Joey lay down on his bedroom floor; battered, bruised and crying hysterically.

His father had decided that Joey did know where his mother and sister had gone, and decided to beat the answer out of him.

Serenity wasn't there to protect him that time.

Joey's father had just banged out of his room, and had just left the house, slamming the front door behind him.

Joey couldn't stop crying. He sat up and caught sight of himself in the mirror – tears falling down his cheeks, his eyes small and red from crying, his lip swollen, bruises beginning to appear on his face and body.

Yet again, he looked pathetic.

Joey stood upright, not daring to look at his reflection again. He walked over to the window and looked outside. The sky had greyed over, and rain was pouring down, hitting the glass noisily. The weather reflected his mood.

He wondered where his sister was now. He wondered where she was going.

What a way to upset him: Taking away his best friend in the whole world, his little sister, to who knows where, and leave him with his dad who had now resolved to using him as a punch bag and leaving him with nothing but bruises.

But the bruises felt deeper than just on his skin. Joey felt as though his father had kicked and punched his heart around.

Joey teared himself away from the window, and, still sobbing uncontrollably, went into Serenity's room.

It felt so...different without her. Nothing had changed, just a few toys and some of her clothes had gone missing, but it felt like much more was missing than just a few items.

Joey sat on Serenity's bed and stared around hopelessly. He felt as though he deserved the bruises and the pain he was feeling. He couldn't have let Serenity down anymore than he already had done.

He was such a useless kid, and he knew it. He just couldn't figure out why he was such a loser.

He would help Serenity; he would see her again, no matter how long it took for him to find her.