The four of us sat at home. Leo had called the school saying that we had a family matter to attend when he came to get Mikey. I sat across from Fang, Mikey cuddled up into my side.

Leo sat next to Raph, Raph's eyebrows knitted together in slight confusion and anger. "Alright, Fang," He says, "explain to us who that man was and what he wanted please."

Fang sighed heavily while she looked at one of her cuts across her arm. "My life has never been easy," She starts off, "when I was a little girl, I was always treated differently than other kids. I had started out with homeschooling. Well, if you could call it that. I was never taught as a child. My parents didn't teach me, and they never set me up on an internet school. They would lock me in my room all day every day. I was lucky if they brought me a cracker, which I would get about every two weeks or so." She stopped, her head had been bent down to her knees, her hazel eyes closed. She slowly opened them and looked into Leonardo's blue eyes.

Leo looks at her, his eyes calm and urging her to continue. "Take your time, Fang." He told her soothingly. Leo had always had that effect on people. His voice could calm the most troubled soul.

She nodded as she took in a shaky breath before closing her eyes once more. "They…" She stopped again. She shook her head, tears peeking their way into the corners of her eyes.

I look at her sympathetically. I move Mikey out of my side carefully before walking over to her and placing a gentle hand on her own. Her head bolted up, her glassy hazel eyes looking into my own maroon ones. I smile sadly at her. "Take your time," I tell her. "We're here for you."

She nods gently before shutting her eyes once more and moving her head back towards her lap. "They chained me to the walls with wrist and neck fastens. Those are basically bracelets and a necklace that are too tight to hang loosely and are held back by chains that are attached to the wall. Kind of like what they did in the medieval times," She clarified. "They beat me. They beat me with their bare hands, with whips, glass bottles, basically anything they could get their hands on. They burned me with blowtorches, lighters, and lit cigarette butts."

"What did your father mean by you forgetting to clean your mess?" I inquired softly.

She took in another shaky breath, her skin awful pale. "He means the blood that splattered on the wall last night. It's my job to clean any and all blood spilt by me after a beating to make sure people don't find out."

Mikey looked at Fang with a look of horror. Leo pulled Mikey into his side since I was comforting Fang at the moment. "That's terrible." I whisper.

She nodded lightly with a gentle sniff. "Yeah," She said as she dabbed at her wet eyes with the bottom of her shirt. "I guess it is." I frowned lightly as I reached to the coffee table and grabbed a tissue. I looked into Fang's eyes with a sad but determined look in my eyes as I dab at her eyes with the tissue.

"You're not going back," I tell her as I wipe her tears away. "You can't go back."

"I have to," She says with a sniff. "They'll find me if I don't. They have before, and they will again."

I sigh as I take her wrists into my hands. "Look at me, Fang," I tell her sternly yet softly. She does so, her hazel eyes looking into my maroon ones. "We won't let them get their hands on you. They'll have to go through us first. We'll call the police on them, we'll do something. But you are not going back into that house. Not on my watch."

Her eyes widened in fear. "N-No," She stuttered with a shake of her head, "I can't! They'll put me in a home! You guys have no idea what it's like in one of those. I can't be put into a home, I can't!" She protested as more tears fell from her eyes.

"Fang," I say firmly, "I don't want you to be passed around like this, but this is for the best. I'd rather not know where you are but know that you're safe than know where you are and that you aren't safe. You have to trust us on this one. Ok? Do you trust me?"

She sniffed lightly, sobbing lightly. My eyes soften. "Do you trust me?"

After a moment or two I watch her head bob up and down in a slight nod. I smile sadly at her. "Then you know," I tell her, "that I would never make you do anything that would get you hurt."

She sobbed loudly before bringing me into a tight embrace. I hugged her back. "Sh," I sooth gently as I rub her back. "It's going to be ok," I tell her. I look to the picture that hung on the opposite wall. It was a family portrait before Mom and Dad were killed. I sigh gently before nodding once.

