Chapter One

The swing creaked eerily as she sat down and began to push herself back and forth. All around her the autumn leaves swirled around the ground with each gust of wind. She pulled her coat around herself in an attempt to keep out the autumn chill and reshaped the scarf around her neck. The street in front of her bustled with people on their way to work, coffee cups in hand.

Aria resisted the urge to poke her tongue out to all the seeming normal people who wondered by the small park. How could they walk around and act so happy when her world was crumbling down all around her.

"Aria?"

She looked behind her to see who had called her name.

"Mike? Shouldn't you be at school?"

He dropped his sports bag on the ground and wandered over to the empty swing next to his sister.

"I could ask you the same thing" He answered as he sat down and began to swing himself. She forced a small smile on her face and looked a cross to him.

"You didn't came home last night" she stated, waiting for an explanation.

His gaze left his feet and fell on her face. "Was dad mad?"

Aria shifted uncomfortably in the swing and pulled the scarf tighter around her neck. "You could say that"

"Shit, sorry"

She waved him off and continued to push herself back and forth. "He is always angry these days. I think mum running off with her toy boy has really messed him up"

The two sat in silence, swinging together in unison. As they swung higher and higher, memories of when they were younger came flooding back to her. It seemed like only yesterday she was in this very park, swinging with Mike as their parents watched on while holding hands and laughing. She resisted the urge to burst into tears; how she wished she could go back to those days.

She hadn't noticed Mike had stopped swinging until he pulled her own swing to a stop. She looked up to him, his eyes clouded with concern.

"Promise me you will get out if his temper becomes to much" Aria swallowed the lump rising in her throat.

"Your not coming back home tonight are you?"

He smiled sadly at his sister and walked over to his bag and pulled it up and over his shoulder. "Dad has hit me one to many times. I don't think I could ever go back there"

Aria wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug her brother, tell him she knows how he feels and everything will be alright, but she remained in the swing.

Mike walked back to her and held out a piece of paper to her. "This is where I'll be staying. Just promise me you won't let him hurt you"

She nodded and took the paper, tucking it neatly into her pocket.

"I promise"

It was barely a whisper, but he had heard her. Mike smiled at her one more time and walked away, leaving Aria once again alone. Her hand instinctively reached for her neck. Thank God for this cold weather, because without it she would have a hard time hiding her bruises. She didn't hold back her tears this time, letting them fall silently down her cheek.

Promise broken.

Just a small chapter to start with to see if it gathers enough interest for me to keep this will be an Ezria story, so please bare with me! Any warnings that apply will be displayed before each chapter, but this in not a violent fic. Please Review and let me know if you are intrigued and want me to keep going!

Snellee