"This is it." He pushed the door open with his shoulder while carefully making sure the child didn't slide from his back.

"There's lazana here?" the child asked.

He chuckled. "I have to warm it up first. C'mon." He entered the living room only to be met with a pair of cold eyed and a set of crossed arms.

"You bring a kid to my place, Scott?"

"C'mon, Vince," he said pleadingly, it's my kid sister."

"I don't care whose kid it is," Vincent said, "once the parents find out, there will be cops all over it. I don't need them snooping around. And neither do you." He pointed a finger at the little girl. "Take her back. I mean it, Ray."

Ray sighed and put the girl down. "Stay here, kay?" He turned back to Vincent. "She can't go back to that place. There's a reason I left. She was just a baby then so I couldn't bring her then."

"I don't care about all that shit," Vincent said, "you running away from home was your choice. And who took you in when you had nowhere else to go? I did. You owe me."

Ray narrowed his eyes. "And I've been workin' for you the entire time. I think I've paid off my debt."

Vincent gave him a threatening glare. "I'm still providing you with a roof over your head and food in your mouth. Without me, you would be out on the streets."

Ray gritted his teeth. As much as he wanted to go against Vincent, he knew better. No one stood up to Vincent. He was unpredictable, involved in shady business with questionable characters. You didn't want to get on his bad side. "At least lemme give her somethin' to eat."

Vincent grabbed his jacket and pointed at Ray. "I want her gone by the time I get back."

Ray flinched at the sound of the door slamming and turned to his sister. He kneeled down to her level and forced out a smile. "I'll warm up that lasagna for you, kay?"

The girl looked at him with a serious expression on her young face. "He's not nice."

He couldn't argue with that. "He's just tired. Some, sit here." He planted her on the couch and walked to the kitchen to heat up the leftover lasagna. Meanwhile, he was thinking about what to do next. He couldn't bring her back home. It was only a matter of time before something would happen to her .

He had been older than her when his parents had started taking a liking to drugs and alcohol. He could take care of himself. He had learned to steal and lie his way through life, taking in the occasional beating, until he could take it no more. By then he had already caught Vincent's eye.

Ray looked up when a girl entered the kitchen. Only dressed in a long T-shirt over her panties, she ran a hand through her long dark curls. As she yawned and stretched her arms, her eyes fell on Ray, standing at the microwave. "Where's Vince?"

Ray glanced at her. "Denise," he greeted her. He sighed. "Vincent went out." He was a little wary of Denise. She had Vincent had an on-off relationship, though even in the 'off'-period she was here most of the time. She could be nice if she chose to, but mostly she reminded Ray of a cat ready to claw your eyes out.

Denise pouted. "When's he coming back?"

Ray shrugged. "I don't know." It really depended on where he had gone. Deliveries might not take long, but he might as well be at the car shop. Or perhaps Vince was recruiting. He had learned not to ask questions. The less he knew, the better.

He took the now warm lasagna from the microwave and walked over to the couch. "Here you go, Ally. Careful, it's hot. Don't burn yourself."

Denise tilted her head curiously, only now noticing the child. "You got a kid, Ray?"

"She's my little sister," Ray said.

Denise moved over and sat down next to the girl on the couch. "She's so cute!" she cooed, "what's her name?"

"Alyssa," