A/N: Big secrets are revealed in this chapter! Eeeep!(;

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Degrassi or any of it's characters, we're simply borrowing them.

SUMMARY

Elijah yearns for any way out; a trapped door that allows him to dodge the scorching knives whipped at his heart. But when she enters his world, that escape slips through his fingers, and the complicated story of his life begins to unfold. Little does Elijah know that there will be more than just ripped pages detracting from his tattered book.

Rolling in the Flames:

I sat on the rickety park bench, my elbows sat firmly on my knees and my head rested in my hands. I watched as the small group of kids played kickball on the playfield, wishing that life was still that simple; when all life consisted of was kickball and candy.

I began to regret yelling at Adam. He was only trying to help, and I shut him out, as usual. I never let anyone in, not after what she did to me.

The events of the day flashed through my head like wildfire. Though my brother's inconsiderate actions still infuriated me, I blamed myself. I always had to start things. Always, always, always. Even when we were kids, the slightest remark had me throwing a temper tantrum. My mother and father resented me for that.

"Hi! You look sad; do you want to pitch for us?" My head snapped up to face a scruffy girl in pink overalls with blonde pigtails. Her two front teeth were missing and something about her reminded me of something.

"Does it look like I want to pitch for you?" I spat. I didn't want to waste my time reliving the childhood I barely had with a few seven year olds. Not now, anyway.

Her small, dirt-caked face twisted into a frown. Her reaction started the cycling of my thoughts. I waved her away and clutched the sides of my head, pressing harder and harder into my temples, praying it would end.

"Please? It'll be fun!" She begged. Didn't I tell her to leave?

"I said no! Now get the fuck away from me!" I hissed.

"I was only trying to cheer you up, but I guess no one can make you happy! I bet your heart is all shriveled up and black, you psycho!" I tried to remind myself that she was only a child and children say mean things, but her comment really struck a nerve. The girl stuck her tongue out at me and ran away, her short legs carrying her back to the ball field.

But she was right. Every word she had spoken was absolutely, one hundred percent true. And that's the part that killed me the most.

I guess no one can cheer you up. I bet your heart is all shriveled up and black, you psycho. Someone once said that children are the most honest people and they have a very good sense of character. I guess whoever said it was right because the filthy little girl in the overalls was absolutely correct.

I groaned and leaned back against the old bench, roughly dragging my hands down the length of my face in an attempt to calm myself down; I could already feel the cycling beginning. I whipped my phone out of my pocket, searching for the time. The glowing, fluorescent screen read four-fifty-six, just my luck.

It was about one when I called Adam out of class, and since I had to let my insanity get in the way of my normal functions, I was positive that Adam would like to have no part of me sleeping in his house. I had no choice but to go home. It wouldn't be so bad after all, I mean, I was in the mood for a good, fourteen hour nap.

I stood up and raked my fingers through my thick, dark hair, and started my walk home. My mind was almost up to cycling full-speed. I kicked the pebbles along the sidewalk and murmured incoherent phrases to myself to try and stop it, or at least slow it down. That earned me a few looks from the people of Toronto.

My reluctant feet dragged me into the lovely home of the Goldsworthy family; ever so perfect on the outside, and nearly perfect on the inside. If only I wasn't there, they'd be the envy of the city. My subconscious murmuring continued as I stepped into the foyer.

I quickly kicked off my slip-ons and turned to walk towards the kitchen, but the scene in the dining room stopped me. My family, plus three new faces stared at me uncomfortably. I recognized one of them; Darcy, Seth's fiancée. I assumed the other two were her parents.

Darcy sat next to my brother, hand in hand. A look of utter shock was plastered across both of their faces. Darcy's parents sat to the left of her, and an empty seat sat to the left of them, but there was already a half-eaten plate of food in front of it, so it couldn't have possibly been mine.

"Who is this, Cecilia?" Darcy's mother asked mine. I couldn't believe it. My heart was pounding out of my chest in fury. They didn't even know who I was. My family sure was having a good time pretending I didn't exist.

"Is this why you let me leave the house today, Seth? So I wouldn't ruin your fucking dinner party?" I was yelling, and Darcy's family was staring, and Piper was covering her ears, and I didn't care.

"Elijah! Watch that mouth of yours! We have company." My mother hissed, paying no attention to the fact that they decided to forget about me for the night.

Seth rose from his seat. "Can you please not start this now, Eli? I'm trying to enjoy this dinner!"

