"Emma! Stop reading and get down here!" Oh how Emma loved the yelling voice of her father. She never knew why he was so fluent in harsh screaming. She didn't argue with him, ever. She knew that he would probably do something terrible to her to make her do something if she refused. Because of that, Emma immediately put her book down and flew down the stairs as fast as she could with her blonde hair flying behind her. Of course, she was the only blonde in her family. Not even her twin brother Martin had blonde hair. She was always different. And she was the smart blonde. That's not something you see everyday.

"What do you need father?" Emma said as she turned the corner. She saw her stern father in the kitchen with a tired Martin sitting across from him. Martin didn't look like he usually did, and that scared her beyond terrified. She never knew what to think when that happened. She never knew what happened to him. She wouldn't be able to help either. She never has been able to help. Instead of asking, which would totally make her father freak out on her, she sat down next to Martin and tried not to look her father in the eyes. His face was stern and there was no trace of a smile in the past 4 years.

"What I need is some kids who will listen to me. Go to the basement and get out my binders. And don't you dare look through them" her father said. Emma immediately got up and ran to the basement door. She ran down the stairs and turned on the light. She started walking farther into the basement and found old stuff from when she was little. That's probably why her father had sent her instead of Martin. He knew she would get distracted and emotional from seeing the things her mother had bought for them. Their mother had died in a car crash 4 years prior and the house had never been the same. Her stuff was brought to the basement so the memories would be forgotten, and Emma and Martin were stuck with an emotionally broken father who told the doctors he was fine. He wasn't fine. Emma knew that much. Their father hadn't taken his medications since the accident and since then, things had been terrible. She'd never tell anyone about it though. Her father would do worse things than he already does.

Emma walked farther into the basement and found a bag of binders. She picked them up and couldn't help looking at them. She put one on the table and opened it. What she found inside was not what she expected at all. Pictures of strangers. Mugshots. She rifled through the files and saw names and things from a former police case. Before she saw too much, she closed the binder and stuck it back in the bag. She did not like disobeying her father, and when she did there were terrible consequences. She tried to hear her father upstairs to make sure he hadn't seen what she did and she heard him yelling at Martin. She wanted to go take Martin to a safe place far away from where they lived. It was their house. Their dwelling. But it would never be home again. Not without their mother, and Martin would agree. If they could leave, they would immediately. But they'll never be allowed to leave. Emma was pulled out of her suffocating thoughts by a knocking on the basement door and her father yelling at her to be faster. Emma grabbed the bag of binders and ran up the stairs. When she got to the kitchen, Martin looked like he had been crying. She saw no sign of her father anywhere, so she put the bag down on the table. She ran over to Martin and looked at his face. His eyes were red and and he looked even more tired than before. He looked just plain worn out.

"Martin, what happened?" Emma whispered. Martin shook his head. "Not right now. I'm fine. I'll be fine" he whispered back. Emma nodded and their father walked back in and took the binders to his study. Before he left the room he looked at Emma, and instead of thanking her like a good father would, he mumbled "took you long enough" then walked out. Emma didn't even care anymore. She took Martin's hand and brought him upstairs to their room.

"What did he do to you?" Emma asked. Martin looked like he was going to cry again. The sight of that made her want to cry as well. She couldn't though, because then she would have to make up some story for their friends. It was always hard to keep this from their friends, because they pushed so much. They never stopped asking why they couldn't go to their house or why they sometimes had to go home early. They would end up telling someone and then they'd be taken out of their house and have to go to court and she wouldn't be able to handle it. She has enough anxiety as it is. Always scared that her father would walk into the room and start yelling for no reason, or start doing something terrible to her or Martin.

"He just did what he usually does. It was nothing too bad that can't be fixed" Martin said. He put his hand on his neck and winced. Emma went to go help him and found that he was bleeding. She took a tissue and put it on his wound. "Thanks" Martin said.

