-Chapter 5-

"You promised you wouldn't leave, Seth!" I cry despairingly. "I need you here!"

"I'm sorry, Sam, but I have to leave," Seth replies calmly.

In the end Seth leaves me with his hateful sister, Toni.

"Samantha, come here," Toni's fiancé, Korey calls. "We need to talk."

"No!" I scream. I refuse to leave my room. I will not give them the satisfaction of giving in. I will not let them take over where Parker and Seth left off. They can never replace Seth or Parker. Nothing will ever be the same.

I notice an envelope that was slipped under my door. It was from Parker!

Dear Sam,

Just how mad are you? Are you eating? Never mind, of course you aren't. You are my sister after all. Either way, how have you been since Seth left? I'm worried about you, Samantha. You can't avoid these problems for forever, but knowing you, you will try.

I am in Bordeaux. It is so boring here with out you and Seth. I still think I am doing the right thing, but I wish I was closer. Random here, but do you know where Seth is stationed? I don't.

There is no way for me to call you, but I can send letters every so often. Yes, I expect you to send me a letter back every time.

I wish I could see you. Do you look better than when I left? Or is the wound still bad? No, I suppose not because Seth left.

Training is nothing special. It is work, and I have to listen to adults telling me what to do. I know terrible, right? Either way, I will be a part of the mighty French Army. We will not go down without a fight. We will not end like the Germans.

You like my rant?

I miss you baby sis. I don't think it's right for you to have seen so much at 15. Although there is not much I can now, I wish the best for you. I hope that you, Seth, and I can make it out of this war in one piece.

I love you,

Parker

I smile, reading over Parker's words again. I head over to my desk to write a reply.

Parker,

I am mostly over my anger now, and have moved on to abandonment. You know how that is, and you know I am not eating because of it.

I have been good since Seth left. I miss you guys like crazy, but I'm still living. My wound is better. It hurts like crazy, but it's better.

Random, yes, but Seth is in Paris I think. I'm not completely sure though. I hate that you are in Bordeaux, though. It is so far away.

I understand that you can only write letters. Calls can be traces… But Parker, why do they so this to us? What did we do to deserve this? I miss sitting at home with mom and dad doing nothing. These days are forever gone, though.

Is power this important? Enough so that you destroy lives and families? Parker, this war is becoming a mass murder. Do you want to take part in that? Parker, our parents died to keep us from losing each other to the war. Though I know believe it is too late for that. I have lost you to the Army's clutches.

Has the effect of all that has been done to keep you from the harsh realities of war been lost on you, Parker?

In lovely anger,

Samantha

I folded the short letter and put it in an envelope. For those of you wondering, my brother and I have a very complicated relationship. While we love each other, we are both stubborn. We tend to butt heads. He says yes and I say no. Then we have at it for the final say.

"Samantha, sweetie, it's dinner time if you want to eat," Toni calls in fake sweetness. Korey may like me, but she does not.

Surprising every one, I do come down for dinner. It is the first real meal I have eaten in a week and a half.

"What's up, Sam?" Korey asks, seeing me enter.

"Dinner," I reply sarcastically. "That and Toni still hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, Sam. She just doesn't get why you have to be here," he says. I sigh, and go to get a plate of food.

Toni does hate me, she told me. After Seth left she told me, she said, "I hate you, you are only here because I have to keep my brother happy. It was my parents dying wish."

That was when I really started wanting to leave. Toni never gave me a reason to stay.

I stay because Seth wants me to. And Korey isn't too bad.

I miss my parents more than ever. They would have never let this happen. They would have kept this family together.

For those of you who don't know, my parents died two years ago. They were in our house when it was hit by a bomb during the first, most brutal, attacks on France. They died by making sure Parker and I were safe. The guilt that comes with the memory is unbearable.

My parents died to keep us out of this, and Parker jumps in head first.

"I'm not hungry," I say, shoving my plate back as I jump up.

Toni and Korey's eyes follow me as I run up to my room in an attempt to hide the steady stream of tears.

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