"You'll be ok."

OoOoOoO

"You like her." Leo accused while Fang was out of hearing range. We were allowing her to stay for a few nights before we called.

I blushed madly. "Wh-What?" I asked innocently. "I do not!"

He smiled like a grand fool. "Don't even try to get your way out of this one. I see the way you look at her. You like her."

I blush crimson, and I look away from Leo's stare, my eyes directed towards the floor. "So what if I do." I mumbled.

"So what if you do?" Leo asked with a slightly raised voice. His voice was ecstatic to say the least. "Donnie, it's your first crush ever," Leo said with a smile on his face, "and that's huge!"

I roll my eyes as I continue to look at the floor. "Just don't tell her." I ask pleadingly.

Leo snorts slightly. "No problem, little brother."

Little brother…

When was the last time Leo called me that exactly?

Little brother…

"Thanks again for taking me in for a day or so. It really means a lot." She said as she descended the stairs.

I snapped out of my daze immediately and look to her. I smile lightly, my blush still creeping on my face. "No problem," I told her. "We would do it at any time, really."

She bit her lip nervously. "I still feel a bit like I'm intruding. If there is any problem with me being here-any problem at all-just tell me, and I'll be on my way." She said with a guilt ridden look on her face.

I shook my head, my dirty-blonde bangs waving to and fro. "No," I tell her, "it's no problem at all, really. We don't mind."

She didn't smile. She didn't frown. She just tugged on her ponytail. "Thanks." She said quietly while she looked at her scratched wrists and arms.

I looked at her with concern. "Are you ok?"

She looked to me then she looked to Leo. She shook her head before walking up to Leo. She reached into her back pocket and took out a small bottle. My eyes widened.

It was one of those Rx bottles that were reddish-orange in color. What's she doing with that, I wonder? Is she sick?

She gave the bottle to Leo and allowed him to look at the bottle. His blue eyes wandered the bottle, his eyes scrunched in confusion. "These are strong, prescribed sleeping pills," He said as he looked to me. "And they aren't prescribed to you," He looked back to Fang with a questioning gaze. "Why do you have these?"

"They're my mom's," Fang admitted. She looked to the window that revealed the rain coming down outside. The rain drenched the driveway, leaving the normally white cement and light brown color. "She never uses them. She doesn't need them anyways. She's always passed out due to too much alcohol intake."

"That," Leo says as he twirls the bottle in his hand, "still doesn't explain why you have them."

She sighed, her hazel eyes still looking outside. "I'm at my breaking point," She said with shaky breaths, her eyes glazing over with tears. "She doesn't use them so I…took them from her," She tugged a bit harder at her blue ponytail as if to make herself forget what situation she was in. "I…planned on taking the entire bottle right after school…b-b-but you guys stopped my dad for the time being, so I didn't have the chance to."

Leo sighed and walked towards Fang, placing a gentle finger underneath her chin and directing her eyes to his own. "You were intentionally going to kill yourself?" He asked. It hadn't needed to be ask.

The answer was very clear.

Fang nodded weakly, a tear falling from her eye. "I couldn't t-take the beatings anymore."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked as I neared her, my eyes gentle and sad.

She sniffed softly. "I didn't want you to think of me as weak. So I thought, if I give the pills to Leonardo, I won't have the chance to take them."

Leo looked to the white tablets that sat in the bottle before looking back up at Fang. "I won't let these be around you. You are not to take them, and I shall hide them."

OoOoOoO

I want to say that it may have been around a week after Raphael's and my argument. The Twin's Day competitions were coming up and they were coming up fast. Needless to say, I had no desire to go at this point.

A twin isn't someone who stabs you in the back.

That's what bullies are for.

And who wants to go to something with a bully?

Raph and I hadn't spoken to each other save for when the whole thing with Fang went down. But that was only a sentence or three. The normal, are you ok, and, are you hurt, questions were the only ones that really popped up.

