2 months later...

Emily's POV

"You coming down for dinner?" Oliver asked, standing in the doorway.

"I'll just be another minute," I said before looking back into the mirror Sarah had bought for me a couple of weeks ago.

I quickly brushed through my long brown hair that was definitely in need of a cut. I winced as I tried to pull through a knot only to hear an amused chuckle coming from the doorway. Oliver walked into my room, standing behind me and found the tangled mess, his grin remaining still on his face as he looked into the mirror before purposely brushing his fingers through his dirty blonde hair effortlessly. Somehow he still managed to pull off the mess he created. I gave him a blank look which caused a light chuckle to leave his lips.

"Is this really what girls do all day?" Oliver teased as he took the brush from my hand.

"I would gladly swap my hair for yours so you can suffer the pain and all the wonders of finding your hair everywhere," I rambled on until Oliver passed me back my brush.

"I'll save you a seat," He smiled before leaving the room, his footsteps slowly fading down the hall.

I ran my hand through my hair only to notice the knot was gone. How on earth did he-

I shook my head, placing my bush on my desk before turning to the door. My hand hovered over the light switch but before I could turn it off I stared at my curtains, my body becoming still an instant later as I watched the material slowly moving. I blinked my dry eyes that had been staring at the closed curtains but now they sat still. I dismissed my unreasonable thoughts before flicking the light switch and leaving my room. Once I reached the stairs I stopped when I saw Connor and Oliver sitting silently at the bottom steps.

"What are you two doing?" I whispered loud enough for them to hear me.

Oliver instantly turned and waved his hand for me to walk down. I quietly moved down the wooden steps and sat on the step behind Oliver joining the strange silence. That was until I heard Connor's annoying voice in my ear.

"Hey cupcake, want to join the fun?" He said, a smirk soon curling through his lips.

My fists curled at the name but I tried to contain myself as I turned to Oliver trying to ignore Connor.

"Why are we sitting here?" I asked Oliver.

"You're welcome to sit on my lap if your feeling uncomforta-"

"Can you shut up, some of us would like to eat tonight without feeling sick," Oliver glared at Connor.

It didn't take long since I arrived to find out that these kind of comments from Connor were going to become a daily struggle. My hatred grew more knowing that Oliver was the one getting treated even worse by Connor, yet whenever I would try to intervene he would stop me before I could say anything. I thought about saying something to Sarah but Oliver was quick to turn against the idea. He would always stick up for me even though he was the one suffering more. He actually cares about me.

I was brought out of my thoughts as the argument between the two began building up.

"At least I don't go acting like her lovesick puppy!" Connor shot back.

Oliver's face turned red, his face fuelling with anger which only softened once we heard loud voices coming from the kitchen.

"Everyone be quiet," he hushed.

Oliver's POV

I let my anger and embarrassment subside as I put my face against the cold wood of the staircase hoping to get rid of the warmth of my cheeks. I heard the voices of Sarah and Mike get louder and that was when I could start to hear them clearly.

Why did they have to do this now?

Why in front of Emily?

She was just starting to like it here and now they were going to change that. I carefully looked down the hallway making sure I wasn't seen from the foot of the stairs. I swallowed the lump in my throat as their voices echoed down the hall. This hasn't happened in a couple of months but I knew it was only a matter of time. I was only worried about what he might say and what Emily might hear.

"Mike, you're drunk!" Sarah said sternly though I could hear the fear in her voice as she kept her distance from the unstable man.

"N-No I'm not! I just h-had one beer!" Mike waved her off causing himself to stumble back.

I curled my fists, the uncontrollable anger building up as I looked at the state of him. His words were slurred and he could barely stand. He had probably been drinking all day. I was glad Emily could not see him since she sitting behind me but I couldn't prevent her from hearing their argument.

"Mike please, you're going to fall just sit down-"

"NO!" He barked at her making my hands tighten around the wooden bars of the staircase. "You think you can tell me what to do! You think it's okay to bring all these kids into our lives, they don't belong to us!" He snapped.

I bit my lip in frustration feeling regret slowly sink in my stomach. I knew Emily wasn't the only one he was referring to. I never told her they were not my real parents. Emily and I have started to become really close and she has finally started to open up to me. I understand how hard it has been for her and I want her to trust me. I know after this she is going to want to ask questions later. I wanted to tell her about it sooner but I was just waiting for the right time, and this definitely wasn't it.

There was also something else...

I looked behind me to see Emily with the same expression as me. Her face only holding a look of hurt and confusion about what she was hearing.

I sighed quietly and turned back, my eyes staring down at my feet as I ran through the endless possibilities in my head, none of which were good.

How am I going to explain this to her?

Connor's POV

I scoffed at the argument that only got louder until I heard small sobs from my mother echoing throughout the house. Honestly, I couldn't care less that my parents are fighting, they've been at it for years now and they have only gotten worse since Emily arrived. It was only a couple weeks ago that he started going out late at night and coming home drunk again.

Usually, I would hear stumbling and crashing noises -mostly because my room was right next to the front door- that involved a lot of cursing followed by another argument. That would usually happen in the early morning, today he had been drinking all day leading to an argument before he would usually leave the house. New record.

This was no problem for me as I already knew my father favourited me. He told me himself. Ever since Oliver accidentally slipped up about his little crush on Emily it's been my personal goal to take her away from him, I mean the kid doesn't stand a chance anyway and Emily deserves someone who can actually love her, someone like me. I can tell myself I'm not mean and controlling but I'd be lying, but Emily doesn't need to know that because I'll be with her soon enough, even if it means forcing her to.

For now, I'll sit around and wait for her to come to me. It will happen soon enough since Oliver will have some explaining to do, I'm just waiting for the right time. Once he's spilled the truth and Emily sees what kind of a person he really is, she will come crawling back to me.

