p id="docs-internal-guid-27026bea-7fff-6995-05a1-e70d183beab4" dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sorry for the long wait. Now that school is over I should be regularly updating every four days. Enjoy this chapter!/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" -/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shane POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Today is the day we get Mitchie back. Nate, Jason, and I are saying goodbye to Uncle Brown right now. The lawyer is sitting in the car waiting for us and as soon as we get in the car, Nate is going to call the police to meet us at Mitchie's house./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bye Uncle Brown, we will miss you." I told him. Giving him a hug./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bye Shane. You three and Mitchie are coming back next summer as counselors, no argument." he told me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Of course. And we will see you at Thanksgiving right?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yep. I will be there." Jason, Nate, and I got in the car. We waved to Brown as the car drove off./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Now, tell me what is going on." The lawyer demanded as we drove off. Nate called the police and I explained the situation while Jason was busy looking over the documents. He nodded when I finished and went over the papers with Jason again. We were on our way to save Mitchie, I just hoped we made it in time./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mitchie POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We got home really late. When we got in the house Richard turned and slapped me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You won Final Jam, but you know I hate those slow depressing songs. You will not sleep tonight, and tomorrow you will clean the entire house before your beating will ensue." he yelled at me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oui Monsieur." I said. They went to bed and I went to my closet. I sat up all night writing a song to Nate, Jason, and Shane, telling them everything that I would never get to say to them again because I knew that I was going to die with the beating tomorrow, there was no way I would survive./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The next morning came too fast for me. I got up, made breakfast, and started cleaning. I finished cleaning the entire mansion and reported back to Richard. Elizabeth was sitting in the library reading. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""To the backyard." Richard ordered. I obediently went to the backyard and waited. Richard went into the shed and pulled out the whip and board. I also saw him pull out his brass knuckles and swiss army knife. Uh-oh, he hasn't used those since I was ten. Now I was really scared. The beating started as normal, he hit me with the whip, but he just kept hitting. Finally he stopped and moved to the board. Once again he just kept hitting and hitting. I felt so many ribs break. He then moved to the knife, making cut after cut in my skin, I am sure he was carving a message in my skin. He pulled out his cigarette and lighter, he lit the cigarette and pressed it to my skin. He repeated this process again and again. Once again I was sure he was inscribing something in my skin. By the time he started hitting and kicking me, I was in so much pain I was ready to black out from the pain and blood loss. Suddenly I heard voices screaming my name, and I blacked out./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nate POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We arrived at the address Mitchie had given us, and Shane and I gasped. This place was HUGE! This was a grade one mansion. Mitchie had to clean this place everyday?! We really needed to get her out of here quickly. I looked over at Shane and knew he was thinking the same thing, but when I glanced at Jason he looked scared out of his mind./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What's wrong Jason?" I asked him. Shane looked over at Jason as well./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah you're really pale." Shane commented. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's just… What if Mitchie is happy here? What if she found a new family that loves her and doesn't want to leave them? I mean look at this house! She probably has the best life here and doesn't want anything to do with her lame brother." Jason rambled on. I looked at Shane and we simultaneously pulled Jason into a hug./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Jason, you're not thinking this through. Do you remember how upset Mitchie was when she had to leave you, to leave us? She doesn't want to be here, trust me. There is no one she would rather live with than you. I promise. She doesn't want to be here." I told him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah I guess you're right. Thanks Nate, Shane." Jason nodded. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The police arrived and we all got out of our cars./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm Officer Pete. What is going on here? All we got was a call telling us to come here and not to turn our sirens on so we can catch them in the act." An officer asked us./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I am Shane, and this is Nate and Jason. There is child abuse happening in this house and if they heard the sirens they would stop and make it look like they are a loving family when they are really not. Mitchie is fifteen living in the care of Richard and Elizabeth Torres. We also need your help to get Mitchie out of here because Jason is her brother and legal guardian, as soon as she signs the papers, which won't be a problem unless they try to influence her into not signing the papers." Shane informed the police./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Our plan is to enter as quietly as we can, which means no knocking and no breaking the door down. We sneak through the house to the backyard first, that is where Mitchie and Richard will most likely be, and I don't know where Elizabeth will be. If they are not in the backyard then we will search the house until we find them." I told informed them of the plan that Shane and I had come up with in the car. Jason still didn't need to know what was happening to Mitchie, he would get too emotional and an emotional Jason is never a good thing./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The officer nodded and we moved to the door. I looked at Shane and nodded at him. He reached out and turned the knob, luckily the door was not locked and the hinges didn't squeak, in fact the door made no noise. Jason entered first, I followed him, Shane followed me, and the officers followed Shane. I took the lead and lead the way to the backyard. We reached the door that lead to the backyard. I took a deep breath trying to ready myself for what I would see, but little did I know nothing could have prepared me for the image that would haunt me for the rest of my life./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I opened the door and was frozen to my spot. I felt Shane and Jason press behind me to see and then freeze as well. There was Mitchie, my beloved twin sister, bruised bleeding, and limp. Richard put down the knife he was using and picked up a board. At that moment something happened in my body and I was able to think and move again. I was not going to let that man hurt her again. I promised to protect her and I wasn't going to fail anymore./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I ran forward yelling her name. I scooped her up and covered her with my body, shielding her from the next blow. I held her close to my heart, whispering to her that it will be ok. The board came down and hit me. Hard. Hit me in the back of the head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As I blacked out my last thought was that Richard would still hit me and leave Mitchie alone./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shane POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We arrived at the mansion where Mitchie was being held captive. I don't care what it is legally called, but usually being kept against your will is called being held captive. After talking to the police and informing them of our plan, we silently entered the house. I was really worried about Mitchie. I just hoped we got here in time. As we walked through the house, I noticed a small closet under the stairs. I broke away from the group and went over to the closet. I opened the door and saw Mitchie's songbook, which meant this was the closet she was forced to stay in. I picked up her book and joined back up with the group. I fell in behind Nate as we stopped at the door that lead to the backyard. I could see Nate was trying to compose himself for what we were about to see. I knew there was no way we would be ready for what we were about to see./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nate opened the door and froze. Jason and I both tried to get by Nate enough to see what he was staring at. When we did we both froze as well. Mitchie was lying on the ground, bloodied, bruised, and limp. I really hoped she was just unconscious and not dead. Richard put down the knife and picked up a board. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"All of a sudden, Nate burst forward. Jason and I were both frozen as we watched the boy who had become our bandmate, best friend, and little brother put himself between Mitchie and the board. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We could hear the resounding CRACK! as the board hit Nate in the back of the head. He fell on top of Mitchie. Alright that is it, you don't mess with the ones I love. I started towards Richard, but the police beat me to it. They wrestled with Richard, Mitchie and Nate still in the danger zone. I rushed over, kneeled next to Nate and Mitchie, scooped them up into my arms, and held them close to my chest, shielding them from any blows that would hit them from the fight would hit me instead. Richard must have thrown the board cause I felt it hit my shoulder, painfully hard. As the struggle continued I kept taking small blows to my back and shoulders. I would be bruised tomorrow, but that was a small sacrifice I was willing to take for Nate and Mitchie. Suddenly, the blows stopped and so did all sound. I didn't come uncurled from Mitchie and Nate until I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Jason looking down at me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Jason POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I was so scared when we pulled up and I saw the mansion that Mitchie lived in. Why would anyone want to leave a place like this? There is no way Mitchie would want to leave this place for me. Nate and Shane must have noticed my fear because they asked me what was wrong and I found myself spilling all of my fears to them. They informed me that Mitchie couldn't wait to get out of this place. I nodded. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We got out of the car and Shane and Nate talked to the police while I continued staring at the size of the house. I mean Shane, Nate, and I have a mansion but it is only like half the size of this one. I wondered why the police were here, and why we were sneaking in the house. Shane and Nate were whispering the entire ride. I was talking to the lawyer part of the time but I still noticed them whispering. I wondered what they were hiding from me. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We entered the house and my fear of her not wanting to leave grew by the immense beauty and true size of the house. I mindlessly followed Nate to the door that lead to the backyard. Shane had at some point gotten in front of me, behind Nate. I wondered what was going on that they were trying to hide from me as long as possible. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When Nate paused before opening the door, it just confused me even more. He opened the door, stepped outside, and froze, and when Shane and I pushed him forward just enough to see, I finally understood./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"There, lying on the ground, bloodied, bruised, and still being beaten was my little sister. This is what they were hiding from me. At that moment I froze as a million emotions washed over me. I was upset with Shane and Nate for not telling me about Mitchie's living situation. I was angry and my parents for putting her in this situation. I wanted to kill the couple for treating my sister like this. But mostly I was angry with myself, for not being able to stop Mitchie from being taken from me in the first place, for not finding Mitchie sooner to prevent this, for not telling Shane and Nate about Mitchie, for not remembering the guardianship papers sooner, and for letting her be taken from me again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Then I was flooded with a new emotion, as I watched Nate put his own body in between my sister and board that she was being beaten with, as I heard the resounding CRACK! as the board hit him in the back of the head, as I saw him fall to the ground, still covering Mitchie's body with his own. As I saw the police struggle to contain Richard, as I saw Shane cover Nate and Mitchie with his body, protecting them from any stray blows from the struggle between the police and Richard. I made my decision when I saw Richard throw the board and hit Shane in the shoulder. I rushed over to help the police restrain Richard, he had hurt my little sister and my little brothers and that was not ok with me. I knew the only way that they would be able to contain him is to knock him out, but to do that they would have to have a hand to do that with and they were all trying to keep him from attacking them and Shane. I ran over and whispered in one of the cops ears to let him attack me and I would keep him occupied while they knocked him out. The cop looked at me, silently asking if I was sure. I nodded. He conveyed the message to his fellow cops and they looked at me. I nodded, saying I was ready./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They released Richard, and he charged me. I put up a fist to punch him, but he grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. I gasped as he dislocated my shoulder. He kept twisting and I heard a crack. He had broke something, but what I didn't know. What I did know was that those police had better hurry up or he was going to completely rip my arm out of its socket. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Finally, a cop was able to knock him out. I gasped in pain as my arm dropped limply to my side. I gently cradled it against my chest./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry, Jason? Right?" I nodded. "Everytime we went to hit him he moved and if we had swung we would have either hit you or Shane."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's alright. I knew it wouldn't be easy and I knew I was letting a very angry man attack me. I knew I was going to get hurt." I replied. I watched as they cuffed Richard and hauled him off. They informed me that they had already arrested his wife and that an ambulance was on its way. I nodded my thanks and turned to Shane, Nate, and Mitchie. Shane was still curled protectively around Nate and Mitchie. I gently let my arm hang by my side once again and gently placed my hand on Shane's shoulder, the one that hadn't been hit by the board. He looked up at me and I nodded, silently telling him that it was over. He nodded back at me and glanced down at Nate and Mitchie. I kneeled down next to him and felt for a pulse on both of them. I was so scared I wouldn't find one, but they were there. I breathed a sigh of relief. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When I accidentally jostled my arm I gasped in pain. Shane looked at me with scared eyes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What happened?" He asked me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Richard wasn't being contained by the police so I told them to let him attack me so they could knock him out. Richard decided to try to rip my arm out of its socket by twisting it behind my back. He dislocated my shoulder, and kept twisting. He eventually broke something as well. The police finally got a window to hit him and not you or I. I'm fine it just really hurts. How's your shoulder?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hurts but I will live." I nodded and glanced down at Nate and Mitchie, who were still wrapped in Shane's embrace, and felt a little left out. Shane must have noticed because he opened his arm to welcome me into the semi hug. I gladly accepted and as Shane wrapped his arms around Nate, Mitchie, and I, and I wrapped my good arm around him, the feeling that had come over me earlier returned. I sat there in the embrace of the three people who I loved and knew that they loved me as well. I knew then that no matter what happened next all four of us would forever be loved./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"-/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"emspan style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"Well, there it is. Good? Bad? Let me know! Also Check out my other stories! Thanks for reading!