Author's Note: I would just like to apologize for when I said Lux was in a mental hospital. The correct term is Psychiatric Hospital. So, my bad and I hope I didn't offend anyone.

Chapter Four: Hands of Uncertainty

Once we had gotten word that Angel was okay things went back to normal. Or as normal as it got for the Mercers. Jack, Ben, and I went to school while Ma, Jerry, and Bobby went to work. The weekends were full of music, parties, and a ton of homework. Jack's band had taken to practicing in our yard, which was fairly nice. They were pretty good and I enjoyed having music to listen to as I did my homework.

As a reward for doing well in the first marking period, Ma had let us go to the GM Renaissance Center. It was a local mall about a half hour away from the house. Bobby had dropped us off and we were going to take the bus back in a few hours.

"What stores?" Ben asked.

"I just wanna walk around," I replied.

"Don't you need new shoes?" Ben questioned.

"Yeah," I shrugged.

Ben shook his head as we walked off to the closest shoe store. I snagged the first pair of sneakers that I had found and liked. We wandered around stopping to buy some lunch and a few movies. Ben bought a few new video games and a new controller since Bobby had broke the other one.

We were walking towards the exit talking about what we had bought when Ben had accidently bumped elbows with another boy. In any other place there might've been a glare or a muttered curse at the person that bumped you. But not here.

"Watch where you're going, faggot," The boy spat.

Ben bristled at the derogatory statement turning slowly on his heel, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, fag," The boy grinned. "What? The faggot gonna cry?"

"Shut up, Randy," I growled.

I ignored the look Ben threw my way. While we had both never left Detroit in all the years we were separate it wasn't all that often that we ran into people from our pasts. I think that it's happened all of twice for me. I knew that we went to school with someone Ben knew, but they were actually friends.

"Lux Nolan," Randy McAllister grinned. "Damn, princess you grew up fine."

"It's Mercer now," I corrected. "And, by the way, if anyone's the 'faggot' it's you. What's wrong Randy you drop the soap in prison?"

"You've always been a loud-mouthed bitch," Randy growled "I'd tread carefully if I were you. Girl or not I'll hit you."

"Same here, sunshine," I smirked.

I knew Randy from one of the group homes that I had been put in before Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Gillette had agreed to foster me. That was before everything had happened back before I was really abused. I had always gotten into fights and scuffles. The sad thing was that Randy and I use to be friends until I had gotten fostered and he had gotten picked up on pretty bad drug charges.

"Whatever you say, princess," Randy rolled his eyes.

"You going to scream for me, princess?" Walter asked.

I barely noticed that two other boys had come over to stand behind Randy as I lunged forward, tackling a boy who had nearly seventy pounds on me. I didn't even have to look up from the punches that I was throwing to know that Ben and I had moved instantaneously. Ben was probably fighting for numerous reasons. One, he was watching my back. Two, he detested anyone being made fun of especially with names like faggot or racial slurs. Three, all my brother's knew of my aversion to the pet name of princess. They all knew exactly why I didn't like it and they were just as quick to defend me if anyone dared call me princess. The reason Ben hadn't reacted as fast as he normally would've was because I had admitted to knowing Randy.

We weren't stupid both Ben and I knew that throwing down in the mall wasn't the smartest thing we ever could've done. But, I had seen red the second he kept calling me princess. The one moment where I felt like I was back in that one foot by ten feet room and I had lost whatever self control I had, resulting in me launching myself at someone who could easily out match me.

I was holding my own a lot better than any one else would normally thought. Anger stoked my swings, making my punches harder and kept me moving faster and dodging quicker. That didn't stop Randy landing a few good ones particularly the one that landed dead in my eye, which was going to black up nice. But, the rage allowed me to keep moving and I didn't stop until the rent-a-cops showed up knocking the lot of us to the ground and handcuffing us with clear zip ties because the mall police weren't outfitted with real handcuffs.

In the time it took for the real police to get there I looked around noticing that we had a lot of attention focused on us and there had been people screaming, which probably drew attention to the melee a lot quicker than if every one had just minded their damn business. I could hear the rent a cops bitching at the lot of us saying something about how they didn't know what was wrong with today's youth.

