.:CHAPTER TWO – Everything Is Not What It Seems:.

Riley let out a sigh as she grabbed onto her baby brother's hand and walked with him up the driveway to their house, anxiously wondering what was going to greet them on the other side. Would it be their father that was short tempered and wanted things done his way or suffer the consequences? Or would it be the man that acted like everything was fine, only to crack and start screaming and shouting later? They couldn't tell anymore, so they just went around, walking on egg-shells, just in case.

Beside her, Riley felt Sydney grab her hand tighter and move into her side as she reached out to open the door. He shouldn't be acting this way. Riley thought to herself, shaking her head irritably. He's fucking 10 years old and he gets scared at the sight of someone else's shadow. It's not healthy at all…but there's not much that I can do anyway.

She couldn't help but sigh contentedly as she opened the front door and was greeted with the sound of her twin, Rhuben, and her younger twin brothers, Patrick and Noah, shouting at the TV as they played a video game. Sydney immediately let go of Riley's hand and kicked off his shoes before running over and joining them. Riley sighed again as she closed the door behind her. If they were playing video games, that meant that her father was either just out or he was passed out on his bed after having drank too many beers. Considering they hadn't needed to go to the recording studio that day to work on their vocals (as their band the DarkElements) she had to guess that he was out drinking somewhere.

If she had to guess, right after her father had sent her off to get groceries and to pick up her baby brother, he went out to get a drink. But that was ok; it gave her time to meet up with some of her friends and to forget about everything that had been going on at home.

And that's a blessing in disguise. Riley thought to herself as she walked into the living room and plopped down onto the couch next to her twin. They'd hardly ever had friends. People they could talk with, or joke with. They always seemed to be on the move. When Robert first started to exploit their musical talent, it was shortly after he had adopted them and taken them from their home in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, to Texas. There Riley and Rhuben had met Logan, but then Robert moved them to LA to try and get big there. But after meeting their music producer Ronan, he thought that it would be better if they went back to Australia and started out their music career there.

And it worked. The DarkElements are now one of the most famous bands from Australia and famous half-way around the world, and because of that Robert tried to break them into the American music industry so he moved them to LA. But since they had a big fan base in Australia, every three months they flew back home to do concert and press junkets and stuff. Either way, it was Robert's pure greed and the Jacksons innocent love of music that kept them going. But even though they had good friends in Big Time Rush (Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and James) and their friends from the Palm Woods (Jo Taylor, Stephanie King, Camille Roberts, Wally 'WayneWayne' Dooley, Dak Zevon, and his little sister Lizzie Zevon) there were still some things that they couldn't tell them about.

Such as their abuse by the hands of Robert.

And than there had been the bruises to explain . . . it just them always cautious.

How long are we going to be able to stay here before someone finds out? Riley thought to herself as she crossed her legs, wincing as her left arm was pulled against the couch, the fresh bruise stinging. How long could we go without making Dad angry? How long can we keep the secret?

They didn't want to think about what people would do if they found out. They knew from experience, the majority would think they were liars. Selfish, lying sons and daughters that had it in for their dad. But that wasn't what frightened them the most. Against her will, Riley felt old memories resurfacing…

Coming out of her daze, Riley realized that her cheeks were wet. What frightened her, and the others, the most about their secret, what absolutely terrified them, was the thought that someone would find out. . .

'You aren't worth anything' her mind whispered the words hauntingly.

Their dad hurt them; he hit them, and yelled at them.

And they deserved it.

They didn't want anyone to find out how much they deserved it. Every now and then their dad was sweet and kind and funny. And then he would get back into his drinking and his greed and the anger and the hitting would start all over again.

"I know," Riley turned her head to the side and saw Rhuben looking back at her before she turned back to the TV. Her brothers had gone silent, showing her that they had noticed she was crying as well. "It sucks." She took in a deep breath. "But it will all get better soon."

You aren't worth anything.

A/N: Ok, so….after THIS chapter, they won't be less than 3000 words. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well. Although it focuses on Kiley, other pairings will be present. Things pick up from here. I'll update again soon.

Cheers,

-Riles