The next morning, Julie woke up and found herself alone in the apartment. She hadn't expected the brothers to leave before noon, but she had been mistaken. They left a good-morning note with a roll of quarters so she could do their laundry. It made her chuckle as she pocketed the quarters and made herself some breakfast. She was thinking about the night at the pub while she ate her cereal. Even though it had been over a full day since she had seen the man who had slapped her, she still couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen him somewhere before.

Rinsing out her bowl, she decided to watch TV for a little while. There wasn't much on as she flipped through the two or three channels the old set picked up. With a sigh, she grudgingly admitted to herself that it was just plain boring without the twins to keep her company. After an hour or two, she gathered up all the dirty clothes in the apartment to haul them to the laundromat. In a little tote-bag, she stuffed her romance novel and a few other things to entertain her.

While she was in the bedroom, she noticed Pokey laying on the bed. She picked him up and ran her fingers along his seams. The stuffed animal was the one thing she had left from her uncle before he had been killed. The penguin was almost as big as her chest, perfect to cuddle up with at night. Julie found what she was looking for among the stitching and a few moments later stuffed Pokey in the tote as well.

The trek to the laundromat was hard without the boys' help. She nearly had to drag the bags of clothes behind her to make it. But once she got there, she found the place rather empty. As she sat, waiting for each load to finish, she read more of her romance novel. Every once in a while though, she paused and tried to remember where she had seen that face. In the middle of the third load, the answer dawned on her.

"Oh shit," she groaned to herself as she stuffed clothes into the dryer.

She remembered seeing the face before at her parents' house several months ago. The man's name still escaped her, but not the fact that he had been one of her father's new co-workers. One of his new sleazy friends. She could only hope the man would be too embarrassed about being beaten up by a girl to mention anything to her father. Of course, even then, her hope wasn't much. Sitting back down in her seat, she pulled Pokey out of the bag and set him on her lap. He was heavier than when she had first picked him up that morning, and she knew perfectly well why.

---

The laundromat experience was entirely uneventful. By the time late afternoon rolled around, she was finished and hauling the clothes back to the apartment. Everything neatly put away, she wondered what there was to make for dinner. She didn't know exactly when the boys would be home, but she did know there was no way they could all eat off the few scraps of pizza that were left in the fridge. Nothing else seemed very appetizing either. With a sigh, she decided she had better go do a little shopping.

Encouraged by the lack of trouble earlier, Julie decided to leave her novel and Pokey behind on the table. She made sure to have her wallet and key the brothers had left her before leaving the apartment again. The little grocery store was only a block away, close enough for walking. It had started getting dark already as she made her way to the store.

It was quiet inside, only the muzak and occasional baby cry breaking the steady drone of shopping carts across linoleum. Julie suppressed a shudder, feeling like someone was watching her. Turning, she saw no one there. With a shrug, she picked up a sack of potatoes. At the little deli, she got lunch meat and a roast. It was too late for the latter, but would be a nice meal for the next day. That was assuming the boys had something to cook it in.

She smiled to herself as she thought about it. Two brothers in their messy little apartment, killing people in the name of Truth and Justice because their God commanded them to, sipping beers and smoking as they rough house and curse up a storm. And in walks a girl, all broken up, inside and out, with no one to care for her, like a lost little puppy. Who better to take her in?

The check-out line took to long for Julie's taste. All the housewives doing last minute dinner shopping like she was, and men buying their cheap booze. Everyone gawking at the gossip magazines. She shook her head and got the same paranoid feeling of someone watching her. Looking back, she caught the gaze of a woman with curlers still in her hair. The woman glared and Julie looked away.

Darkness had snuck up on her while she was in the store. The only thing to light her way home were a few street lamps and the occasional store sign. She was only a few buildings away from the apartment when she heard a trashcan topple over behind her. Spinning around in fear, she noticed a tomcat scampering off down an alley. When Julie turned back, she nearly dropped all of the groceries.

"So this is where you've been, you little bitch," her father scowled at her in the semi-darkness. "I've been looking all over this god-damned city for you, and you've been shacking up with two McFaggots?"

She tried to back away from him, but he was quicker, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling her nearly to the ground.

"I'm taking you back home, you worthless piece of shit," he growled. "But first, we're gonna get all the things those little bastards stole from my house."

"Those were my things," she mumbled, trying to pull her hair free.

He smacked her hard across the face, stunning her for a moment. "You don't own anything. You're not good enough to own anything. Everything you have is mine by right because without me, you wouldn't be here."

Julie held onto the groceries for dear life as her father started dragging her by the hair toward the brothers' apartment.

A/N: Short chapter, I know, but hopefully you like it. Let me know what ya think!