The house Elisha had lived in since he was four was nothing short of a hell hole. The couple were middle aged, stingy, acted as though they had more class than they had, and had no children of their own and did not care to understand them. It was utter hell, more so now because Elisha had turned thirteen in February, the age most people don't adopt children. They wanted them young and impressionable to raise them with their values and merits without much resistance.

Elisha snuggled into his blanket and rolled over as he tried to remember his wonderful dream. A beautiful redhead woman was standing over him, smiling and singing softly to him, pulling Elisha into her aura of warm love and tender care. Elisha never knew who she was, for before he could ask her that question Mrs. Miller always woke him.

"Up! Get up, serve breakfast, and start your chores!"

Elisha whined lightly in frustration as Mrs. Miller rapped against his small bedroom door. He threw his thin legs over the bed, adjusted his gloves and slipped into warm slippers. He ran his hand down his face and strained his eyes over to the summer light peeking through his thick curtains. With one fluid movement he opened them, revealing the quiet Paluxy river of Glen Rose, Texas.

"Did you hear me, Elisha?!" Mrs. Miller shrieked. "Get up now!"

"Yes, ma'am," Elisha jumped. "I will be down in a moment."

"Hurry up!" She shrieked. "Mr. Miller needs his coffee and I need you to start breakfast before he goes off to work! Move it!"

Elisha cringed as Mrs. Miller stomped her way down the hall. It was Thursday, pancake and sausage day for Mr. and Mrs. Miller. Elisha dreaded the smell of cooking sausage, its pungent smell always left him nauseous. This was the one day he was glad not to have much to eat.

He sluggishly walked over to his wardrobe, placed his grey clothes over his gaunt body, and combed his platinum blonde hair into a neat manner. With a heavy sigh, he went out into the upstairs hall and made his way downstairs. He stopped at the mirror at the top of the stairs, examined his hair, and ran a finger over his gaunt cheekbones, making sure that his acne hadn't come back again. He frowned when he found a growing pimple over his hooded blue eye.

"Caulfield!" Mrs. Miller shrieked from the kitchen.

"Coming ma'am!" Elisha replied softly.

Elisha made his way down the stairs, passing the many portraits of Mrs. Miller's parents whom Mrs. Miller practically worshiped. Elisha hated them, it's as if the pictures judged a person as they walked by with their small beady eyes. Elisha yawned and rubbed his eyes, shaking off sleep as he dragged his feet along the dark green carpet.

"Caulfield!"

Elisha jolted awake and grabbed hold of the apron that was hung on the handle of the kitchen door. With a sigh, he wrapped it tightly around his thin waist and entered the kitchen. He was immediately greeted by the black and white Glen Rose Reporter Mr. Miller read every morning. Mr. Miller peered over the paper at him and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Tuck in your shirt!" He scoffed, uttering the same greeting he got every morning. "We're running a foster home, not a gang!"

Elisha looked down at his long-sleeved shirt that was currently hanging loosely about his hips. He frowned and sighed to himself, quickly tucking his shirt into his pants. Although Elisha always looked neat and tidy with a plain long sleeve shirt and slacks, aside from the overalls he wore while working, Mr. Miller's standard in how his clothes should be presented changed constantly. He remembered once Mr. Miller rolled up the paper and smacked his pale stomach when he wore his shirt untucked, even though he had asked him to untuck it to stop looking like a pansy.

Elisha took his readers from his apron pocket, scanned over the recipe, began to stir the batter until it threatened to splash out of the bowl, and started up the old gaslight oven top with a match. He was careful not to singe the fabric of his grey gloves. By the time he had a pancake sizzling on the large cooking pan, Kara had come downstairs with her aunt Mrs. Miller.

"Good morning, Kara," Elisha smiled at her as he began setting the table. "Did-"

"Stop chatting boy!" Mr. Miller snapped as he sat down. "Make yourself useful, start the coffee and breakfast!"

Elisha turned and huffed to himself.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing, sir. Nothing," Elisha turned back to him, smiled softly, and began to prepare the pot for coffee.