"Am I that much of an embarrassment to you, Seth? I'm so bad that you have to hide the fact that you even have a fucking brother from everyone? Did you really think I was going to screw up your stupid proposal dinner or do you just not want me around?" I felt like throwing up, or screaming, or anything to prevent myself from breaking down in front of everyone.

"I didn't think you were going to find out!" He yelled back at me.

"That doesn't make it okay, Seth." I whispered. I didn't have the energy to fight anymore. I didn't have the energy to be a part of them. I just didn't.

"I thought you said you didn't even want us to get engaged, so why are you so upset over not being invited to the dinner?" He continued yelling. He was just like my father, it was scary.

"I have felt unwanted for as long as I can remember by everyone in this entire family except for you, Seth. And now, I know I was just being stupid and naïve all these years. You're just like the rest of them." I shook my head in disgust and turned away.

"Eli, you know that's not what I meant." He called after me as I made my way back down the hallway. A few tears rolled over my cheeks as I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom. My eyes focused on my feet, my hands shoved into my pockets.

"Oh! Sorry." A short girl with a head full of auburn curls bumped into me as I walked down the narrow upstairs hallway. She lifted her head and instantly, her jaw fell open. "Eli? What are you doing here?"

I didn't know what to say. Clare's crystal-blue eyes were wide with shock. "I live here. And you?" I mumbled. I wasn't in the mood for anybody, especially not her.

"My sister got engaged to Seth Goldsworthy, who I'm assuming is your brother? Funny, you guys look nothing alike." She laughed nervously.

"Same about you and Darcy. Goodnight." I rolled my eyes and stepped around her. My hands pulled my bedroom door shut behind me as I kicked myself for not realizing that Clare and Darcy had the same last name, and even looked somewhat alike. How could I not have even considered that they were related?

I collapsed onto my bed and pulled the covers tight over my head, praying that the day would be over once I woke up.

"Eli… waaakkee up…"

"Eli…"

My eyelids flew open as I pulled myself to a sitting position. My heart was pounding, for some reason and I felt so clammy. I furiously rubbed my face; I was positive I looked terrible.

"Uh, Eli?" My hands fell as my eyes met Seth's. I hadn't even realized he was sitting there.

"How was your little dinner? Shouldn't you be downstairs entertaining your guests, you know the ones you neglected to tell you had a brother?" I spat.

Seth flinched and sighed heavily, ignoring my words. "They left about an hour ago. They actually didn't stay too long after you came."

"So, I ruined your dinner without even trying. No surprise. I ruin everything by breathing for all of you." I wasn't in the mood for him.

"Eli, it just got a little awkward with everyone after that. Not your fault, it's mine. I shouldn't have tried to hide you from my fiancée's family. They're going to be a part of our family, so they had the right to know about you. I'm sorry." I leaned my head back on my headboard and sighed. He really didn't get it, did he?

"Okay." I stared at my hands in my lap and refused to lift my eyes, my dark hair flopped over my face.

"Okay? Does that mean you forgive me?" He pushed my shoulder back in an attempt to make me look at him. I snapped my head up and stared straight through him.

"I'm just done, Seth. I don't forgive you, or Mom, or Dad, or even Piper. I'm just done with all of you. I'll keep out of your life; you keep out of mine, and continue pretending I don't exist. It works out better for everyone, then." I didn't wait for him to respond. My legs took over my ability to think and carried me down the hall to Piper's room.

I kicked her bedroom door open, she was six, and I didn't think privacy would be an issue. Just as I walked in, Piper was pulling a tank top on over her head. Large, shriveled, burn scars covered her arms and stomach. My eyes almost fell out of the sockets at the sight of them.

"Where did you get those scars, Piper?" My voice cracked up an octave. Even though I wasn't on her list of favorite people, I still took everything concerning her to heart. She was my little sister and I loved her, even if she didn't feel the same.

"Um, uh, I-I don't remember!" She kept nervously looking over her shoulder at the window. I guess it started raining while I was asleep, and boy was it coming down hard.

Thunder and lightning crashed almost simultaneously, shaking the entire house. Of course, the sensitive electricity went out and we were left standing in the dark before I had time to examine Piper's scars some more.

"I'll be right back." I quickly ran down the steps and into the kitchen. I stealthily rummaged through the cupboards for a few candles. Apparently, my parents had already began setting them up because there were only two left. I grabbed both of them, and to add to my luck, a package of matches sat on the counter, which surprised me. I hadn't seen matches or any kind of fire-creating object in our house since we moved a few years back.