Within an hour's time the cops had rounded the lot of us up. I guess that Green had put in a call to the officers because Randy and his friends went to the second precinct while Ben and I were brought to the first precinct, which was closer to our house. It was also where Green's office was. The officer had so graciously cut off the zip ties only to handcuff both Ben and I to the interrogation table.

"You okay?" Ben asked once we were sure we were alone.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm sorry, Benny."

"Don't be," Ben replied. "Luxie, he was goading you. I would've kicked his ass but you got there first."

"One of those assholes seemed to have gotten you good," I grimaced.

"Yeah, pot…kettle," Ben grinned. "Your eye's beginning to black up."

Our conversation ceased as the interrogation's room door opened. Black dress shoes were the first thing we saw followed by the well-tailored suit that Lieutenant Darius Green enjoyed to wear.

"I was beginning to think the lot o' you reformed your ways," Green frowned. "It's been four months since a Mercer has been in here."

"That's why we decided to give you a two-for-one special," Ben grinned.

"Benny boy," Green greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Guess I'm getting better then," Ben shrugged.

"How long has it been since the two o' you have been in here together?" Green wondered. "It has to have been at least a year or more."

"I suppose so," I responded.

"So, you two mind telling me why you thought it was a good idea to get into a knock-down, drag-them-out fight in the middle of the mall?" Green demanded forgoing the easygoing manner and switching to the stern Lieutenant.

"Self-defense," Ben stated.

"I don't think so, buddy," Green contradicted. "Security cameras caught the whole thing. Do you understand how serious this is if that kid presses charges?"

"We're handcuffed to a table," I noted sarcastically. "I think we gathered that."

"Besides if the security tape caught that then it also caught on to the fact that we didn't start it," Ben responded.

"You two sure as hell finished it though," Green growled. "Lux, you broke that kids nose."

Ben and I exchanged looks at that knowing our chances of coming out of this without any severe repercussions was going down the tubes. We just had to get into it at the mall. One of our more brilliant stunts, I had to say. But, nothing would happen if Randy didn't press charges, which he wouldn't. Kids around he preferred to settle things like this without the judicial system involved. 'Cause let's face it: if the foster care system sucks is the judicial system really gonna be any better? Yeah, I didn't think so.

"He called me princess," I blurted out.

"Bruising a little easy there don't you think, Luxie?" Green replied.

"That's what Walter Cohen called me every single time he raped me," I retorted.

"And the kid knew about it somehow," Ben said quickly. "He provoked Lux to attack and she did."

"We'll see what happens," Green said.

"Did you call Ma yet?" Ben asked.

"I called your house," Green replied. "Bobby was the one who answered."

I groaned at that as Ben squirmed uneasily; it just had to be Bobby. The guy who has a longer rap sheet then Ben and I combined. But the second either of us place a toe out of line, he gets pissed. Stupid double standard.

Green left us waiting in that stupid brightly lit, only white interrogation room god knows how long. I thought being in that room with that stupid clock was bad but at least my hands were only bound behind my back instead of being handcuffed around a table, that was bolted to the ground. I rolled my eyes skyward as Ben and I sat in silence. It was then that I had remembered that I had used a couple of bobby pins to get the flyaway pieces of hair away from my face. I brought my head down to the table so that my hands could find one. I smirked when I latched onto one, pulling it out of my hair before snapping it in half. I fooled around with the locking mechanism for a few minutes before I heard the tumblers catch as the handcuff sprang open. I did it faster to the other hand before I freed Ben from his.

"Thank god you wear those things," Ben smirked. "I was about to lose my fucking mind. Who handcuffs people to tables?"

"Asshole cops?" I shrugged. "At least I remembered I had a few of those pins otherwise who knows how long they would've left us chained up in here."

I must've jinxed the proceedings because seconds after I had said that the door flew open. I realized that they must've had these rooms soundproofed because we hadn't heard Bobby's dramatic entrance into the precinct until he had barreled into the room with four cops and Green on his tail. I looked at my oldest brother in confusion. His normally gelled hair was standing nearly on end, his clothing was rumpled, and his shoelaces were untied. I knew that the phone call hadn't woken him up it was only around nine at the most. The thing that was normal about Bobby, or at least a look that I had seen aimed countless times at Angel, Jack, Ben, and I. And that was his normally calm chocolate brown eyes were liquid pools of ire. This was definitely a look designed to kill or wish that you could suddenly melt into the floor to avoid that very gaze.

