Chapter Four

~Alyss~

Crack! I screamed. Five second wait. Crack! "Stop it!"

"Not until you learn, little bitch!" Crack! I could feel the blood running down my bare back. My arms were numb from being held up for so long and my legs had fallen asleep. Crack! I bit my lip, trying not to scream again but I couldn't help the whimper. "That should teach you to talk back to me. Damn brat, just like your mother. Jason, get her down,"

I felt hands skim up my bare sides along my arms up to my wrists which were bound. "Don't worry, sweetheart," a boy whispered into my ear. "I'll make you feel better, if you let me…" I shivered and flinched away from his voice. I could hear the scowl as my wrists were freed. When nothing was holding them anymore, I lowered them to cover my naked front. "Fine, revel in the pain. See if I care," He tossed me a shirt and bra and left, leaving me alone in this dark room. I hugged the clothes tight and cried into them.

I gasped as I woke up. It was still dark out but I could see from the clock that it was about six in the morning. I curled up on my side, pulling the blanket close to me but I didn't dare sleep. I didn't want to hear it again. The crack of the whip as it scarred my back, that old hag's voice, and his. His scared me the most. Tear started to form in my eyes and I choked a sob. No, they can't hurt me. Not now, not ever.

Morning light finally came and I hadn't realized I'd fallen back asleep. I stretched and shuffled out of bed. I got dressed and as I pulled on my white and black striped gauntlets with silver studs on each finger, I noticed the pale scars on my wrists. They were thin but long, going from my wrist to halfway down my forearm. Images of broken glass and blood everywhere flashed in my mind. I shook my head and pulled the gauntlets on to hide the scars. I pulled on my converse and walked out, adjusting the shirt to make sure my whole back was covered.

"Good morning," I yawned as I walked into the kitchen to see Evelyn sitting there by herself. Wither I woke up early or the guys slept in later than me on Sundays.

"Morning. Ready to go shopping?"

I froze. "What?"

"Shopping. Listen, I just want to make sure you have everything you need. I know you kids have to fend for yourselves a lot. So, I figured we could go shopping. Just the two of us," Evelyn smiled at that, like it was the most wonderful thing in the world. As much as was getting to like Evelyn, I wasn't up to go shopping. In fact, I hated shopping.

"Well, ya see I'm not a real big shopper but if you really want to…" Her hopeful look got me. I'm such a sucker. "I guess that would be nice,"

She was beaming at me. "Great! We'll just have breakfast and then head out. Maybe we can stop at a bookstore and get you some new books,"

That sold me. I suddenly felt my mouth curve into a smile at the sound of "new books." I'm such a nerd.

The car ride to the mall was pleasant. Evelyn asked me questions that weren't asked at the last interview. I guess she just wanted to get to know me. Sometimes I'd ask questions about the boys and what it was like to raise them. She didn't give away too much, which I respected, but just enough to get an idea of things. It was interesting to hear about the boy's trouble, so much like my own. Especially Jack's.

"Here we are," She said when we arrived at the mall. I smiled nervously as we got out. We walked right into a random clothing store. It was filled with anything frilly, pink, or just plain girly. Evelyn must have seen the look on my face because she had us turn around and head into a different store. This one wasn't so bad. I still stuck out like a sore thumb in my Goth attire. Evelyn learned not to bring me anything pink after she saw me try to avoid a pink section altogether.

"I know, I'm weird," I said.

She shook her head. "Not weird. Unique. Besides, I don't think pink would look good on you anyways,"

I smiled at that. Shopping continued like that for a while. Sometimes we'd get a few shirts and pants from a store but not a whole lot. Then a Hot Topics caught my eye.

"Could we take a peek in there?" I asked.

She looked, smiled and nodded. I swear that woman never not smiled. We went inside and I felt perfectly at home. I snagged a few pairs of gauntlets that looked kick ass. My eyes wandered over a pair of combat boots that were just stunning. When Evelyn asked the guy for a pair in my size, my eyes grew wide.

"But those are like a million back!" I shouted. True, they weren't that much but they were still expensive.

Evelyn was waved her hand. "It's no big deal. Besides, you need new shoes," She looked pointedly at my beat up old cons. I smiled sheepishly and didn't complain more on the matter. We bought a few more things and Hot Topics then headed out.

