Ben

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews! This has to be one of the hardest chapters I've ever written. Be warned, it doesn't make easy reading…

Chapter Twenty-One-Monster

The icy grey sky restlessly grumbled while Jacob and Bella jogged along the slippery sidewalk as they hurried to get to Luka. The thick blackened clouds were dragged down by the heavy rain which it held in its delicate frame. Bella was breathless as she tried to match Jacob's longer strides. Realising he was pushing her too hard, Jacob slowed his pace considerably, reaching out with his hand to help her along.

The clouds which struggled to withstand the burden of the weight which the rain held, soon gave in. The rain poured down over the city with a roar. The sound of emptiness was disrupted by the loud gregarious boom of thunder. The cold icy rain pierced Bella's pale and wet skin. Her long hair stuck to her face, and she scowled as she brushed it away impatiently. She ran across the slippery sidewalk, her posture weakened by the weight of her soaked clothes. She noticed Jacob looking at her worriedly, and she shook her head, indicating that she was alright.

"Its not too much further." Jacob's voice was muffled by another boom of thunder. "I wish we could have parked closer."

Bella puffed out a frustrated breath as she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. The heavy raindrops continued to strike the already wet sidewalk, pitting the surface like they were bullets from above. After a few minutes of battling through the rotten weather, they finally reached their destination-a parade of shops, their illuminated fronts the only light in the chaotic darkness of the storm.

Bella slid to a halt, pushing her wet hair back from her forehead as she tried to see through the gloom. "I can't see him." She said anxiously to Jacob.

"He's there!" Jacob's enhanced eyesight allowed him to see what Bella couldn't-the frail figure of a boy curled up in one of the shop doorways, his thin arms wrapped around his shivering body in a vain attempt to ward off the cold. "Shit, he hasn't even got a coat." He muttered in disbelief as he grabbed Bella's hand again and steered her toward Luka.


Luka's face was pinched and almost translucent with fever. He was cold, so cold. He couldn't stop shaking, his thin frame tremored violently with each laboured breath he took. Delirium had taken over his senses not long after he had made the desperate call to Bella. The guy whose cell phone he'd stolen to make the call had found him not long after, punching him so hard that he'd fallen to the ground. He lay there lifelessly in a pool of his own blood before the chill coming off the cold ground had forced him to seek some kind of shelter.

He stared sightlessly in front of him, locked in the nightmare of his own past…

While Luka sat at the table doing his homework, his little brother, Ben, was sitting on the kitchen counter, watching his mom make pasta bake. She was panicking slightly and glancing at the clock every couple of minutes. Luka paused in his writing, feeling his mom's tension rolling off her in waves. She always got like this when their stepdad was due home. Fred liked his dinner to be on the table as soon as he got in.

Luka abandoned his homework and lifted Ben off the counter. "Let's comb your hair, Ben." He said, tickling his little brother under the chin to make him laugh. Ben giggled, squirming as Luka tried to get his long cowlick of hair to stay down. Fred hated anything being untidy, even the hair on your head.

"Luka, stop fussing with Benji's hair and set the table for me." His mother scolded him impatiently. "You know how. Make sure you get it exactly right, okay?"

Luka regarded his mother with his thoughtful grey eyes. "Mom, why…?"

"Don't give me that look, Luka!" She snapped as she began to sprinkle cheese on the pasta and putting it in the oven. "Just do as you're told and stop giving me trouble."

Luka knew it was pointless arguing. He'd been down that road too many times before and knew the consequences. He took Ben's hand and led him into the dining room. Fred was very particular about everything, if everything wasn't exactly right, he got angry and no one wanted that. His mom always made the crappy excuse that Fred had a very stressful job. He always got annoyed if he and Ben did anything wrong. His mantra was that children shouldn't be seen or heard. At five-thirty everyday he came home, and they would eat dinner straight away, and if he and Ben were lucky, they would be sent to their rooms afterwards, where they would play quietly until seven-thirty when they were expected to be in bed. That was a good day. But mostly the days were bad, and everything would descend into chaos.

Luka hated this time every day. Everything was fine until Fred walked in, and then the atmosphere changed. Ben would fall silent, his smile disappearing behind a pinched, anxious look. Their mom would look tense, and she would start rushing around plumping up cushions on the sofa, trying to make everything look neat and tidy, even when it was already perfect.

Luka made sure to set the table just the way Fred liked it, and then he set Ben down on the chair beside him, cautioning him to be as quiet and still as possible. Ben always did everything his brother told him. The two of them sat there like two quiet church mice, waiting for the click of the front door to signal that Fred was home. Luka could feel his stomach fluttering with nerves, and his hands starting to sweat as he prayed that Fred had a good day and he would be normal tonight.