"Get the fuck of me!" Bobby yelled at one of the cops who moved to escort him from the room but Bobby had quickly shoved him off and away. He held his hands out but now he was looking firmly at Green. His tone became a little calmer and slightly respectful as he said, "Can I have a minute with my brother and sister?"

"Yeah, Bobby," Green replied. "Be easy, though. It wasn't all their fault."

Bobby and Green had once played hockey together and they had for a really long time. Thy use to be friends and still had a fair amount of respect for one another. But things changed when Green became a cop and quickly rose through the ranks. It was nice to have someone on the other side of the law on our side, though. The door shut behind Bobby and we were left alone, at least for the time being.

"I heard that a security camera caught your fight in all it's glory, that true?" Bobby asked as he sat down in the chair across from us.

"Yeah," Ben winced.

"Did you think about that at all before you attacked someone?" Bobby growled.

"He had it coming," I stated firmly.

"So, why don't you take it outside?" Bobby retorted. "Or did you like the idea of waiting until the mall was a half hour from closing to have that brawl?"

"He started it with us first," Ben replied. "He called me a faggot and Lux a princess. He called her princess a lot before she actually attacked him."

"You knew him?" Bobby sighed. It wasn't a question more of a statement of a fact that he had already realized.

"Yeah," I muttered. "We were in the same home before he got busted and I got put in a foster home."

"Speaking of home?" Ben grumbled. "Can we go?"

"We're not done talking about this," Bobby warned as he gestured for us to stand up. "And I'm pretty sure Ma will have something to say about this as well."

I had already guessed that we were grounded and I figured that Ma would be disappointed with us. That hurt almost as much as anyone of my foster father's punches ever had. I hated disappointing Ma especially after all she had done for us.

As Ben and I moved towards the door I noticed that Bobby was looking at the ground or more specifically where I had thrown the handcuffs and the broken pin I had used to pick them with. Bobby narrowed his eyes at me as I grinned back innocently. Obviously that look wasn't believed as Bobby slapped me upside the head pushing me out of the door and ushering the both of us towards the front of the precinct.

"Can I take them now?" Bobby asked.

When one of the cops moved to say something Green held up his hand and the cop shut his mouth. "Yeah, we'll call you if anyone ends up pressing charges."

"Fine," Bobby said.

We all walked to where Bobby's car was parked and got in to it with Ben and I climbing into the back seat.

"Hey, Bobby, can we go get food?" Ben asked. "I'm hungry and those stupid pigs didn't feed us."

"You'll get something at home," Bobby rolled his eyes.

I laughed as Ben pouted before shoving me in the shoulder for laughing at him. The Mercer home was bright and cheerful in the early January air. Our Christmas lights were still hanging up and our Christmas tree could be seen in the living room. It was still all decked out, which meant that the living room was currently my favorite place in the house. I loved Christmas where not even the crime and danger of Detroit could ruin the holiday spirit. It was almost as though there was an agreement that people wouldn't pull shit during the week of Christmas and into New Years.

As previously witnessed that agreement ended as soon as the old year did. It was the first few days into 2002 and we were still on Winter Vacation. Our report cards had come in a few days after Christmas and both Ben and I had landed on honor roll. Jack had done fairly well himself but he had friends with cars so they all could (and did) go to the mall whenever they wanted to.

Bobby, Ben, and I walked into the house where Ma was waiting in the kitchen. She had fixed some pasta and had already portioned the leftovers for us. She told us to take our plates and glasses of soda into the dining room. Bobby and Ma joined us a few minutes later each holding a cup of coffee as both sat down in their normal seats. Ma also had a bag of frozen peas in her hand, which she handed to me without a word. I placed it over my black eye, hoping that it wouldn't swell up too badly. I could still see out of it so that was good.