Not that he didn't want to speak to me. It was I who didn't want to speak to him. And I didn't. Not unless it was absolutely necessary. And the necessity to do so hadn't made itself known, so I didn't speak to him, and he didn't speak to me.

I saw the glances he threw my way.

I ignored them.

I heard him speaking to his friends about how he messed up.

I didn't care.

And, yes, I have allowed him back into our room, but whenever I see him, I act as if I don't know him. Well, I thought I had known him.

Apparently I was wrong.

Who betrays their twin like that?

Raphael does.

I growl underneath my breath as my pencil continues to make several letters that formed words on the lined paper. Though, due to my anger, my pencil was being pressed a tad bit too hard to the paper causing a small bit of its graphite to chip off and fall onto the paper. This did not make me let up my grip.

I heard the door open and close.

I didn't look up.

I didn't need to.

I knew who it was.

I heard as he fell on top of his bed, folder in hand. He didn't like the silence that I had forced upon the two of us. Often when he was in our room he listened to music through earbuds. It was the only way for his mind to escape the silence was my guess.

The normal silence went on for maybe another five minutes before he broke it.

"Would you please talk to me?" He asked me.

I didn't respond. I just allowed my pencil to continue to wander the paper.

He growled lowly. "Donatello, how much longer are you going to keep this up?"

Again, I am silent except for the silent scribbles that echoed from the friction of my pencil against the paper.

He placed his hands on his head, his hands tugging at his black hair. "Please, speak, Donatello!" He yelled. "Michelangelo isn't even talking to me because you aren't! He thinks I did something that deserves me to be in the Stoney-lonesome."

I stop writing for a brief second. I look up into his emerald green eyes. They look desperate. I squint my eyes and shake my head before I go back to writing.

He sighs loudly. "Y'know what?" He asks in a raised voice. "Forget it! I don't need you, I don't need Michelangelo, I don't need anybody! I'm doing perfectly fine on my own! I only tried to get ya to speak because Leonardo forced me!" He yelled. He shook his head before sighing. He picked up his red hoody before stomping out of the room. "Biggest waste of my life." He grumbled before leaving our room.

When he slammed the door, his folder fell to the floor, papers falling out all around the room. I sigh in frustration as I slide off of my bed and go to pick up the papers off of the floor.

I flipped the paper over expecting to see homework or notes.

But no.

This isn't close to any of those options.

It's a note.

From Nathan.

Remember what I told you, it read. Sure, you did do part of the job, but not all of it. That's why we hurt your good ol' buddy, Casey. You remember the agreements. Follow through.

I squinted my eyes in confusion. Agreements, I wonder? What agreements? I look to another paper on the floor. I grab it.

Sure enough, it's another note.

Nice job tearing up your twin's locker, but you know that you have to go farther, or else we'll start hurting the ones you care about. Just show everyone one little picture. That's it.

I shook my head, eyes still squinted. Picture, I wondered? What picture.

This note must have been passed around between the two a bit. Below that note was another in thick sharpie, in Raphael's handwriting.

I'm not doing that, it said. No way in heck.

My brow furrows even more in confusion. Doing what, I wonder? What was Raph supposed to do that he didn't?

There is one more note. I put the one in my hands down and pick the last one up. The words are much sloppier. But that was only to make it look more threatening.

Why can't you just post the picture of your nerdy brother? It's not like he's worth anything.

I felt a pang at my heart at that statement. Worthless, I think dejectedly? But Raph had written back in the deep, sharpie marker.

Don't you ever say that about my brother, the note read! He's worth more than you'll ever know! He's smart, funny, caring, levelheaded, and better than I'll ever be!

My eyes stopped gliding the paper for a second. He thinks that, I wonder? But that's so untrue. I go back to reading what Raphael had written.

If you want to pick on anyone, pick on me! You are not to even slightly touch him! He has a brighter future than I, and he's going to be an excellent scientist when he's older! I will not post any embarrassing pictures of him at all!

