper into his back, causing a whimper to escape Lukas' mouth.

No, shut up! You can't let them hear you...

"Eh, heads."

The pale boy tried to relax himself, to lessen the pain, but the worst had yet to come.

"S-Sister..."

She either ignored or didn't hear the plea. Using her free hand, Amelia dug through her pocket until she pulled out a small golden coin, which she tossed into the air. It spun up there for sometime, spinning like a golden pinwheel, until gravity pulled it back into Amelia's palm.

G-God... Though his face portrayed no sign of his feelings, terror began to boil inside Lukas. Amelia's devious grin said it all.

"Looks like tails~"

"Whatever." Melanie ignored her sister, and ran her pale fingers through her long blonde hair absentmindedly. Her attention was on Lukas. Amelia made a pouty face for a second, before turning back to the person beneath her, eyes ablaze. This was no annoyed look; It was a look of pure sadism.

"Anyways. You, little brother, and in a hell of a lot of trouble."

"It wasn't my fault. Shina-" Amelia twisted the club, watching it knead it's way into Lukas' back. His mouth opened, as if to let out a cry, but he bit down on his lower lip at the last second.

Don't break it! he thought, despite the fact that they couldn't hear him. His sister scowled at the lack of sound, but she continued.

"You almost stepped on Mother's precious kitty. You are the stupid lil' shit can't even fucking carry something properly. You should've died along with your old man."

"Sister..." Lukas said. What else was there to say? Her words had taken root. If Emil weren't here, he would've ran away a long time ago, with no care for the consequences. But he couldn't leave his little brother here like that. Then he would be a failure as a sibling as well. What would Emil think of him then? Who would protect him from harsh words and harsher beatings?

I miss Father...He would've protected us...

Melanie giggled girlishly at the emotion that slipped through Lukas' poker face. It was strange to hear that sound coming from his eldest sister's mouth. She wasn't one to giggle. Shinati found it's way into her lap, and she stroked her silky far as she continued to watch the show.

"Listen up, little brother. Mother will be home by noon. You'd better hurry, if you want to fucking live. Olivia and her father are coming over for the afternoon." There was a brief pause.

"Also...Mother calls for your presence tonight...She needs something from you..." Amelia smirked darkly, and lifted her club, watching her little 'brother' catch his breath.

I don't want to...It hurts...

"Take this as a nice punishment." Without further warning, she stomped her foot onto Lukas' hand, producing a definite cracking noise.

"A-Ah! I-It...A..." the words died in his mouth as his hand seemed to catch on fire, but he couldn't shake away the flames.

Don't hurt me anymore, I...I hate you...I hate you, big sister, His face seemed to contort as he struggled to keep his emotions at bay. He wouldn't cry.

"It what?" Amelia teased, ruffling his messy hair.

Lukas didn't respond. It would heal, right? She didn't crush the bones...Right? She just broke them. Please, don't let them be crushed...That was his right hand, damnit...Instead, he did his best to keep every whimper and cry in as he tried to rise with the dignity he had left. His left arm wasn't half as competent as his right, and the sting became worse and worse the more it lifted off the ground. His support wobbled, and he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, when Amelia used the tip of her club to push him back down. Melanie's laugh could be audibly heard.

"Do you need help, dearest brother?" Amelia's voice gushed with fake sweetness as she slowly bent down and gave her little brother a peck on the lips.

"..." Lukas inched away, trying to keep the pressure off of his wound. He hated the way they touched him like that. They didn't do it often, but it disgusted him.

When he was close enough, he grabbed the cabinet for support, and slowly rose to his wobbly legs. Now that he thought of it, he couldn't remember the last time he had decent food. He ate everyday, sure, but most of it were the leftovers Emil smuggled upstairs after dinner, which sat there until he could finally sleep, four hours later.

Amelia easily followed him, and gave him one of her famous counterfeit grins, her eyes still bold and full of evil.

"G-Go away...Please..."

All she did was move closer, until she came within punching range. Lukas braced himself. Instead, she tilted his head and gave him another full kiss, this time, longer and deeper. He could feel her lips tightly pressed against his, warm and poisonous.

"Mphff, mphfff...!"

I can't breathe, let g-go of me!

His dull eyes were wide now, and he tried to push her away with one hand, to no avail. Eventually, his sister cut off the contact, but the awkward tingling was always there. Amelia, once again, stared half-contently at him.

"Mmm...You're not that bad at kissing..." she mumurred, and gave him another, pressing in more and more, until he was pressed against the cabinet, and she, on top of him. The pressure on his hand increased until he could barely bear it any longer. At one point, Amelia began to stroke his broken hand, making sure that each touch was rough and to the point. Every second hurt.

