A/N: Sorry for the long break. Stupid plot bunnies and exams! Only four more days left of school! Should be more posts soon. –A

Chapter 7: Honesty

In about fifteen minutes, Neal paid the cabbie and they stepped out in front of June's. Tired, Gale followed her brother up the stairs to his room. She collapsed on the couch.

"Time to start talking," he said, sitting on the coffee table in front of her. She stuck out her tongue.

"Tired. Talk in the morning," she told him and rolled over. He grabbed her shoulder and rolled her back.

"Nice try, but no dice." With a defeated sigh, she sat up and crossed her arms.

"Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Why were you in that crappy apartment?"

"Well, I couldn't exactly afford a five star hotel, now could I?" He just glare at her until sighed again. "I left home," she admitted. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Gale, why did you run away?" She kept her face blank.

"You did," she pointed out. He clenched his teeth.

"Yes, when I was seventeen."

"That's only one year's difference," she argued.

"Gale," Neal warned. She looked down for a second.

"Maybe because I was tired of mom beating on me," she whispers, tears threatening to spill. Her brother's head snapped up and stared into her eyes.

"Mom wasn't abusive," he said, confused.

"Yeah, and she wasn't a drunk. Until you left." He stared at her, unsure how to respond. He saw a tear spill over, but she quickly wiped it away. He moved over to the couch next to her and wrapped her in a hug. Gale may be strong, may be a fighter, but she was only a sixteen year old girl who's been going through hell since she was seven. And it was all his fault.