"Kara!" Mr. Miller shouted. "Elbows off the table!"

"Certainly, you old fart." Kara whispered not so quietly under her breath. Mr. Miller stirred at the table and considered leaping over it to strangle her, like he did every morning.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"She said, yes sir!" Elisha quickly interrupted with a squeak, as he always did, and defended her as he laid the Miller's coffee cups on the table and poured each of them black coffee. Mr. Miller slammed his fist down on the checkered tablecloth, causing Elisha to jump.

"I didn't ask you boy!" He yelled. "When I am talking with my niece, I expect you to be quiet! Now serve the damn breakfast."

"It will be a few minutes, sir," Elisha said meekly. "A few pancakes are done, the bacon-"

"I did not ask you for excuses!" He glared at him. "Get it done or I will send you to your room without breakfast!"

Elisha winced and his stomach growled lightly, he had missed dinner last night because he was late on washing their clothes and ironing them just right. He couldn't afford to be denied another meal. Elisha quickly went back to cooking as Mr. and Mrs. Miller began to gossip about the unfortunate people that had the privilege to be called their neighbors. Elisha placed dishes stacked high with pancakes and bacon down on the table. The Millers' didn't waste their time to start scarfing them down. Elisha stood by as he was commanded to do in case they needed more to eat and drink.

The Millers, finished, left the dining room and went down to the sitting room, leaving Kara behind. Elisha, with anticipation, made certain that they weren't going to come back to shout more orders at him before he could eat. Elisha turned to the plate he had laid the pancakes on and frowned. The plate was empty, and the batter was almost all gone, the only thing left was the pungent sausage.

He didn't know the reason why the Millers' hated children or why they even agreed to foster them, perhaps they just wanted free labor around the house. Elisha never knew the reason why they took Kara in. He remembered them being solely against it, something to do with Kara being born out of wedlock or about Kara's father. Although she was the only daughter of Mrs. Miller's deceased half sister, the Millers' treated Kara almost as badly as they treated him. Why they kept her around was even further beyond his understanding. The ten-year-old girl was crass, a prankster, always getting into trouble, downright mean to her aunt and uncle, and Elisha's only friend in this awful place. However, he guessed that the blood relation they had mattered to the Millers', or they planned for Kara to take care of them when they were more advanced in years.

"Psst, Ellie," Kara whispered his dreaded nickname. "Over here."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that." Elisha groaned.

"Oh please, you like it."

Kara slid her plate over to his usual seat at the table and frantically ushered him to come over. There were two pancakes wiped nearly clean of the maple syrup and butter. Suitable for him to eat, Elisha was almost speechless.

"Kara, you know I can't-" Elisha began to smile at her offering. "Wait, aren't those the pancakes I gave you?"

"I had a lot to eat last night," She shrugged. "Don't say anything, you need it more than I do at the moment."

Elisha knew that was a lie, Kara had food, but not enough for a growing and active girl of her age. Elisha was about to argue, but stopped when he met her pleading eyes, something he could never refuse. He sighed and began to eat slowly as Kara watched. She did this often when the Millers neglected him or took things away from him, sometimes he thought he would starve if it wasn't for her.

"So, what's the plan for today?" He asked as he got up to grab a glass of water, only to be stopped by Kara who got it for him.

"I really don't know," she whispered. "I tried listening in on them, but their TV was too loud, all I heard was something about going to the Cleburne Mall."

"The mall?" Elisha stiffened, that was the last place he wanted to go today. Not that he hated the mall, in fact he would love to buy new clothes or books. The problem was that strange things happened around him, not only him but around Kara too. The Millers knew about this but would never acknowledge it.

Once Mr. Miller deemed the roast Elisha had made for dinner was too dry and tried throwing him out of the house while it was raining. When they had gotten to the doorway, Elisha wouldn't budge a bit as if weights had been strapped to his feet. It eventually came to the point that Mr. Miller had pulled a muscle. He decided that Elisha had gained too much weight and sent him to his room without dinner.

That was the least of his problems, it was the ice that gave Elisha most of his troubles. Last year, a group of children at the school had decided it would be funny to pour a bucket of water on him before running off. Before the water could even touch him, it turned to slush and ruined his clothes.

Without his gloves, he leaves a trail of frost wherever he goes. Once in fifth grade, when his class had decided to take a trip to SeaWorld in San Antonio he had frozen all the misting fans, causing small ice droplets to fall upon his classmates. He would never mention what happened in the petting area for the stingrays to anyone, the memory would always haunt him forever.

Lost in troubled thought, Elisha didn't notice frost dance across the corners near the ceiling. When Kara started to shiver slightly, Elisha came to his senses, pulled his gloves on tightly and tried to calm himself as he always did when his emotions got the better of him. He took a deep breath as the temperatures went back to normal, how could he attend the mall trip if he couldn't control himself?

"Is there something wrong?" Kara leaned in.

"No, nothing at all," He laughed nervously. "Any reason why they would be taking us to the mall?"

"Well, it is my eleventh birthday in September," Kara shrugged. "But I don't think they would actually buy me anything, they never do."

Elisha frowned, the Millers' never spent their money on gifts for anyone, even for their closest family members, and especially not on their niece who wanted toys and makeup for her birthday. "Wasted spending" Mr. Miller would call it, why should a child have new toys and new clothes if they would just outgrow them. It was a surprise Elisha had a set of clothes, other than the Miller's hand-me-downs, to put on his back at the end of each year, even if they didn't fit well. Kara sighed and began to chip away at a little rip in the checkered tablecloth.

"Well," Elisha placed down his silverware. "I have enough money saved for a rainy day-"

"The money you were saving for that new boring thick book?" Kara laughed.

"It isn't new, it's a book comprised of all of Shakespeare's sonnets-"

With a roll of her eyes, Kara laid her head back with her mouth open, and began to snore. Elisha gave a half hearted glare and smacked her lightly against the side of her head. Like an annoying younger sister, she always did this to him when he talked about a book he was interested in or currently enjoying.

"It's not boring! Maybe if you paid attention in school," he huffed and crossed his arms, "you would actually enjoy his work!"

"There are more important things in life than reading the works of some dead guy," Kara laughed. "Like reading magazines and talking to boys…"

"Or shutting it so Elisha will buy you a birthday present?" He raised his eyebrow. Kara quickly zipped her lips with her hand and Elisha returned her half eaten plate. He felt a little light headed; even though the maple syrup had been scraped off, some had been absorbed into the pancakes. Elisha wasn't used to that much sugar.

"Now eat the rest of this." Elisha straightened his apron. "I can't finish it."

His stomach already felt full, even though he had only eaten half of the plate. That was the one thing the Miller's liked about him, he didn't eat much.

"But I don't like butter-" She whined, poking at the pancakes, "and you need it more than me."

"Try and scrape it off again," He started piling the dishes into the sink. "You need the energy for today. I'll manage, I always do."

Kara opened her mouth to argue, but Elisha shot her a stern glare. She grumbled and began to scrape the butter off. Elisha smiled at her and returned to the dishes, he carefully took off his gloves one at a time and replaced them with rubber dish gloves. He made sure his bare hands weren't exposed to the open air for more than a few seconds. He didn't want the sink water to freeze, last time it happened Mrs. Miller almost beat him to death.

After that was done, he started with his daily chores: clean the drapes, vacuum the rug, tend to the garden, clean the bathrooms, polish the wood floors, clean the windows inside and out, scrub the porch, polish the china, clean the wooden furniture, feed the cat, and make sure Kara got her bath in the evening.

He was in the middle of tending the garden in the backyard when Mrs. Miller approached him looking furious with Mr. Miller's newspaper in hand. Elisha opened his mouth to greet her but was silenced when the newspaper struck his cheek.

"You stupid boy!" She hissed. "How many times have I told you not to leave your slippers in the parlor!"

"Yes-" Elisha whimpered. "Sorry madam, it won't happen again."

"You make sure it doesn't!" She huffed. "You know what Mr. Miller will do to you if you don't follow the rules."