/span/em/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" -/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shane POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Today is the day we get Mitchie back. Nate, Jason, and I are saying goodbye to Uncle Brown right now. The lawyer is sitting in the car waiting for us and as soon as we get in the car, Nate is going to call the police to meet us at Mitchie's house./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bye Uncle Brown, we will miss you." I told him. Giving him a hug./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Bye Shane. You three and Mitchie are coming back next summer as counselors, no argument." he told me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Of course. And we will see you at Thanksgiving right?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yep. I will be there." Jason, Nate, and I got in the car. We waved to Brown as the car drove off./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Now, tell me what is going on." The lawyer demanded as we drove off. Nate called the police and I explained the situation while Jason was busy looking over the documents. He nodded when I finished and went over the papers with Jason again. We were on our way to save Mitchie, I just hoped we made it in time./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mitchie POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We got home really late. When we got in the house Richard turned and slapped me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You won Final Jam, but you know I hate those slow depressing songs. You will not sleep tonight, and tomorrow you will clean the entire house before your beating will ensue." he yelled at me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oui Monsieur." I said. They went to bed and I went to my closet. I sat up all night writing a song to Nate, Jason, and Shane, telling them everything that I would never get to say to them again because I knew that I was going to die with the beating tomorrow, there was no way I would survive./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The next morning came too fast for me. I got up, made breakfast, and started cleaning. I finished cleaning the entire mansion and reported back to Richard. Elizabeth was sitting in the library reading. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""To the backyard." Richard ordered. I obediently went to the backyard and waited. Richard went into the shed and pulled out the whip and board. I also saw him pull out his brass knuckles and swiss army knife. Uh-oh, he hasn't used those since I was ten. Now I was really scared. The beating started as normal, he hit me with the whip, but he just kept hitting. Finally he stopped and moved to the board. Once again he just kept hitting and hitting. I felt so many ribs break. He then moved to the knife, making cut after cut in my skin, I am sure he was carving a message in my skin. He pulled out his cigarette and lighter, he lit the cigarette and pressed it to my skin. He repeated this process again and again. Once again I was sure he was inscribing something in my skin. By the time he started hitting and kicking me, I was in so much pain I was ready to black out from the pain and blood loss. Suddenly I heard voices screaming my name, and I blacked out./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nate POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We arrived at the address Mitchie had given us, and Shane and I gasped. This place was HUGE! This was a grade one mansion. Mitchie had to clean this place everyday?! We really needed to get her out of here quickly. I looked over at Shane and knew he was thinking the same thing, but when I glanced at Jason he looked scared out of his mind./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What's wrong Jason?" I asked him. Shane looked over at Jason as well./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah you're really pale." Shane commented. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's just… What if Mitchie is happy here? What if she found a new family that loves her and doesn't want to leave them? I mean look at this house! She probably has the best life here and doesn't want anything to do with her lame brother." Jason rambled on. I looked at Shane and we simultaneously pulled Jason into a hug./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Jason, you're not thinking this through. Do you remember how upset Mitchie was when she had to leave you, to leave us? She doesn't want to be here, trust me. There is no one she would rather live with than you. I promise. She doesn't want to be here." I told him. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah I guess you're right. Thanks Nate, Shane." Jason nodded. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The police arrived and we all got out of our cars./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm Officer Pete. What is going on here? All we got was a call telling us to come here and not to turn our sirens on so we can catch them in the act." An officer asked us./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I am Shane, and this is Nate and Jason. There is child abuse happening in this house and if they heard the sirens they would stop and make it look like they are a loving family when they are really not. Mitchie is fifteen living in the care of Richard and Elizabeth Torres. We also need your help to get Mitchie out of here because Jason is her brother and legal guardian, as soon as she signs the papers, which won't be a problem unless they try to influence her into not signing the papers." Shane informed the