I took the stairs two at a time on my way back up. I didn't want to waste any time. As soon as I stepped into Piper's bedroom, I placed both candles on her dresser and pulled a match out of the cardboard. I scraped the tip along the sand paper strip, and suddenly I had déjà vu.

"E-Eli… what are you doing?" I immediately spun around to face her. She was sitting all the way against the headboard with her knees pulled up to her chin. A look of terror was painted across her face. Her eyes fell on the match that was lit in my hand and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

My fingers trembled as I flicked the last match into the hallway. It was my fourteenth birthday and I had decided fourteen was old enough. The empty package of matches slipped out of my hand. I had lit every single one and tossed them around the house. I was home alone, so it had posed the perfect opportunity, at least that way it would look like an accident.

I glanced into my bedroom; the fire's tongues had already worked themselves up the sides of my walls. A smile of satisfaction played on my lips. I was already dead as far as the world was concerned, and that was okay.

I continued down the hallway. The flames were consuming the house really quickly. The match I had just lit had already spread halfway down the hall. Something made me stop in Piper's room. I didn't touch her room; it would have hurt too much knowing that her stuff would be burnt just as quickly as everyone else's.

I stepped into the insanely pink room and sat down on her bed, taking in the image for the last time. Piper and I had a lot of great memories in her room. We played together, and laughed together. I told her all of my secrets, and she would offer me her pinky, promising not to tell.

I leaned back against her headboard, only to hear a small whimper beside me. Panic began to set in as I yanked back the covers. A terrified Piper stared back at me, her blue eyes glossy with tears.

"What are you doing here, Piper?" I screamed. My heart was pounding. How was I going to get her out of here?

"M-Mommy said I could stay here with you!" She cried. "What's going on, Eli? Downstairs is all burned up!" Streams of tears flowed from her eyes. Her appearance broke my heart.

I scooped her into my arms and exited the bedroom, only to be met by a river of flames coating the floor of the hallway, blocking our escape. Guilt and regret tugged at my thoughts, causing me to fall into full panic mode.

I ran us back into Piper's room and closed the door behind us, knowing it wouldn't help us. My feet paced back and forth as I tugged on fistfuls of my hair. Piper sobbed next to me.

"What are we going to do?" She choked. Smoke had begun leaking in through the crack between the floor and her door. I shove her comforter into the space to try and block it.

My eyes landed on her window. It was big enough to climb out of. "We're going to have to jump, Piper." I grabbed her and flew to the window. Time seemed to slow down as my foot crashed through the mesh screen.

The fire licked up the sides of the house. The temperature inside was scathing. If I was going to save Piper, I had to do it now. "Here we go." I whispered as I jumped out of the third-story window.

My grip on Piper slipped and she fell away from me. I watched her fall in horror. Her screams ripped my heart from my chest.

Time fell back into place as I hit the ground. My leg bent in an unnatural position with a deafening crack as my head slammed against the scorched grass outside of the burning building; the building that I used to call home.

Piper's ear-piercing screams still penetrated through me. She was alive! Piper was fine! That made getting out of the house worthwhile.

I felt the inevitable pool of blood form around my head. I had never regretted something so much. I was so stupid. What was wrong with me? Who sets their own house on fire?

As I slipped in and out of consciousness, I prayed that I would die after all. It would have made my family's lives easier. Everything would have been easier if I were gone. Plus, I didn't want to face my father afterwards.

"ELIJAH!" Someone yelled from behind me as I was tackled to the ground. The lit match flew from my hand, landing across the room. My face was covered with tears from the horrifying memory.

I watched helplessly as the small flame was stomped out by a pair of Nike's. I was too dazed to decipher who it was, but I knew my father was the one pinning me to the ground.

Roughly, I was yanked to my feet and the small package of matches was pried from the palm of my hand. "Where did you get these?" My father shouted.

"Off the counter." I felt like I was looking in on everyone. Like I wasn't really there.

"Go to your room, Elijah. And don't come out!" He yelled as he shoved me out of the bedroom. My legs shook as I tried to navigate my way down the hall to my bedroom.

The memory played over and over in my head, burning me up with it. I, like our old house, became nothing but a pile of ashes.

A/N: There's a fire starting in my... house. Reaching a fever picth and it's... sending my sister out the window. Rolling in the... flames. xD