Elisha shuddered at the thought and nodded. He returned to gardening, wiping the sweat from his brow. He expected Mrs. Miller would leave him but her square toed brown shoes didn't move. Elisha looked back up at her.

"Was there something else ma'am?" Elisha gave her a weak smile.

"We're leaving for the mall in half an hour," she said impatiently. "We can't find anyone to watch you, so you'll be coming with us."

"Yes ma-"

"Stop talking and wasting my time," she barked. "Finish up the garden and try to look presentable for once!"

With that Mrs. Miller turned on her heel, kicked dirt into Elisha's face, and stormed off. Wiping the soil from his eyes, he returned to the garden and worked diligently.

"Nice talking to you too, ma'am." He whispered.

Meow

Elisha glanced across the garden and saw a tabby cat sitting in front of a rose bush. The cat stared in the direction Mrs. Miller had stormed off with a stern look on its face. As if any cat could have a stern look on its face. Elisha tilted his head at the strange cat, thinking it was a neighbors' or a stray. The cat glanced back at him, softening its strict human-like glare before turning into the bushes.

"Um-" Elisha trailed off.

"Caulfield!"

Elisha finished and quickly went inside to the bath to wash up. He could never get into a bathtub or a shower without freezing the water, so he used a wet washcloth and wore rubber gloves to make sure he didn't turn the washcloth into a block of ice.

Elisha then changed into a white button-down shirt and hand-me-down acid wash jeans, a blue jean vest, and brown gloves. Compared to a normal Texan in summer, Elisha looked insane. He had no choice, if he wanted to keep himself and others safe, this was the choice of fashion he would have to wear. With that he grabbed his wallet and checked the contents. It took him months just to save up thirty dollars by working for the neighbors when Mr. and Mrs. Miller weren't around to notice. At least the neighbors were a lot kinder and actually paid him for his services.

Half an hour later, Elisha was on the front lawn, standing next to the Miller's old station wagon, shushing an excited Kara. Elisha opened the car door and ushered Kara to enter, but Mr. Miller slammed it before he could follow and leaned against the door, glowering down at him.

"I'm warning you," he said, putting his ruddy face right up to Elisha's, "I'm warning you now, the both of you- any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in your rooms until New Years."

Elisha raised his eyebrows, that didn't sound bad to him. He'd be left alone, no chores to complete, and he still had some books that he was planning to read. Mr. Miller furrowed his brow at him and clenched his fist next to his head. Elisha took a sharp inhale, terrified.

"We're not going to do anything," squeaked Elisha, "I promise, sir! You have my word!"

Mr. Miller's only reply was a pointed glare. Elisha knew Mr. Miller didn't believe him, but he stood aside and let Elisha follow Kara into the back seat. Once everyone was in the car, they began the drive to the mall.

While Mr. Miller drove, he complained about the weather, the drivers on the road, the government; if it existed, he complained about it. Elisha and Kara whispered in the back seat, making sure their conversation wasn't heard.

"They'll never let us go off on our own," Kara whispered. "And they won't go near the department stores, what's the plan?"

"What plan?"

"To get my birthday present!" Kara whispered and rolled her eyes.

"Plan-," Elisha scratched his head. "I haven't really thought that far-"

"Stop whispering and speak up!" Mrs. Miller shouted at them.

"Yes madam," Elisha said softly.

"Fat old peckerwo-'' Kara stuck her tongue out at her and made an inappropriate gesture with her finger.

"WHAT?!"

"She said yes ma'am!" Elisha squealed and slapped her hand down so that Mrs. Miller wouldn't see. The car ride continued in a tense peace between them. Elisha and Kara continued talking in hushed voices that wouldn't raise suspicion from the Millers.

"What did you dream about last night?" Kara asked. "That nightmare with the giant black dog or the good one with the woman?"

"The good one," Elisha smiled to himself. "It gets better every time, she smiles down at me and reaches out with her hand and I'm-"

"Wrapped in unconditional love." Kara finished his sentence, Elisha opened his mouth. "And that she's your birth mother."

"Oh please," Mr Miller scoffed. "I know your kind of people. Your birth mother wanted nothing to do with you, if she did then she wouldn't have left you with foster care."