Stay strong...For Emil...

His body betrayed him, though, and a small tear escaped.

This time, when she broke contact, Lukas fled, stumbling and almost tripping, before she could try anything else.

The room was dark, but he could still see the faint outlines of the bed he and Emil shared. Actually, if Emil didn't exist, he doubted that he would even have a bed. A bunch of junk was scattered around; headless mannequins, dusty trunks full of more dust, broken mirrors, and piles of old and worn-out clothes.

Lukas used his left hand to gingerly cradle his right arm, careful not to touch what Amelia had broken.

"Emil?" He was in there, even if he couldn't see him. A short silence followed, with rustling noises ensuing.

"...I heard Amelia yelling downstairs...I thought it would be best to hide..." the younger boy emerged from a pile of torn jackets and scarves, dusting off the the thin layer of dirt that had gathered on him in the short period of time he had been hiding.

Lukas merely nodded and sat down on the bed, looking down. It was hard to dam back his emotions, even at fifteen years.

Don't cry...Be brave. Don't cry...Be brave... It was like a chant, the last thing that kept him from falling over the edge.

"Your hand looks bad." Emil said softly, and he came closer to get a better view. It was obvious; but Lukas knew that his brother meant no offence. His real brother. Not some random person he had been forced to call or 'Sister' or 'Mother'.

"...I could ask Olivia to set it for you. She's good at this stuff, or so I hea-"

"No."

"Why?" They both knew why. Emil sighed tiredly. Sometimes it seemed as he were the elder brother.

"I don't want her t-touching m-me..." Lukas' voice began to crack at the last few words. His lips still felt warm and tingly, and the spot where Amelia had touched him on the face felt warm. They never went too far. It was usually just a kiss or two, sometimes more 'passionate' then others. The worse thing that had ever happened to him was a hand running up and down his thigh.

"Well, someone has to do something." he said.

"Not her."

"Then who?"

"..."

Emil sighed again, and sat down next to his brother, putting a hand on Lukas' left shoulder. For a while, they just stayed like that, brother and brother, keeping each other company. Lukas ignored the constant throb from his injury and tried to think about happier times. They did this a lot, just sitting there and thinking, as time consuming as it was. At one point, Emil broke the silence, as always. If he didn't do that, they could've gone like that forever. Both of them knew that very well, too.

"Oh yeah...I found something up here, while I was looking for a better spot to read...Happy early sixteenth."

Lukas looked up curiously, not reacting when Emil playfully covered his eyes.

"Wait, don't look." The older brother obeyed, and kept his eyes shut. Even the darkness there didn't help take his mind off the tingling and the throbing.

It was his birthday? The last time anyone had even mentioned his birthday was...five years ago. The last time he saw Father, on his birthday. Amelia, Melanie, and Mother had been out travelling, leaving their petite family together, all alone. It was a special occasion, like Father had said. Mother always told him that he was too old for things like cakes and presents, but Father always defended him. This time was no exception. If he thought hard, he could almost see the light coming through the windows, illuminating the dining hall, with a huge mahogany table in the centre. There were only three chairs and three guests at his birthday; himself, Father, and Emil. If he thought really, really hard, he could see Father's light purple eyes, gleaming when he laughed and smiled, Emil's clumsy toddler movements...He couldn't see himself, though. His face was blank like an unfinished statue's, and his clothes were just another dash of random colours...

"Okay, open them now."

In Emil's palm, lay a barrette. One part of Lukas scoffed, That's for girls!, but the other half was speechless.

Mother's barrette. Not Mother, the woman who had commanded him to address her like so, but his mother. Alona Bondevik. His mouth hung open like he wanted to catch flies.

Emil's expression softened as he saw his brother's reaction. Slowly, he brushed aside some of Lukas' hair, and he clipped it on. Then he moved back a bit, and smiled gently. Lukas looked at him, touching the barrette with his good hand. It was smooth and coppery, like a regular clip. It also gave him a strange sense of closeness. He owned something that his mother once had. An image came to his mind; Tall, willowy, and pale, with long platnium-blonde hair that went down well past her shoulders. Her eyes closed as she laughed, and she raised a hand to her mouth every time she did so. It was a simple gesture that suggested playfulness, though a certain degree of intensity always remained in her irises, never quite fading. One word came to his mind.

Mom...

"It looks nice on you." Emil smiled again, his head leaning towards the side.

Lukas wanted to return the smile, but he couldn't.