Still have no rights to any of the characters.
He arrived home to a distraught sister and an enraged Lewis (he was no father, not anymore). His heart ached and twisted in his stomach like a punch to the gut at the cries of the little lady's cries. Lewis was screaming obscenities, fighting to be heard over Lise, unaware of his absence, mistaking his lack of reply as apathy. The fear returned like a slap from his old-man, he rushed to the cot in the corner of the room, the fear fading as he found the baby safe, just hungry then. He mixed her lunch as fast as he could while the water heated on the stove, rocking LL in his arms, the movement comforting her slightly. After she had fed and gurgled up in contentment at him, he knew that everything was worth it. By the time she had settled down back to sleep in her cot their father was well on his way to being drunk, Leo just hoped that he'd be quite. He took his time getting to his room, anxious to leave the baby closer to Lewis, but knowing he would follow soon enough. As the sound of the TV was cut off the fear built as his head fell to his chest. 'The fuck took you so long!?' the elder man screamed from the doorway, he flinched back as he listened out but no crying came he thanked his lucky stars, 'Answer me, BOY!' another shout, he knew he had to give an answer or face a worse fate than he knew he would see already. 'Sorry, I fell asleep' he mumbled, just loud enough to be heard 'Sir' he added, as an afterthought, his breath releasing as the other man said nothing. As he lifted his head, eye contact was made, the fury behind those stormy blues promised a brutal demise 'Turn around', though said softly it was enough for his breath to catch in his throat a tremor took over as he willed his body to move. As soon as he had his back to the elder Snart the snap of his leather belt filled his ears and his world exploded with pain. The leather licked the skin on his back till he couldn't stand any longer, then continued till' he couldn't hold his eyes open anymore, all the while, the lesson being screamed between each strike was to 'shut it up, don't let it wake me again'. When he awoke, there was no clock to see how long he'd been out but Lewis was gone and the sounds of Lise waking filled his ears and the light outside, filtered through the murky window was dim. He pulled off the blood-soaked top, catching the tears in his back, making them bleed anew, he winced as he stepped into the cold stream of the shower, wiping away the blood from his sides and his back (where he could reach), turning the clear water pink as it drained away. As he heard the early signs of LL getting antsy, he stepped out of the shower, pulled on his pants and tended to his charge with a smile on his lips, he was grateful for this miracle in his life, his tiny saviour from this dank life, though he felt bad that she had to/would have to learn the lessons in this hell far too soon, he was /almost/ glad to not be alone anymore.
And so went the pattern - they'd run out of food for Lise or she'd outgrow her clothes and on one memorable occasion (he made sure to keep them well stocked after the 'incident') and Leo would do his best to rectify his father's oversights both at home and it his 'extra-curricular' activities. His attendance at school began to wane, only a few days at first, when his dad wasn't home, or wouldn't wake up (not that he'd tried to), then his grades got worse and he got better at hiding the letters from his teachers from his dad. Before school he'd take the empty bottles from beside the couch where his dad passed out down to the bottle bank at the bottom of the street (he'd been 'taught' that lesson to not put them in their own bin the hard way), he'd finish his homework on his way to school, with a half-broken pen he'd found under a desk as school, at break and lunch he'd rush home in time to make sure Lisa was fed before rushing back for more pointless lessons. His shoes were tattered and falling off his feet, the seams tearing a little more each day as if they were a fitting metaphor for his life. His return from school was greeted with a grunt from his dad, a job without a plan and unfamiliar angry eyes. As the all too familiar routine continued, his attendance fell further, until he barely attended at all, the bottles by the couch took 2 trips and his homework was replaced by carefully laid plans, and previously welcoming grunts were replaced with shouts of fury, the angry eyes stayed the same.
By the time Lisa was attending school, he'd dropped out completely, he continued his studies in secret between 'jobs' though he'd never admit it aloud school was his favourite (aside from caring for Lisa), he couldn't wait to help Lisa with her homework just to have some semblance of his old life (a life before fear, a life before responsibility. (though he does not blame Lisa)).
The first time Lewis raised a hand to Lisa she had accidentally knocked over a half-empty bottle as Leo added the finishing touches to a plan. The unfamiliar sound of shouting not being directed at him broke him out of his trance, his mind still playing catch-up with his body, that was already half-way across the room. That day was also the first time he passed out before finishing the plan, though he refused to mourn the loss as he consoled his sobbing sister that night knowing that she was safe and untouched by those harsh hands he knew too well.