"Well, no one knows that, sir." Elisha said. "She may have loved me but just couldn't provide-"

"Your mother and father were probably drunks," he continued as if he had said nothing at all. "Yes, I know their kind. Wobbling about, not paying the bills, going nowhere in life. Your mother probably had you out of wedlock and couldn't bear the shame of a little bastard."

Elisha's heart sank at his words, Mr. and Mrs. Miller snickered and continued on about the drivers on the road. He knew somewhere in his heart they were wrong but he would always have doubts about his birth parents. The temperature in the car began to drop as if the air blowing from the vents had turned from a cool breeze into an arctic wind. Mr. and Mrs. Miller began to shiver and tried fiddling with the air conditioning. It wasn't until Kara began to shiver that Elisha began to calm himself.

This happened when Elisha did not control his emotions, he could turn a room into a meat freezer. Mr. Miller parked the car and barked at them to get out, they sluggishly did so and followed the Millers wherever they went. For the most part, Elisha enjoyed the mall. Even though the crowds of people made him nervous, he could smell the fresh baked goods from vendors and see Kara with a smile on her face.

The afternoon dragged by, Mr. and Mrs. Miller were stopping at all the clothing stores to spend the extra money from Mr. Miller's recent raise he had gotten at work for selling mediocre cars at outrageous prices. Elisha had learned that outings with the Millers consisted of both good and bad moments. The worst part, Elisha and Kara had to tell Mrs. Miller she looked good in whatever she wore, even if Elisha thought some of the items Mrs. Miller wore were not suited for a woman of her age.

The trip became more bad than good when on the way to the next clothing store, the Millers both had to use the bathroom and left Elisha and Kara with their bags. Before Mr. Miller had left, he had threatened them that if they moved from the area around the mall's fountain they wouldn't see daylight for a week. The moment they were left unattended, Kara wanted her present.

"I said no, Kara." Elisha whispered. "We don't know how long they'll take, they could be out at any minute!"

"C'mon Ellie!" She pleaded. "The department store is just around the corner, I could take the money and run around and buy myself something really quick."

"No, Kara," Elisha crossed his arms. "It's too risky! I'll buy you something when I-"

"And when are you going to get the chance to come here again?" She pleaded. "You don't have a car and they don't let you leave the street without them!"

"Kara…" He sighed.

"Please, Ellie." She fixed a pathetic gaze with her green-blue eyes, and Elisha caved.

"Alright- Alright!" He took out his coin purse. "I'm giving you half for you to spend, be quick Kara, I mean it!"

"Oh thank you- thank you!" Kara took all the money before he could take his readers out to divide the money in half, gave him an unexpected hug and ran off before he could reprimand her for taking all of his savings. Elisha sighed and watched her speed around the corner, with the widest smile on her face.

"Nice kid." said a voice from his right. A British voice. Elisha jumped slightly and turned; it was a girl. A girl around his age… an attractive girl, probably a little older than him, with curly black hair, dark coffee eyes, and the most perfect skin. Like Elisha, she had the same hooded eyes that intensified her stare. He looked to his right and left, making sure she was talking to him.

"Sorry, couldn't help but notice the exchange you had with your sister," She sat next to him, a little too close.

"Oh no, she's- she's not my sister," He gave a small smile and scooched away from her. "But she's like one I guess-"

"I come down here a lot for vacation but I've never seen you before." She interrupted him and moved in closer again. "Are you new?"

"No-No," Elisha moved away again. "I've lived in Glen Rose for the last five years, it's not that far-"

"Really? The tourist trap town?" She smiled, seeming intrigued. "Seems like I would have remembered a face like yours."

"Well- I um- heh-" His pale cheeks burned at that obvious flirtation. "I guess I have a pretty common face then."

"You come here often?" She moved in closer to him, pressing her shoulder against his. Elisha looked into her ocean blue eyes and glanced down at her pink glossy lips that formed into a small crooked smile. Mr. Miller often complained about what kids Elisha's age with hormones blaring wanted, he just never imagined it would be directed at him.

