Mentions of child abuse, murder, and suicide in this chapter, don't read if you get triggered.

Nico POV

I walked directly to my room when I got home, hoping my dad didn't hear me come in. He probably did, but maybe not. I hope not.

I already hated school enough without having to do groupwork. I always hoped there would be an odd amount of people and I would end up alone. But even when I have to work with someone, aka when I was working with Frank, he was smart enough to not bother me too much. The new person I have to work with, what's his face? Will, yeah, Will, he's a piece of crap, and I can't wait for this project to be over.

"NICO!" I heard the voice of my father coming from downstairs. Guess he did hear me come in.

"Yes, dad," I responded in a board voice.

"I checked your grades. You're failing English, History, and Math."

"Really?" I said in a non-surprised voice. "Guess I'm just dumb then."

"Don't use that tone with me," my father barked.

"Make me."

I felt my father's hard fist hit my face and I squinted as he threw me into the wall. I tried in school for a long time, but every 99% wasn't good enough and I would be used as my father's punching bag even if I got perfect grades because he would always find something else to get mad about anyways. Why even try to please someone who is impossible to ever be good enough for.

He hit me a few more times and yelled at me about things I had heard so many times before I wasn't even listening. The only thought in my mind was how soon can I get away from him and just go back to my room. Would he be calmed down enough by the time Hazel got home? Or would he hit her too? He hits her, but not as bad as me, or as bad as he beat Bianca when she was still alive. Before she killed herself.

I've thought about it, but when Biance died, I became his new least favorite. But if something happened to me, he would hurt Hazel more, and she would be all alone. I couldn't have that. I can't have anything happen to another one of my sisters. If that meant having to be my father's favorite punching bag, so be it.

Bianca tried once to report him, but he was too rich. He could have gone to jail, but he just hired insanely good lawyers and he gets away with everything. He was put on trial for murder once too. He killed his two brothers and his parents simply because his parents were rich so he killed them to inherit money, but he knew it would be equally divided among him and his brothers, so he took out his brothers too. Once again, he used the millions of dollars he already had to get himself a lawyer and not only was he somehow found not guilty, but he also got the inheritance.

I miss my sister so much. Life was okay before. At least we all had each other. She's only been gone for a year. The anniversary of the day she hung herself in her own room, the day I walked in to find her hung by the ceiling with a note on her desk, was coming up.

Maybe if Bianca had specified in her note a little more, we wouldn't be here. She said she killed herself because she couldn't deal with it anymore. Maybe if she had said, 'couldn't deal with being beat by my father until this was the only escape,' instead of just, 'couldn't deal with it anymore,' maybe then no amount of money could buy himself out of this one. Maybe then Hazel and I wouldn't be here. Maybe I wouldn't be failing school. Maybe then Hazel and I could just be some kind of happy for once in our lives.

Thank you for reading! Review if you want, and hopefully I'll see you next chapter!