Emily POV

My eyes widened as I listen to the very loud argument. I wasn't sure how to react, I only listened as they continued.

"Please keep your voice down the kids might hear you," Sarah tried to hush her husband not knowing that we are all listening to every word they were saying.

I couldn't help but notice Oliver's hand gripping tightly on the staircase.

"Connor is my only son, those other two mean nothing to me!" he yelled back at her, "Get rid of the girl, she does not belong here!" Mike shouted followed by the smashing of a beer bottle that must have been thrown to the floor.

The loud noise caused a lengthy silence to run through the house.

My elbow slipped from my knee and my hands fell to my lap. Anger ran through my body as Mike's word repeated in my head. My nails dug into my skin as my fists curled. I couldn't believe he could say something like that! I know he is drunk but that was more than just the alcohol taking effect. He meant what he said, I could hear it in his voice.

How could I actually believe I had finally found a home. I must have been stupid to think they actually cared for me.

I heard someone curse under their breath before I felt movement next to my legs. I looked up to see Oliver quickly walking up the stairs, his expression holding nothing but anger. The yelling started back up from the kitchen and I knew I didn't want to stay to hear anything more. I stood to my feet and went to follow Oliver but a firm grip held on to my wrist.

"What are you doing!?" I said trying to break free of Connors grip which only tightened as he held me back.

"He needs to cool off," Connor said softly, his face actually holding a look of concern for once.

I still tried to pull away from his grip but after getting nowhere I exhaled loudly and sat back down next to him.

"I'm so sorry," Connor said, his eyes staring down at his feet.

I was taken back at his apology since he hadn't apologised for anything he said to me or Oliver since I got here. Maybe it was because of his parents.

"It wouldn't be the first time a family member hasn't liked me," I said only for Connor to shake his head.

"No, I mean for acting like a jerk since you got here."

I certainly wasn't expecting that kind of apology.

Connor stood up from the staircase walking down from the last step to the floor.

"I don't expect you to accept my apology," Connor said as he held out his hand, "but at least let me explain."

I hesitated but eventually took his hand and stood to my feet. Connor walked to his room and opened the door. As he walked in I stopped outside. He turned back and sighed.

"Relax Emily, I just want to talk about what happened, nothing else."

"You can say it out here."

I noticed his jaw clench for a moment.

"Do you really want to hear the rest of that argument because I'm guessing there's not going to be a lot of talking involved."

He did have a point.

I hesitated for a bit but soon enough I slowly walked into his room.

It was surprisingly cleaner than I thought. A double bed took up most of the space while along one the walls was a desk, while the other wall had two windows and a stereo in between. I rolled my eyes knowing Mike words were true that Connor was his favourite. Oliver's room was nothing compared to it.

Connor POV

I knew I wouldn't have to wait long but this was happening sooner than I thought. I have to admit, this nice thing guy really isn't easy. Just you wait, cupcake.

It was finally time to break Oliver's little secret.

Emily POV

"Emily, listen. I'm sorry about my father, he has never been the most understanding or welcoming person you will ever meet."

I didn't care about what Mike said to me. It was what he said about Oliver that made me angry.

"Do you think Oliver will be alright?" I asked knowing I should be making sure he is alright rather than staying here with Connor.

It wasn't until I turned to Connor that I noticed just how serious he was.

"Emily I'm going to tell you this but you cannot mention it to Oliver, do you understand?"

"Tell me what?" I asked becoming impatient.

"Oliver has oppositional defiant disorder."

I slowly felt my hands uncurl from their tight grip as I stared at Connor letting his words sink in. I thought Connor was going to explain to me what his father had said but I was not expecting this.

"Oliver is an orphan, just like you. My parents adopted him when he was nine after my mother had found him running away from the orphanage. She insisted on taking him in as her own but my father was against it, he didn't want anything to do with a child that wasn't his. He paid no attention to Oliver, he ignored him for most of his younger years which only made things worse. When Oliver got older he took his anger out on my father whenever he could and fighting against an alcoholic adult wasn't a pretty sight. It wasn't until he got hurt that my mother forced him to go to counselling."

I had felt all kinds of pain being an orphan but I have never experienced anything compared to what Oliver had. All this time he has been so kind to me, so understanding and yet I never knew what pain he was hiding behind those smiles...forced smiles. Why didn't he tell me? Did he really think I would see him any differently?

"Oliver has been prescribed medication he must take, but now that you arrived he believed it had gone away. He has been trying to avoid taking it but that will only make things worse, it will make things harder for him, it will be too painful."

With that said I knew I had to see Oliver.

I approached Connors door quickly, my hand gripping the handle firmly as I pulled it open but before I could get out the door Connor's voice left me standing in the doorway.

"Emily now is not a good time to see him. Let him cool off," A short sigh escaped Connors lips as he stood from his bed, "I know you won't listen to me but I'm warning you, he could hurt you."

Not as much as you hurt him...

Connor's POV

I couldn't help but grin as she left the room, her expression stiff with grief and confusion. I would always see the same in Oliver, I guess its something they were both used to. It's a shame really that I had to go to such lengths but now that my part is done, all I need to do now is wait to pick up the pieces.

Emily POV

I quickly approached Oliver's bedroom door but I pulled my hand away from the handle as I tried to think through what I was about to do. I wasn't sure what I was going to say to him. Connor did warn me that I should leave him alone but after hearing about all he has been through, I couldn't leave him to deal with this on his own. I care about him and he needs to know that someone is here for him, especially living with a family like this.

I inhaled a slow breath and twisted the doorknob that opened revealing the dark room.

I hope you liked this chapter!

What do you think is going to happen next?