"No," He inched away from her and glanced down at his lap. "I-I don't get out much."

Elisha looked back up at her, it was like she didn't hear a word he had just said to her. She came closer to him with a weird look in her eye. They kept going around the fountain until Elisha had ended up in the same spot they were at before.

"Pardon my rudeness," She smiled. "I'm Leah O'Sullivan."

"I'm Elisha, Elisha Caulfield." He squeaked out. A crooked smile formed on Leah's face, like he had told her that she was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen. Elisha gulped and started to shake slightly, afraid of what might happen next.

"Caulfield? What a handsome name." She asked. "Do you have a middle name Elisha?"

"Uh, no-" He scooted away. "it's always just been Elisha Caulfield."

"Well just 'Elisha Caulfield'," Leah continued inching toward him. Elisha held back a sigh, preparing to get up and flee if it was necessary; he even hoped the Miller's would come back soon.

"Oi!" Came from behind him. "Leah, what do you think you're doing?!"

Elisha looked past her to a dark haired boy about his stature and size. They looked as if they could be siblings. He growled and stormed up. Elisha could feel the anger radiating off him, he cowered slightly in his presence.

"Damn killjoy… Corvus," Leah drawled out. "I was just…"

"Hitting on a random guy while we're supposed to be guiding Cedric through the mall, must I remind you it's his first time in America! It doesn't help when you go off to hit on every Muggle who has self esteem issues-"

"Muggle?" Elisha repeated the strange word. The boy Corvus jumped and stared at him. What the other boy had said registered in his head. "Self esteem- excuse me?!"

"Corvus, Leah?!" Elisha raised an eyebrow and looked past them both to spot another boy. Elisha's jaw nearly dropped, the boy was attractive, model-like attractive, a person someone would see in pictures in a magazine. He came strolling up with a bag from Sears and a big smile on his face.

"You'll never believe what I bought with those dollars," he smiled and rummaged through his bag and pulled out an electric blanket. "The saleswoman says it heats up by turning this dial, but I don't understand why it has a tail…"

The boy traced his hand along the electrical cord with a puzzled look on his face. Both the boy and girl stared at this boy, Cedric, who Elisha immediately thought was insane. Elisha glanced to his left and started to inch away from them, seizing the window of opportunity to bolt away from them.

"Hey, wait, don't go!" Leah reached out and grabbed him without warning, gripping his forearm a little too hard.

"Let me go!" He pulled against her grip, but she wasn't listening. "Help! Someone help!"

"Hey- shh-" she began, her fingers slipped under his long sleeves. "I'm not-ow!"

She recoiled quickly and held her hand tightly as she hissed in pain. Elisha knew exactly what had happened and went into a panic. Ice came from under where he was sitting and froze the large fountain. People passing by stopped and stared at the scene unfolding. Some shouted in shock, now Elisha really started to panic.

"Did either of you do that?"

"Ellie! Ellie!- look what…" Kara stopped at the sight of the frozen fountain. "I bought?"

The sound of a woman shrieking behind him made him jump. Mrs. Miller had walked out of the bathroom. Elisha paled when she started marching over to him. It was like the world was crumbling all around him.

Everything happened so fast. When Mr. Miller walked out of the restroom, they were hauled out into the parking lotas the bystanders and group of teens watched them get dragged out silently. They didn't say a word until Mr. Miller turned his head around and then proceeded to grab Elisha tightly by his hair.

"What…. happened?" He growled tugging tightly on his bangs, causing him to cry out in pain.

"I-I don't know!" He lied. "It was that group! The ones talking to me! They did something!"

"You're a lying bastard!" He threw him hard up against the old station wagon. Elisha hit the ground with a whimper and propped himself up on the parking lot concrete.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Kara shouted. "How is this his fault-"

"Shut up!" Mr. Miller hissed at Kara. Elisha composed himself, closed his eyes, and prepared to get hit. Until Mrs. Miller started screaming. Elisha glanced up, Mr. Miller's shirt sleeve had caught fire. Elisha didn't know why, but he leaped over and began to try to hit the flames out. All the while Kara had a big grin on her face.