Martin, it's not going to get fixed if you don't go to a doctor. And dad will never-" Emma started, but she was cut off. "Don't call him dad. He's just a guy who takes care of us. And he doesn't even do that" he said. Emma looked down. "Right, sorry. Force of habit. Anyway, he won't take either of us to a doctor. Go to the nurse today. And if you don't, I'll take you myself" she said. Martin's eyes pleaded for her to let go of the situation, but she wouldn't. She'd come up with a cover story about how it happened. She'd even blame it on herself if it meant that he would get healed. Their father was very good at not leaving evidence. He'd once given them mild food poisoning and they went home sick. Right back to the house with the person who gave it to them and would show no sympathy for what he had done. Emma had observed him when they were just sitting in the living room. Their father was completely mad. Sick. He was a true sociopath. He would not show any feelings. And Emma and Martin had to pay for it. Simply by being alive. There were even times where she wished her father would just get it over with and kill her. There was no point in living if she was going to be verbally and sometimes physically abused. That wasn't living. That was merely surviving under terrible conditions. She hoped that Martin didn't have those feelings as well. She didn't know if it made it easier or harder to have someone else to live with. It was easier because they were there to support and help each other after something happened. It was harder because she had to watch Martin get physically hurt. That pained her a lot. It was a physical twang to her heart. She was sometimes forced to watch it happen and she either screamed or cried. The only way she could escape her own thoughts were with music or books. Even then it was hard to forget the traumatizing events. It was hard to forget seeing your twin brother get hurt by someone who is supposed to love you.

While trapped in her suffocating thoughts, Emma tried to get her bag packed for school. Martin did the same, but he winced every time he moved his neck. Emma eventually had to look away so she didn't have the image of him hurting in her mind. After they were done, they walked down the stairs as quietly as they could to try not to disturb their father. They got out of the house without making a noise and walked to the bus stop. Emma decided to confront him about what happened again.

"Seriously, what did he do. I don't know 'what he usually does' means" Emma said. She looked at Martin again to see if he was even considering telling her, and all she saw were two, beautiful, but worn out green eyes. His eyes weren't too different from her blue, green and yellow ones.

"It was just his nail. He scratched my neck, and slapped my face. Nothing a school bully couldn't do" Martin said. His brown hair was in his eyes like it usually was, but Emma could still see the hurt in them. He tried so hard to hate their father like he was expected to, but Emma could see that it was killing him, and not in a physical sense. No matter what, he was still their father and Emma would always understand if Martin still loved him. A part of her still loved him as a hope that he would miraculously take his medication one morning, and start getting better. Emma and Martin would tell him to take his medication, but they were absolutely terrified of what he would say or do. He took it when the doctors first prescribed it to him, but after they said he didn't need to go to therapy anymore, he stopped taking it.

"Martin, that's a pretty big deal. He made a physical mark on your skin. That could leave a scar" Emma said. She looked at his neck again and he had stopped bleeding, which only revealed the wound. It wasn't too bad, and it would heal, but it would leave a scar, none the less. His hair would hide it for now, as it was on the back of his neck, but there was no way that Emma would let him stay like that. And what's worse was that the left side of his face was completely red. Emma was so distracted by Martin's current condition, that she they almost missed the bus. When she saw it come around the corner, she was jolted back to reality and they started running. They barely made it. When they walked onto the bus they saw their friends Will and Sam. Will was talking to one of the other guys on the bus, and so was Sam. They were so much alike, that they could also pass as siblings, and usually were mistaken for exactly that. Although Sam had dyed black hair with blue accents and a layered top. She usually wore only black jeans and a band t-shirt with a sweatshirt. Will had natural black hair and wore neon gym clothes and a snap-back. Emma walked back to the seat that Sam was sitting in and sat next to her. She took her earbuds out and smiled at her.

"Hey, how are you?" Sam asked. Emma contemplated what to say for a few seconds.

"I'm good. You?" Emma responded. Sam shrugged and looked out the window. Emma always wondered what went on in her best friend's head. What she was thinking about when she looked out the window was probably a mystery to everybody but herself.

"It's been an interesting few days. But you don't want to hear about my life, anything newsworthy happen in yours?" she asked. Emma shook her head out of habit.

"My life is just as boring" she said through an exasperated sigh. She looked over at Martin who had his hand on his neck, holding the paper towel there in case it started bleeding again. He met her eyes and nodded in approval at her response to Sam.

"So, did you get the homework done?" Emma asked. Will rolled his eyes.

"When have I ever been someone who does their homework? You do know who you're talking to, right?" Will said. Emma smiled and nodded.

"How could I forget? And you're going to blind someone with your clothes" she said as she put her hand up to shield her eyes.

"Hey, guys, we're here" Martin said.

"Thanks for the warning. I wouldn't have been able to see the school over the reflection of Will's pants" Sam said as she picked up her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. Emma did the same and they filed off of the bus. Emma walked to keep up with Martin.

"I'm taking you to the nurse now. Don't even go to your locker yet, just follow me. She'll give us a pass" Emma said. Martin reluctantly nodded and started walking faster. They walked into the school and to the nurse. When they got there the nurse looked surprised.