Ma pushed her cup slightly away from her as she folded her hands and rested them on the table. Her eyes were bright and understanding, "What happened?" was all she asked.

"This guy called Ben a faggot," I said.

"And he called Lux princess," Ben said.

Ma raised her eyebrow at that as she looked at me empathetically, "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"I heard his voice, Ma," I confessed. "It felt like I was right back in that ward. I could feel his breath on my face, the screams of the other patients, and the smell of antiseptic. I flashed back and lashed out. I didn't snap out of it until he punched me in the eye."

As I told them what happened my gaze had slid from Ma to the table. My hair hung in my face shielding me from view.

"Hey," Ma reproached. "Luxie, look at me."

Her tone was comforting, injected with the right amount of sternness to get me to listen what she had said. It was an art that Bobby hadn't perfected or any of the foster parents I ran through before I was institutionalized. I raised my head and met her eyes, hazel meeting blue in a look that showed nothing but love, patience, and compassion.

"I know a lot of horrible things happened to you, Lux," Ma continued. "But, you're safe now."

Ben had long since stopped eating choosing and he had the moment I started explaining how the fight started. He reached over and squeezed my hand before letting go. We both shared a lot of regrets, the biggest of which was for being separated for as long as we had been. It was during that time period where both of us had been hurt irreparably. When you experience hurt like that the scars don't fade but new and better memories could reduce the ache that the memories of the past had created.

Just because Ben and I were biologically related didn't make me love him more than any of my other brothers. We were all a family blood or not. I had looked at Bobby and noticed that his eyes had softened but his mouth was still set in a tight line. He wasn't angry with me, though. He hated hearing about any one of our pasts. It was the only thing that he couldn't protect us from and it bothered him to no end.

"I can't really fault either of you if you were provoked," Ma said mulling over what had happened and our explanations of why it had. "Ben, I am proud of you for protecting your sister. And, Lux, I understand why you got into the fight. All that aside, however, I think you both will be grounded until school starts back up. No phones or friends over or going out."

That wasn't the worse punishment Ma had ever come up with. It was fairly tame what with school starting back up in four days. No phones was uncomfortable but not unbearable. By the sparkling of Ma's eyes she knew what she had done. Ma could be stern about a lot of things and it wasn't like she let us curse, and fight, and wander around at all hours of the night. But, if we had a good explanation for why it happened she felt no need to punish us. She also didn't really like us cursing. I mean Ma let us often enough and now that three of us were in their twenties she didn't curb her language either. It depended on the situation we could say it when we were talking or bantering with each other but the second it was used in seriousness or to get under someone's skin, she didn't like it.

"Go on eat, you two, before it gets cold," Ma prodded.

Four Days Later

The sad thing about Winter Break was that it never felt like we had left school. Nothing had changed. The metal detectors were still annoying, making it so that if you were running late to school, you were going to be incredibly late. Especially if one of the security guards felt like being douche bags, which, oddly enough, they usually did.

I had gone from a relaxing break filled with very little responsibility and work to having three papers and four midterms. Yeah, this was the life of an honors student in Cass Technical High School. Or just a student in general, Ben and Jack weren't having an easier time. Jack was probably worse off than us since he would be graduating in a few short months. The only nice thing about midterms was that as they were going on we only had half days. If you didn't have a midterm on one of the days you were allowed to not go to school. Midterms normally lasted a week but my classes had managed to have two a day. And since I only had four, I would only have to be in school for two days this week.

With AP Calculus and European History out of the way, I was ecstatic by the end of the day. Those were my two hardest classes and while it was annoying that they were on the same day, it could've been worse. I walked home in a really good mood and when I walked through the front door Ma and Bobby were there to greet me.

"Luxie," Ma smiled giving me a hug. "How did your midterms go?"

"I think they went really well, Ma," I replied, hugging her back.

"Good," Bobby laughed. "Someone has to be the smart one in this family."

"You are very bright yourself, Bobby," Ma contradicted. "Don't sell yourself short. Do you want some tomato soup, honey?"

"Yes, please," I smiled.

"Go and sit down and I'll bring you a bowl," Ma ordered.