"Alright, I think we have enough clothes to last you a while. Now for the books,"

My eyes lit up and a stupid grin plastered itself onto my face. Oh, happy day!

=Jack=

Jack was sitting on the couch watching a hockey game when there was a knock at the door. He got up to get the door. A girl about Alyss' age was standing at the door with a box in her hands.

"Is Alyss Cromwel home?" she asked.

Jack shook his head. "Nah, she's out with our mom,"

"Oh! Well, this is the stuff she left at the foster home. Can you give this to her?"

He nodded and took the box. He brought it back inside and went upstairs to drop it off in her room. As he walked into the room, a picture fell out of one of the flaps at the bottom. He put the box on the bed and picked up the picture. It was of a little girl in a pretty blue dress sitting with her mom on the bench. The girl was hugging a stuffed rabbit dressed in a waistcoat. Jack guessed that this must have been Alyss when she was little. He smiled. She looked so damn cute with her big smile and bright eyes. His thoughts wandered to the current Alyss. She still seemed to have that smile but he'd only seen it once, when he and his brothers played hockey with her. Most of the time she seemed distant and out of place, like an outsider looking in. Her eyes weren't so bright either. They always seemed so…sad. Like something was haunting her. He looked back at the picture. This did look like her mother. If he didn't know better, he'd swear they were clones. Maybe her mom died and she feels guilty for it. He didn't really know his parents and he didn't care either. Evelyn was all he needed. But what if that weren't the case? What if he knew them and missed them? Would he be the same or would he be like Alyss?

Jack heard the front door open and closed and put the picture on the bed with the box. He quickly got out of the room and started to head down stairs but was blocked by Alyss, who was carrying a lot of bags.

"Oh! Sorry, I'll get out of your way," She said as she started to back up.

"Hey, it's no problem," he told her. "Lemme help you with that,"

She looked up and smiled. It wasn't like the picture but it did make her face look a little brighter. "Thanks,"

He helped her get the bags over her room. "A girl came by with some stuff from the foster house,"

"Oh, that right! I forgot I still had pictures over there,"

Jack looked a little sheepish as she went in and noticed the picture on the bed. "Sorry. One of them left out as I came in. Whoever closed the box did a shitty job. Couldn't help but look,"

She just smiled at him, albeit a little nervously. "It's okay. Not your fault," she put the bags on the bed and he followed suit.

"How old were you then?" he asked as she opened the box to put the picture back inside.

"Four or five, I think. It was during the summer,"

"You look really cute,"

She blushed and turned away. "Th-thanks,"

"No problem," He paused for a moment, debating on whether to ask her something. "What happened to her?"

She paused. "She died when I was nine. My dad too,"

"What happened?"

Her mouth twitched. "There was a fire. I slept in the attic so the worst I got was some smoke inhalation. They were able to get me out but –" She choked back a sob as a tear fell. Jack reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Alyss," He whispered. He rubbed her back and tried to soothe her as she cried. "I wish there was something I could do,"

She sniffled. "Could you just…hold me? Just for a little bit?" She looked up at him and he nodded. He sat on the bed, pulling her down with him and rocked her as she cried. His heart broke for this girl and he couldn't help but feel the need to make sure she was okay. Jack saw the picture at the top of the box. Some part of him promised he would make her smile like that as much as possible.

~Alyss~

That night, just before I went to bed, I took the picture out of the box and placed it on the bedside table. I felt strange after Jack held me. Not a bad strange. I felt good. I felt safe. I knew I was starting to get attached to Jack and I knew it wasn't a good idea. But I liked this feeling too much to let it go. I rummaged through the box and found a silver pentagram on a thin chain under all the pictures. I unclasped the chain and put it around my neck. My most prized possession, my mother's old pentagram. It meant so much to me that I was surprised I forgot about it. After last night's dream, I knew I needed the Goddess's protection to get through this. I tucked the pent under my top so the cool metal could lie against the skin above my heart. I prayed to the Goddess that things were turning out okay and went to bed. That night I dreamt of Jack, holding me close like before. This time, I wasn't crying. I was smiling.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks to all those who reveiwed! They really motivate me into writing :) Hope you guys like this chapter and tell me what you think!

TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!