4am: Wake up. 5am: Be downstairs showered, dressed, and ready for the day. 5:30-7: Chores. 7-7:30: Breakfast pending on completion of chores. 7:30 on the dot: In the car for school.

It was a routine the girls knew all too well. At 4am, their mother, Stephanie, would unlock the door to the small attic room the four girls shared. Once the door was unlocked, they were expected to get up, get showered, and get dressed and be downstairs promptly by 5 for chores. And so began the day.

Sasha winced at the pain in her back as she reached for the laundry detergent, grabbing a pile of clothes she had just sorted and throwing them into the washer. She hadn't been able to fall back asleep after Bayley had woken them all up; something that wasn't exactly uncommon in their room, which is what had led to her falling asleep in class yesterday and her teaching, purely out of concern, calling home to tell her parents about it. Little did her fourth grade teacher know that calling home wasn't going to solve the problem in Sasha's house. Her mistake had led to six strikes across her back with her father's belt, one for every day her teacher had told him it happened.

The nine-year-old refused to continue thinking about her punishment, instead focusing on her chores. Each girl was assigned twelve chores; six for the morning before school and six to be completed after school. With 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and multiple "themed" rooms, there was never not something that needed to be done. As Stephanie and Hunter both pointed out on a daily basis, their chores were to teach them that nothing in life was free, and in their case, that included food. Both breakfast and dinner were dependent on whether or not chores were finished, and all four of the girls had missed their fair share of meals due to not completing their chores over the years.

"Hey, you okay?"

Becky looked up at the sound of Becky's voice, offering her a small smile. "I'm okay. I was just zoning out," she muttered, shoving a load of laundry into the washer.

"You want some help? I finished mine already," offered Becky, pouring the detergent into the washer. "Do you have anything else to do?" asked Becky, Sasha shrugging.

"You should help Bayley. You know she has a hard time with making the beds the way mom likes it."

"Charlotte helped her," stated Becky, Sasha nodding. She hated that she felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey, what is it? What's wrong?" asked Becky, shutting the door to the laundry room, forcing her sister's gaze onto her.

"Why do we always get punished and other kids don't? None of the other kids in my class get hit with belts or don't get to eat meals," said Sasha, Becky sighing as she pulled her sister in for a hug.

"Every house is different, Sash. Mom and dad are just strict, that's all. We just gotta stay out of trouble and it'll all work out, okay?" said Becky, wiping the tears from her sister's eyes.

"I guess," muttered Sasha, wrapping her arms around her sister's waist.

"Girls! Breakfast!"

"Come on, we don't want to be late," said Becky, reopening the door and heading towards the kitchen, Sasha following closely behind.

"Well, if it isn't one of the heirs to the McMahon empire. We all saw you pull up in that limo this morning."

Becky rolled her eyes as she shut her locker door. She knew that voice all too well. She let out a deep sigh, turning around and coming face to face with Nia and Tamina.

"Just leave me alone," she muttered. She hated when their parents made them come to school in the limo. It was usually only when both she and her dad had to be at work early. Otherwise, Stephanie preferred to drive them on their own.

"Or what? You gonna call daddy and have him hire someone to fight us for you? What do you weigh, 30 pounds? You couldn't take us on your best day," stated Nia, stepping closer to Becky. The two girls had been picking on her for her petite size for months. It was beginning to drive Becky crazy.

"Just leave, please," she said, trying to sidestep them. Again, they blocked her.

"As if, McMahon. Where's your sister to protect you? Wouldn't matter anyway. The two of you couldn't even fight if you wanted to. Ironic, really, given how your family has so much money."

Becky had heard enough. She was sick of being picked on for her family's money. She was sick of being picked on for her size. If they really wanted to live with her parents, they could! She'd gladly switch places.

Let them feel what it was like to get hit with a belt on a near daily basis. Let them feel what it was like to be forced to go hungry because you couldn't complete your chores. They really wanted to know what it was like living in that giant house? They could sleep in the windowless attic. They could get punished for just breathing, if that's what they really wanted!

"Oh, look, Becky's going to cry. Did we hurt your feelings little Becky? Go ask daddy to buy you some new clothes after school. That'll make you feel better," teased Nia, Becky wiping away the tears.

"I said, leave me alone you stupid Oger!" cried Becky, kicking Nia in the knee and shoving Tamina aside before taking off through the crowd of people that had just stood there and watched her get verbally attacked; none of them bothering to do a damn thing about it. Story of her life.

"Ms. McMahon."

"What!" cried Becky, turning around to face whoever it was that was calling her, her eyes widening at the sight of her principal.

"My office. Now."

And once again, Becky was in trouble for simply defending herself. Sometimes she wondered why she even bothered anymore.

"Sasha, can you come talk to me at my desk please?"

Sasha looked up from the notebook she was supposed to be writing in, sighing as she saw her teaching standing at her seat. She hadn't even noticed her stopping.

"Sure," said Sasha, getting up from her seat and walking over to her teachers desk. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, not at all. I was just wondering if there was something bothering you today. You just haven't been yourself lately," stated Ms. Wilson, Sasha shrugging.

"No, I'm okay," said Sasha, gazing around at the other kids who were all still doing their work, wishing she could be one of them.

"You still seem tired today. Did you not get enough sleep last night again?"

Sasha shook her head, growing uncomfortable. "No, I did. I promise," said Sasha, not wanting Ms. Wilson to call home again. If her mom or dad found out she was still having trouble staying awake, they'd punish her even more than they had yesterday.

"Sasha, I'm worried about you. Where's that spunky girl that I like?" asked her teacher, trying to get Sasha to smile. Sasha simply shrugged.

"I don't know. Can I please just go back and do my work?" asked Sasha, Ms. Wilson sighing as she realized it was a lost cause trying to get Sasha to talk.

"Okay, go ahead. But if you need someone to talk to, you can always talk to me."

"Great, thanks," said Sasha, quickly returning to her seat.

"How bad was it?" asked Charlotte, sitting down on the field during their lunch period. Becky shrugged, tears welling up in her eyes. "She called mom. Told her I was fighting and I called Nia fat. Which isn't even true. I called her an Ogre."

"Oh Bex...why would you do that? You know better than to fight back," said Charlotte, wrapping her arms around her sister.

"Because they wouldn't leave me alone! They started it! They kept picking on me for being a McMahon, for being too skinny, telling me I couldn't fight them! They do it every day, Char. I can't escape it! At home I'm mom and dad's punching bag. At school I get verbally assaulted everywhere I turn, and if I fight back or say something, I get in trouble. Every. Single. Time. I'm so sick of it!" cried Becky, drawing her knees up to her chest as she began to cry.

Charlotte drew her sister into her arms, wanting so badly to just protect her from all the bad things in the world. Unfortunately, most of the bad stuff was in their own home, and nobody could protect either of them from that. And she certainly wasn't going to be able to protect her sister from whatever punishment she recieved tonight for fighting in school.

"Shh. It's okay, Becca. It's alright, okay? Someday, I promise you, it's going to be better. Someday it'll all be better and you and me and Sasha and Bayley….we're all going to be okay, alright? We just gotta stick it out until then, sister," whispered Charlotte, rubbing her arms up and down her sister's back as she spoke.

Charlotte sighed at the thought. Someday. Someday. Someday. The only question was when was someday going to come?

A/N: Thanks for all the love for this story so far! Keep reviewing and following it!