Before I could say that she didn't have to get it for me she wandered into a kitchen and doled out some soup. I sat down in my normal place at the table and thanked Ma when she brought out the bowl and a can of Sprite. After I finished eating I cleaned my bowl and recycled the can of Sprite before wandering into the Living Room. I ended up playing video games with Bobby for a few hours before Ben burst through the door, slamming it behind him.

My twin senses immediately stood on edge as Ben threw his backpack next to mine before rushing up the stairs without saying hello to anyone. Seconds later our room door slammed shut before Metallica began to blare out of the boom box.

"Benny!" Bobby shouted.

I tossed down the controller as I followed up after my twin. I frowned when I tried to come into the room. The door was locked and the doors were never supposed to be locked. If Ma or Bobby found out about this we would most likely lose the entire door and I, for one, valued my privacy. I pulled out another hairpin and quickly unlocked the door and walked in.

"Leave me alone, Lux," Ben growled.

His eyes had been glaring at me from the second I had opened the door. He was on his bed, his legs out in front of him and his arms crossed angrily.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I'm just tired," Ben replied. "I'm tired of school. I'm tired of Detroit. I'm tired of being tossed into Special Ed classes."

"Midterms didn't go well?" I sighed.

"No, not at all," Ben scoffed. "But why should I be surprised."

"Don't say that, Ben," I protested. "You're smart."

"What would you know about any of it, Luxie?" Ben retorted. "You're the smart one."

"Yeah and that's better," I snapped. "I'm the 'smart' one. I'm not supposed to be like any of you. I'm supposed to be the one to go to college and be the good little girl."

"No one thinks that," Ben protested. "You can do whatever you want to. Who gives a shit about any one else?"

"Exactly," I responded.

"You're a sneaky little brat, you know that?" Ben shook his head.

"Yeah," I grinned. "I figured that out a while ago."

Ben rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned the music down but continued to lay on his bed. I was studying for my English lit midterm when I heard the doorbell ring. It wasn't often that we got visitors to the Mercer house. I waved at Ben to turn the music off so we could hear what was going on.

"What?" Bobby asked.

"Is Lux here?" I heard someone ask.

"Who wants to know?" Bobby demanded.

"My name is Theo, I'm in one of Lux's classes," Theo said. "I just wanted to ask her a question."

"Yeah, and that's why you're here?" Bobby laughed. "Bullshit, man."

I got off my bed and walked down stairs where Bobby was still giving Theo the third degree.

"Bobby," I growled.

"What?" Bobby snickered. "He tells me he's here for school. You might be a bookworm, Luxie, but that's bullshit. He didn't even bring a backpack."

"I figured you wouldn't let me in the door if I just said that I wanted to go out with your sister," Theo shrugged.

"You'd be right," Bobby stated.

"Bobby, we've talked about this and you said you'd let me date."

"Let the boy in," Ma said coming down the stairs from her room.

"Thank you, ma'am," Theo smiled.

"You said he had to meet the family," I shrugged. "Theo, this is my brother Bobby and my mother. You already know Ben."

Ben had come out of our room and was standing a the top of the stairs. I watched as Bobby looked Theo up and down, looking for something before he finally said, "You hurt her, and I'll break every bone in your body."

"I think that would be fair," Theo said. "Would you like to go out this weekend, Lux?"

"Sure," I replied.

"Great," Theo grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lux."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" I asked.

"Nah," Theo replied. "I'll see you in English."

Theo smiled at me before walking back out the door. Bobby looked at Theo's retreating back and then at me before scoffing under his breathe and walking away. I turned to look at Ben who seemed confused before he walked down the rest of the stairs and into the living room.

"How did he know where we live?" Ben asked.

"How am I supposed to know," I responded. "I never told him."

"That isn't creepy at all," Been snickered.

"Whatever," I shook my head plopping down on the couch.

"Nice comeback, Luxie," Ben teased. "I'm reeling."

"Bite me," I growled back catching the game controller that was lobbed at my head. As Ben switched turned on the play station.

"Again, wow," Ben laughed.

I scowled at him before beginning to play one of the need for speed games. Bobby offered his tips for the game to help me win a few times. Nearly an hour later Jackie came back, right around the same time that Bobby had to leave to work the nightshift as a bouncer for a local bar.