police./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Our plan is to enter as quietly as we can, which means no knocking and no breaking the door down. We sneak through the house to the backyard first, that is where Mitchie and Richard will most likely be, and I don't know where Elizabeth will be. If they are not in the backyard then we will search the house until we find them." I told informed them of the plan that Shane and I had come up with in the car. Jason still didn't need to know what was happening to Mitchie, he would get too emotional and an emotional Jason is never a good thing./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The officer nodded and we moved to the door. I looked at Shane and nodded at him. He reached out and turned the knob, luckily the door was not locked and the hinges didn't squeak, in fact the door made no noise. Jason entered first, I followed him, Shane followed me, and the officers followed Shane. I took the lead and lead the way to the backyard. We reached the door that lead to the backyard. I took a deep breath trying to ready myself for what I would see, but little did I know nothing could have prepared me for the image that would haunt me for the rest of my life./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I opened the door and was frozen to my spot. I felt Shane and Jason press behind me to see and then freeze as well. There was Mitchie, my beloved twin sister, bruised bleeding, and limp. Richard put down the knife he was using and picked up a board. At that moment something happened in my body and I was able to think and move again. I was not going to let that man hurt her again. I promised to protect her and I wasn't going to fail anymore./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I ran forward yelling her name. I scooped her up and covered her with my body, shielding her from the next blow. I held her close to my heart, whispering to her that it will be ok. The board came down and hit me. Hard. Hit me in the back of the head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As I blacked out my last thought was that Richard would still hit me and leave Mitchie alone./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shane POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We arrived at the mansion where Mitchie was being held captive. I don't care what it is legally called, but usually being kept against your will is called being held captive. After talking to the police and informing them of our plan, we silently entered the house. I was really worried about Mitchie. I just hoped we got here in time. As we walked through the house, I noticed a small closet under the stairs. I broke away from the group and went over to the closet. I opened the door and saw Mitchie's songbook, which meant this was the closet she was forced to stay in. I picked up her book and joined back up with the group. I fell in behind Nate as we stopped at the door that lead to the backyard. I could see Nate was trying to compose himself for what we were about to see. I knew there was no way we would be ready for what we were about to see./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Nate opened the door and froze. Jason and I both tried to get by Nate enough to see what he was staring at. When we did we both froze as well. Mitchie was lying on the ground, bloodied, bruised, and limp. I really hoped she was just unconscious and not dead. Richard put down the knife and picked up a board. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"All of a sudden, Nate burst forward. Jason and I were both frozen as we watched the boy who had become our bandmate, best friend, and little brother put himself between Mitchie and the board. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We could hear the resounding CRACK! as the board hit Nate in the back of the head. He fell on top of Mitchie. Alright that is it, you don't mess with the ones I love. I started towards Richard, but the police beat me to it. They wrestled with Richard, Mitchie and Nate still in the danger zone. I rushed over, kneeled next to Nate and Mitchie, scooped them up into my arms, and held them close to my chest, shielding them from any blows that would hit them from the fight would hit me instead. Richard must have thrown the board cause I felt it hit my shoulder, painfully hard. As the struggle continued I kept taking small blows to my back and shoulders. I would be bruised tomorrow, but that was a small sacrifice I was willing to take for Nate and Mitchie. Suddenly, the blows stopped and so did all sound. I didn't come uncurled from Mitchie and Nate until I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Jason looking down at me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Jason POV/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I was so scared when we pulled up and I saw the mansion that Mitchie lived in. Why would anyone want to leave a place like this? There is no way Mitchie would want to leave this place for me. Nate and Shane must have noticed my fear because they asked me what was wrong and I found myself spilling all of my fears to them. They informed me that Mitchie couldn't wait to get out of this place. I nodded. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We got out of the car and Shane and Nate talked to the police while I continued staring at the size of the house. I mean Shane, Nate, and I have a mansion but it is only like half the size of this one. I wondered why the police were here, and why we were sneaking in the house. Shane and Nate were whispering the entire ride. I was talking to the lawyer part of the time but I still noticed them whispering. I wondered what they were hiding from me. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"We entered the house and my fear of her not wanting to leave grew by the immense beauty and true size of the house. I mindlessly followed Nate to the door that lead to the backyard. Shane had at some point gotten in front of me, behind Nate. I wondered what was going on that they were trying to hide from me as long as possible. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When Nate paused before opening the door, it just confused me even more. He opened the door, stepped outside, and froze, and when Shane and I pushed him forward just enough to see, I finally understood./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"There, lying on the ground, bloodied, bruised, and still being beaten was my little sister. This is what they were hiding from me. At that moment I froze as a million emotions washed over me. I was upset with Shane and Nate for not telling me about Mitchie's living situation. I was angry and my parents for putting her in this situation. I wanted to kill the couple for treating my sister like this. But mostly I was angry with myself, for not being able to stop Mitchie from being taken from me in the first place, for not finding Mitchie sooner to prevent this, for not telling Shane and Nate about Mitchie, for not remembering the guardianship papers sooner, and for letting her be taken from me again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Then I was flooded with a new emotion, as I watched Nate put his own body in between my sister and board that she was being beaten with, as I heard the resounding CRACK! as the board hit him in the back of the head, as I saw him fall to the ground, still covering Mitchie's body with his own. As I saw the police struggle to contain Richard, as I saw Shane cover Nate and Mitchie with his body, protecting them from any stray blows from the struggle between the police and Richard. I made my decision when I saw Richard throw the board and hit Shane in the shoulder. I rushed over to help the police restrain Richard, he had hurt my little sister and my little brothers and that was not ok with me. I knew the only way that they would be able to contain him is to knock him out, but to do that they would have to have a hand to do that with and they were all trying to keep him from attacking them and Shane. I ran over and whispered in one of the cops ears to let him attack me and I would keep him occupied while they knocked him out. The cop looked at me, silently asking if I was sure. I nodded. He conveyed the message to his fellow cops and they looked at me. I nodded, saying I was ready./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They released Richard, and he charged me. I put up a fist to punch him, but he grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. I gasped as he dislocated my shoulder. He kept twisting and I heard a crack. He had broke something, but what I didn't know. What I did know was that those police had better hurry up or he was going to completely rip my arm out of its socket. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Finally, a cop was able to knock him out. I gasped in pain as my arm dropped limply to my side. I gently cradled it against my chest./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry, Jason? Right?" I nodded. "Everytime we went to hit him he moved and if we had swung we would have either hit you or Shane."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's alright. I knew it wouldn't be easy and I knew I was letting a very angry man attack me. I knew I was going to get hurt." I replied. I watched as they cuffed Richard and hauled him off. They informed me that they had already arrested his wife and that an ambulance was on its way. I nodded my thanks and turned to Shane, Nate, and Mitchie. Shane was still curled protectively around Nate and Mitchie. I gently let my arm hang by my side once again and gently placed my hand on Shane's shoulder, the one that hadn't been hit by the board. He looked up at me and I nodded, silently telling him that it was over. He nodded back at me and glanced down at Nate and Mitchie. I kneeled down next to him and felt for a pulse on both of them. I was so scared I wouldn't find one, but they were there. I breathed a sigh of relief. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"When I accidentally jostled my arm I gasped in pain. Shane looked at me with scared eyes./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What happened?" He asked me./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Richard wasn't being contained by the police so I told them to let him attack me so they could knock him out. Richard decided to try to rip my arm out of its socket by twisting it behind my back. He dislocated my shoulder, and kept twisting. He eventually broke something as well. The police finally got a window to hit him and not you or I. I'm fine it just really hurts. How's your shoulder?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hurts but I will live." I nodded and glanced down at Nate and Mitchie, who were still wrapped in Shane's embrace, and felt a little left out. Shane must have noticed because he opened his arm to welcome me into the semi hug. I gladly accepted and as Shane wrapped his arms around Nate, Mitchie, and I, and I wrapped my good arm around him, the feeling that had come over me earlier returned. I sat there in the embrace of the three people who I loved and knew that they loved me as well. I knew then that no matter what happened next all four of us would forever be loved./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"-/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; padding: 0pt 0pt 7.5pt 0pt;"emspan style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: transparent;"Well, there it is. Good? Bad? Let me know! Also Check out my other stories! Thanks for reading!/span/em/p