Mr. Miller shouted, dropped on the ground and started to roll furiously back and forth. Mrs. Miller kept screaming and Kara started to laugh and point at her uncle, all the while Elisha stood frozen in place. With the flames subdued, Mr. Miller stood slowly, his face turning purple as he glared at Elisha.

"In. The. Car." He growled. "Now."

Elisha didn't hesitate to open the door and throw Kara into the back seat. He eyed Mr. and Mrs. Miller and jumped in beside Kara. Nothing was said as they sped out of the parking lot and onto the road. The Millers' shot glares through the rearview mirror as often as possible. If felt as if they'd just left the parking lot, but they were back at the house, being ordered to sit in the living room.

Elisha made sure that when they sat on the couch, Kara was the closest one to the door if things turned ugly like they usually did. Mr. and Mrs. Miller stalked into the living room, one right after the other, Elisha tensed up when he saw the belt held firmly in Mr. Miller's strong hand. They began to circle them like predators stalking their prey.

"Being smart are we?!" Mr. Miller shouted, holding up the makeup Kara had bought herself. "Thought you could distract us and pull a fast one, did you?!"

Elisha cowered as his voice got louder, Mr. Miller assumed they had frozen the fountain to use money they stole from them to buy a useless makeup set.

"Sir, that was money I saved-"

"QUIET!" Mr. Miller smashed Kara's makeup to the ground and stomped on it.

"Go on and piss wind why don't-" Kara whispered until the belt Mr. Miller had in his hand whipped across the air close to their faces.

"You will talk when I tell you to!"

Elisha clung to the back of the couch as the temperature in the room dropped. He didn't know how Kara could sit there and give the same cold glare back to them. Mr. Miller continued on with his rant.

"Sir," Elisha spoke softly. "How do-"

Mr. Miller kicked the coffee table. Elisha held himself back from jumping and tried to calm down. He glanced up at the corners of the ceiling as frost started to form and slowly make its way down the walls.

"Don't make a mockery of me boy!" Mr. Miller growled. "We both know one of you two had something to do with the shenanigans at the Mall!"

"Of course we did," Kara rolled her eyes. "It's never your fault when something happens, old man."

"Kara!" Elisha hissed quietly.

Moments after Kara made that comment, Mr. Miller had lunged over the coffee table and grabbed Kara by the hair and threw her to the side. Elisha sat petrified as Kara's head made contact with the end table and she collapsed on the carpet floor. Elisha sat up and hesitated to rush to her side. Kara groaned and pushed herself up, cupping the new bleeding gash on her head. Mr. Miller moved in, ready to whip her, Elisha went on pure instinct.

"Sir, no!" Elisha grabbed hold of Mr. Miller's forearm. "Please, she's only a child!"

"Stop it boy!" Mrs. Miller moved in and grabbed hold of Elisha around the waist, pulling him away as Mr. Miller raised his belt over an oblivious Kara. Elisha lost all self control, he shoved Mrs. Miller in the face and in one motion leapt on Mr. Miller's back and covered his eyes with his hands, pulling him back.

"Kara, go!" Elisha grunted and Mr. Miller banged him up against the wall.

"GET OFF ME YOU BASTARD!" Mr. Miller yelled and frantically looked about. Elisha held on tight; if he let go, he was dead. Mr. Miller shook himself left and right, cursing Elisha as he did so. He slammed his back against the wall, trying to get him off. Elisha bit his lower lip to stop himself from screaming in pain.

He made the mistake of letting go of Mr. Miller, landing on the floor with an audible thud. As soon as he was on the floor Mr. Miller had grabbed him by the hair and raised him up slowly by his platinum strands. Elisha's eyes flooded with tears and he bellowed in pain.

"Now, you're going to learn the consequences of your actions."

It was the phrase Mr. Miller used that struck terror in him. It meant things were going to get worse. Elisha glanced quickly over at Mrs. Miller, who turned her head away from the scene. Elisha began to beg through sobs that he was sorry, but it wasn't enough. Mr. Miller dragged Elisha behind him up the stairs to their room.