The rest of the week passed by with little incident as Jack, Ben, and I wrapped up our midterms. Ben did better than he thought he did, none of us getting below a C on any of our tests. Ma was thrilled.

I really should've seen it coming. Angel left Detroit first, and was rising quickly through the ranks of military command. He really seemed to have found his niche. The next few weeks brought nicer weather, and a letter from the Red Wings. I handed it to Bobby as I brought the mail into the kitchen. When I heard a loud expletive, quickly followed by a string of others. Bobby had been cut from the team for excessive violence, apparently his must recent suspension was one to many.

With the Red Wings no longer in the picture, it became obvious that Bobby wasn't going to be sticking around too much longer. The next week, Bobby had packed up his beater, said a quick goodbye to all of us and left. He either had no clue where he was going or wasn't telling us anything. Ma seemed sad that another bird had flown the coop and that she didn't know where said bird was going. But if there was one thing Ma had was trust and faith that we could be successful out there in the real world. Bobby called at least once a week but made no mention of where he was.

Nearly two weeks after Bobby left, Theo and I had decided to start dating exclusively after I had made sure that it was okay with Ben. It wasn't really asking permission it was more of a is-this-gonna-cause-problems thing. Because I didn't need my brother trying to break my boyfriend's face at any given opportunity.

While Jackie wasn't going to college his social life blew up right after prom, where there seemed to be parties, nearly every single weekend. If there wasn't a party, the Spares had a gig. The last few months of school had felt like non-stop work, it was completely insane. Luckily, summer was right around the corner.

Ma was glowing on the day of Jack's graduation. Bobby had come back from where ever he had been. Jerry and Camille along with their two daughters: Daniela and Amelia also come to show their support for Jack. Every one was dressed up as we waited for the soon to be high school graduate.

"Jackie, honey, come on!" Ma coaxed. "You're going o be late.

"This stupid cap won't stay on," Jack complained, scowling angrily at his graduation cap.

"It has no place to go with all that hair," Bobby teased.

"Not everyone can be like a Chia pet with only mud on it," Jack retorted causing Ben and I to chortle as Bobby's eyebrows raised in surprise.

Someone began to knock on the door causing all of us to turn towards it in confusion.

"No way!" I whooped swinging open the door and leaping into waiting arms.

"Luxie," Angel grinned. "It's good to see you."

"Well, look at that," Bobby grinned as he hugged Angel, "Jar head's looking all cleaned up."

"At least I don't look like a seventh grader at his first dance," Angel shrugged giving Jerry and Camille, and their daughters a hug.

"What is this?" Bobby grumbled. "Rag on Bobby day?"

"I thought that was everyday?" I smiled.

"Cute," Bobby smirked as I grinned at him.

"Congratulations, Jackie," Angel said after he had given Ma and Ben a hug.

"Thanks, Ang," Jack smiled. "You came back for my graduation?"

"Like I'd miss it," Angel responded. "Aren't y'all running late?"

"Fairy boy's tiara didn't fit," Bobby said.

"Come on, guys," Ma laughed ushering us out of the house and to the cars.

When we got to school, Jack splintered off from the rest of us running to join his fellow classmates. We walked around the back towards the bleachers getting a nice spot on the center bench. We cheered as the graduates began to walk to the music, filing into the chairs that had been set up on the football field. The superintendant for the district spoke, followed by the principals, the class president, and the valedictorian. After that the names began to be called and that lasted for a while.

"Jack Andrew Mercer," The principal read.

"Woo!" we all cheered. "Go Jackie!"

Jack beamed out at the audience as he took the diploma that the principal offered and filed back to his seat. After a lot more names the principal finally said, "I present to you the graduating class of 2002!"

The graduates tossed their caps and the everyone stood up and cheered. They let the crowd onto the field as we swarmed around Jackie smiling and laughing as he held out his diploma. Ma had tears in her eyes as she hugged Jack. We all congratulated him again and chattering happily as Jack's friends and band mates came to hug and take pictures.

Author's Note Part Two: The next chapter will be slightly pre-movie. Like the week before the movie begins. I just wanted this to be a heads up. :-)