The note in my hand shook. He did that…for me, I thought? But that wasn't it.

There was more.

You're making a big mistake, dude, Nate had written. If you don't do this, Casey gets it.

Donatello means more to me than any other friend I have. If this is how it has to be…then so be it. I'm not hurting my brother like that. No way, Raph had written.

Fine, Nate wrote. Your loss.

That's where the note ended. Raph was trying to protect Casey and me, I thought crestfallen. "And all I did was yell at him." I said aloud quietly. I sigh as I allow the note to fall to the ground.

"I was a jerk to him," I whisper. I stand from the ground and make my way towards the door. "A total jerk." I say as I open the door and run down the stairs.

I look around the living room that only consists of Leo and Mikey, Mikey reading to Leo. I look to Leo with panicked eyes. "Where's Raph?" I asked quickly.

Leo looks to me, confusion etched into his ocean blue eyes. "He said something about going out for a walk, why?"

I sigh loudly as I grab my own purple hoodie. "Because I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life." I mutter before running out of the house.

Of course it's raining. Stupid September. It rains a lot during the autumn months. I guess that's why I get so sick in the autumn, winter, and spring months. Precipitation. I don't always get that sick in summer, but I do have my moments. In fact, I was risking my health just being outside.

But I didn't care at the moment. I'm so stupid, I think angrily. If I'm such a genius, why couldn't I find this out sooner? Ok, ok, I think, if I was Raphael, where would I be?

The question wasn't an easy one. Raph went to a lot of places in New York. And New York was fairly big. And almost not at all sanitary. He could be in an alley, the gym, the school, Casey's house, Nate's...

Oh, I think, he better not be at Nate's. Though the idea was an option, it wasn't the most likely…but it was still there…

I shake my head. He's not there, Donatello, I think. He has no reason to go back at the moment. He has no reason to.

I look to the rooftops of the New York skyscrapers. The skyscrapers were so tall, they looked as if they were holding up the sky and all that was in it. Though they did have their own beauty, they were pretty ugly. New York was very polluted, and very crowded. Almost like a smaller version of China or Japan.

I run down the sidewalks of New York, my eyes darting through the many crowds of people walking the sidewalks, looking for my older twin. "Sorry." I ended up muttering to many people who I ran into that were just as crowded as I was on that sidewalk.

One person bumped into me and caused me to fall flat on my butt, my glasses falling off into some unknown spot. I growled underneath my breath as I allowed my fingers to wander the crowded sidewalk in search of my black, rectangular glasses. I sighed a breath of relief when my fingers intertwined with the part that goes behind my ear. I put the glasses on my face and stand once more, pushing past the rushing people.

"Where could he be?" I wonder aloud.

That's when an idea hits me…

I look up at the tall apartment buildings that have flat rooves. Each apartment building has a fire escape. "The rooftops!" I say in triumph. Raphael loves gazing out upon the city!

I quickly escape the horde of people and look for the nearest apartment building. It wasn't far at all. Lining the wall of the outside was a long black fire escape that reached the top of the building. I take in a deep breath.

"Here goes." I say as I take the first step onto the fire escape. Now, here's where lacking physical strength comes to bite me…

Ascending up the fire escape? No biggie. That's no problem at all for me. I'm relatively fit, possibly a bit underweight, but nothing too drastic. When I reach the top…this is the hard part.

Of course, Raphael isn't on the one apartment building that I chose out of thousands, so to get to the others I have to jump rooves.

This could get a bit interesting.

Especially since it is still raining.

I walk back to the edge of the roof. I rub my hands together. "Here goes nothing." I say breathily. And with that, I run. I run as hard as I can. Sprinting. And with that…I jump when the ledge reaches my toe. I jump as hard as I can.

I'm flying through the air.

I feel as if I'm flying anyways.