A couple of minutes later he walked in. Ben fidgeted in his seat anxiously and Luka shot him a look, warning him to remain still. Ben shrank low, casting his eyes down in shame. Luka reached out under the table and took his brother's small hand in his and held it comfortingly.

Fred's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the table. "You got it right for once!" He barked at Luka in his loud deep voice.

"Yes, sir." Luka answered politely as he kept his gaze lowered deferentially. Fred hated it when you looked him directly in the eyes.

Fred put down his briefcase and took his seat at the head of the table. Luka tried not to show any reaction to him; actually, he tried not to move at all. Anything was likely to set Fred off. It didn't take much. Often it was poor Ben who got them in trouble, he might accidentally spill his juice, or fidget too much, or eat his food too fast or too slowly. Luka hated the way Fred looked at his little brother, like he was wishing that Ben didn't exist, it made his stomach hurt to see him glaring at Ben with so much hate.

Just then their mom came in carrying the pasta and a plate of garlic bread. Fred frowned at her as he studied the food. "You made this yourself? You know I don't like the store-bought crap!"

"I promise this was all made by me." She promised him faithfully.

Fred's face relaxed into a terse smile. "Good. It looks nice, Faith."

Faith gave him a relieved smile in return as she began to dish up the meal. They all started to eat in silence. Ben began to fidget and Luka tensed, hoping that Fred hadn't noticed. But of course, that was too much to hope for.

"Sit still, boy!" Fred roared, thumping his fist on the table.

Ben froze, his eyes widening in fear. Luka reached for his hand under the table again and held it firmly.

"Ben's sorry." He apologised on his brother's behalf.

"He can speak for himself!" Fred demanded.

"I'm sorry." Ben murmured, his voice shaking.

"Speak up, child!" Fred shouted.

Ben flinched in his seat. Luka squeezed his fingers gently, silently giving him courage. "I'm sorry." Ben said, a little louder.

Fred's frown deepened. Luka got ready to take the hit in place of his brother if Fred lunged across the table. A few tense seconds passed before Fred seemed to calm down enough to resume eating. Halfway through he turned to face his wife, a bland smile pulling his fleshy lips upwards.

"So, Faith, what have you been doing today?" He asked, almost pleasantly.

Luka watched his mom wringing her hands nervously in her lap while she gave Fred a detailed overview of her daily routine. Her answers were always prepared hours in advance, just to make sure she didn't say anything inappropriate to make him mad. While she was talking, Ben dared to reach out his hand for his drink, but he wasn't careful enough and knocked it over, spilling the juice everywhere. Fred immediately jumped up, his eyes sparking with fury. He grabbed Ben's arm and pulled him roughly from the table. Ben began to cry. Fred hated crying, he said only weak people cried. He drew back his hand to hit Ben, but Luka got in the way. He wrapped his arms around his little brother and shielded him from the blow.

This just enraged Fred further. He let go of Ben and latched onto the collar of Luka's t-shirt, spinning him around before he backhanded him violently across the face. "You don't get in my way again, you little shit!" He shouted at Luka as he kicked him in the leg.

Silent tears flowed down Ben's face as he was forced to watch Luka take the punishment that should have been his. He couldn't bear to see his brave big brother hurt when he was only trying to protect him. Luka always did that. When he accidentally caused trouble, Luka would provoke Fred so he would take it out on him instead. Eventually Fred finished blowing off steam. He roared at Faith to get him a drink as he grabbed his plate and stormed into the lounge to finish his food, muttering obscenities under his breath as he did so.

Ben crawled over to his brother and wrapped his small arms around his neck, clinging to him as if his life depended on it. Luka groaned and pushed himself up so that he was sitting. He hugged Ben back, rubbing the top of his head comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, Luka. I'm so sorry." He sobbed.

"It's alright, Ben. You didn't do anything wrong!" Luka said hoarsely.

While all this was going on Faith was frantically clearing up the table. "You are the worst kids in the world." She complained. "Why can't you behave? This is your own fault. You provoked him. Now I've got to do damage control. Go to your rooms and be quiet. And lock your doors." She warned before hurrying into the lounge to placate her husband.


Luka breathed deeply as tears of exhaustion began to dribble from his eyes. That was the last memory he had of his mom. The next morning, he and Ben had awoken to find her gone. Luka was so tired, he just wanted to be free of this pain. He barely registered the strong arms that lifted his frail body and cradled him against a warm chest. A gentle hand caressed his cold cheek and murmured his name.

"You're safe now, Luka."

He cracked his eyes open to find a pale-faced angel gazing down at him in concern. Her eyes, a deep chocolate brown, were so like Ben's, it made his weary heart throb painfully. "Ben?" He mumbled.

"Ben's safe." The angel smiled at him sadly. "You'll see him soon, Luka. I promise."

Luka's eyes closed in relief as he sagged in Jacob's arms and slipped into blessed unconsciousness.

A/N-thanks for reading!