Okay people. I know you people are reading this. I NEED YOU TO REVIEW. Even if you hated it! I don't really care. I hope you like this one. Hopefully this one will give you more insight into Ariel's past _

Have you ever stopped and thought about how nice your life was? Thought about how nothing can go wrong? And then you think to yourself, Wait. This isn't right. Life can't be this good ALL the time. Something has to go wrong at some point. You spend all this time focusing on how things are too good to be true to realize that things are good just because. Such is the case with Ariel. She was only 14 years old when she saw her brother Jude again. It was something unexpected. Something that took her and the entire Mercer's off guard.

"You did great tonight." Bobby said up to Ariel who he was carrying on his back. "Too bad Angel didn't bother staying awake to pay attention."

"I was not asleep," 17 year old Angel contradicted. "I was picturing it all with my eyes closed."

"You're such a dumb ass." Bobby mumbled under his breath. Ariel shook her head. She and her brothers had just returned from her ballet recital. As it turned out, Jack's birthday present came in handy after all. Evelyn signed her daughter up for lessons a week after her birthday. Through dancing, Ariel had found her niche. It was something she was actually really good at. It was something she knew that she was doing right, unlike other things in her life.

Bobby was well into his twenties and living his own life. But he was always there for Ariel's recitals. It grew to be a habit, as well as for the others. Jerry had attended as well; he took his girlfriend.

As the Mercer clan approached the front steps of their home, Ariel was the first one to notice the body sitting by the front door. She tapped Bobby's shoulder and pointed.

"Hey, who are you?" he said kicking the person's foot. The body jerked a little, looking up at the people standing above him.

"Sorry, sorry." He said standing. "This must look really bad, me just sitting by your house." The hood of the young man's hoodie was pulled down and a familiar face was exposed.

"My name's Jude." He said sticking his hand out in Bobby's direction. He shook it a little hesitantly. Ariel's eyes widened when she heard the name of her birth brother. She slid down from Bobby's back and pushed her way into the house. Her running up the steps could be heard.

"Wait." Jude said, "Was that my sister?"

"No," Jack cut in. "That's our sister."

"What do you mean, your sister?" Bobby asked pulling his eyebrows together. His arms were folded across his chest, and his tone suggested irritation and angered confusion.

"They put her in the system after our parents were arrested. I was staying with some friends at the time. They never told me where she went. I guess she ended up here." Jude said calmly. Like everything was as simple as he mad it sound.

"And you've decided to show up now, of all times. Where the fuck was you when she was an eight year old too traumatized to talk?" Jerry added. "Get the fuck out of here. She doesn't need you."

With that, they left Jude standing on the door step.

"Well it's not like I did that shit to her." Jude said as the door was being slammed in his face. "I just wanted to see my sister, again."

This time Bobby was not so calm, when he stormed outside. "Listen up ass hole." He snapped gripping his collar and slamming Jude into the wall next to the door. "I don't give a fuck what you're here for. You weren't here for her six years ago or any other day after that. And I don't know, maybe I'm just taking a shot in the dark here, but maybe you abandoning her has something to do with her being a mute."

"I didn't know she wasn't talking." Jude mumbled. He dropped his head, unable to look the man in the eye. "I know I made a mistake, leaving her alone like that all the time. But things weren't easy for me either. I was just 13 years old. What'd you expect me to do?"

Bobby let go of his shirt. "I expected you to look after her. Like an older brother is supposed to. But no. You fed her to the wolves. Too late for redemption, Jude."

Ariel did not come out of her room the next morning. Or at all in the afternoon. She was still in her leotard and ballet slippers. She was so good at forgetting her childhood. But Jude's resurfacing brought back everything she desperately wanted to escape. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father's cruelty in his eyes; her mother turning her back; felt his hand roaming further and further up her legs; heard her brother running out of the house.

She hadn't cried once in 6 years, but this time she wept. Long over-due screams ripped through her throat. Her hands flew to her head as the fingers pulled at the curls.

Jack was the first at her room. He knocked on the door and opened it slightly, just enough to peek his head through. "Ariel?" he said looking at his sister's crouched form on the ground. Her knees were pulled tightly to her chest.

He spared no time asking questions as he came to her side. His large arms pulled Ariel to him as she wept into his chest.

"You're alright, now." Jack whispered. "No one's gonna hurt you."