"Well, if it isn't the Keal twins! Come on in!" the nurse said. Martin raised his eyebrow and slowly walked in. He took the paper towel off of his neck and touched the scratch, only to find blood on his fingers.

"Emma, how many times have you been here? Why does she know our names?" Martin whispered.

"I come here pretty often. It's nothing about him though, I'm just really, uh, clumsy" Emma said.

"Oh, honey what happened to you? Where is the wound?" the nurse asked. Martin pushed his hair back to reveal the fingernail shaped scratch on the back of his neck. The nurse came over and looked at it, then gave him a tissue to hold on it.

"How did this happen? They look like human finger nail marks" she asked. Emma had come up with a story on the bus.

"Um, it was, uh... it was our father" She said. Martin turned to look at her with wide eyes as if asking 'why are you doing this? We agreed not to tell anyone?', but Emma decided that it was time for their safety for once, and if Martin wasn't going to let them have safety, she would do it on her own.

"I think what she means is that our father bought this dog and-" Martin started, but Emma cut him off. She was on the verge of tears.

"No, what I mean is that our father did it with his own hands. He did it purposely, and he won't allow us to get treatment for the wounds he gives us" Emma said. A tear slipped down her face when Martin looked at her with his big eyes and his mouth slightly open. His eyes were glassy as well. The nurse was looking at the two from behind her desk as she attempted to call the school's social worker.

"Martin, I know you're mad, but I did the right thing. He left a permanent mark on your skin, and I'm not going to let that happen again" Emma said. Martin nodded as one of his own stubborn tears slid from his eye and down his face.

"Shoot, now I'm crying, too. And I'm not mad, I'm just surprised that you did that. I never would have expected you to do it" Martin said as he wiped his cheek. Emma smiled.

"We don't have to see him again. He'll go where he belongs and they'll make him take his medication. They'll give us a new family that will love us, and things will be good again, okay?" Emma said. Martin looked down.

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but it will be hard to be taken away from him" he said. Emma nodded.

"But remember, it's for the best. And we'll still be together, they won't be able to separate us" Emma reminded him. Another tear slid down both of their faces.

When the school's social worker came to get them, it was an eventful meeting. He asked them how long it had been, what made him do it, what his name was, how old he was, and his phone number. There were a lot of tears, especially when he called social services. Emma and Martin were sent back to class after they assured him that they were fine, and they told Will and Sam what was going on.

"Guys, where have you been? It's not like you to miss three classes" Sam said. Emma looked at her and decided the words to say.

"We had a family problem. We won't be living with our father anymore" Emma said. Sam and Will's eyes widened and they asked them about the situation. After they explained what was going on, Sam and Will were on the verge of tears as well.

"Guys, how could you not tell us this? And why would you wait four years?" Will asked. Emma wondered the same thing. But she didn't answer the question.

After the school day ended, Emma and Martin were asked to stay behind. They weren't allowed to go back home, at least not while their father was there. The social worker was on the phones and said that he had good news for them. They waited for a few hours. To pass the time, they played card games and drew pictures. Emma read the majority of the time. Then the social worker walked in with two guys and a smile on his face.

"Hey guys. So, I made a few phone calls to some friends, and I've found some very nice people for you to live with. This is Eric and John. They will be adopting you from your father. And I'm sorry to say this, but your father will be taken to court, and you have to attend. He will be sentenced to jail without parole" The social worker said. Emma didn't know what to think. She looked at the two people who were going to adopt her and Martin, and she saw their smiling faces. She saw the sincerity behind their eyes and knew that it would be okay. So what if she had to go to court to discuss her father's punishment? She definitely didn't want to see him.

"Do we have to go to court if we don't want to?" Emma asked. The social worker shook his head.

"Of course not. We know how hard it can be to see him again" he said. Emma sighed in relief. She never wanted to see him again. And Eric and John looked so happy and nice. She knew that she would love living with them.

"So, we know how hard this is for you guys. My father also abused me as a child. You take as much time as you need to adapt to our house when you get there, and hopefully, soon, you'll call it home. I'm John, by the way. This is Eric" John said. Emma nodded and looked at Martin. Another tear fell from his eye, and Emma took his hand.

"Martin, It's going to be okay. I'll be here if you need me" she said. Martin nodded and gave her a small smile. Then they made their way outside and into the car. When they got to the house, she knew they would be fine. This was the start of a new, loving family.