A moment that should have lasted maybe a few seconds felt like a few hours. But all too quickly, the feeling ended as my feet made hard impact with the concrete roofing. I stumble when they hit and do a summer sault. Unintentionally, so that had been a bit painful. "Ugh…" I had groaned as I had sat up. I stood on my feet and looked around.

That had been only the first jump.

And Raph wasn't on this building.

Needless to say, by the time I had found him I was out of breath. Huffing and puffing my chest, my lungs had felt like they were on fire. Again, I'm not out of shape…I'm just not as muscular as I'd like to be.

"There you are." I say out of breath.

He tensed. His emerald green eyes didn't even bother to look back at me. He was sitting close to the edge of the roof, his knees drawn into his chest, his arms wrapping around his knees. "I thought you weren't talking to me," He said quietly. "I thought you thought I was the worst person ever imaginable."

I sigh gently. "Raph," I say as I walk a little closer to him, but not too close, "I saw the notes."

He didn't relax.

His muscles stayed tensed.

Almost as if he was preparing himself for something.

"So what?" He asked me. "Just because you saw the notes, I'm suddenly not a monster. I'm suddenly not the bully you thought me to be? Saying things like, 'He's not my twin,' or, 'I don't know him,'? Now, we're just ok because you say we are?" He asked, a very cold presence making themselves known in his voice.

"No!" I say quickly. "That's not what I intended, Raph!"

"Well, maybe I never wanted to trash your locker!" Raph yelled at me, turning his head back at me abruptly. "Maybe I never wanted for you to get yelled at by the teachers considering every one of them know just as much as I do of how far you are going to get in life!" Raph stood up, his emerald green eyes penetrating my own maroon ones. "Maybe I never wanted to chance you getting laughed at by the entire school because I know how rough everyone is on you!" Raph balled his hands into fists, his teeth clenched. "Maybe I never wanted anyone to get hurt! But you couldn't just believe someone you've known ever since birth to now, could you?! You needed proof of course! Because Raphael is just the worst person ever imaginable! So, completely horrid that his own little brother won't even talk to him! Of course you needed proof. Because you couldn't trust your own twin." He said, his volume diminishing at the end of his rant.

I shook my head, my mouth open, my eyes wide in shock. "Raph," I say, my voice utterly quiet, "you have no idea how wrong you are."

"Oh, no," Raph says, shaking his head, his teeth and fists still clenched, "for once, you're the one who is wrong, Donatello."

"No," I tell him, tears threatening to fall from my eyes, "I'm not, Raph. This is insane. I didn't know that something terrible was threatening to happen."

"Yeah," Raph laughed bitterly, "well, there was. And I tried to protect you from complete and utter embarrassment. Thankfully, it succeeded, but for a price," He turned his back towards me, his hands folded behind his back, "my own twin's trust."

I sigh. "Raph," I say as I take a step forward. My foot, however, slid, having stepped in a puddle, and I fell backwards. I expected to land on solid ground-or in this case, roof-but I hit nothing but air. I was barely lucky to catch the ledge of the roof. My breathing turned heavy as my head moved to look down.

I really shouldn't have.

Everyone looked so small. Everyone. I looked around instead. To my sides, to the sky, anywhere but down. "Raphael!" I cry desperately. "Raph, please, help me!" I say as I take gasping breaths.

Raph's head peers over the ledge, his eyes looking into my own, his holding their own fear. "Don't worry," He cried even though he felt panicked himself, "I'll pull you up! Grab my hand!" He yelled as he offered me his hand.

I looked down at the people then back up to Raph once more. "I can't!" I yell in fear.

"Yes," Raph assures me, "you can! I won't let you fall, Donnie! I promise!"

Again, I look down at the people, down at the ground. It's so far away…

My hand feels sweaty, and I feel the ledge of the roof slipping right from my fingers.

"Raph!" I yell in fear. "Raph, I'm slipping!"

Looks like Donnie's in a tad bit of trouble...uh oh! Did you like it, love it, hate it? Let me know! Your opinion matters! :)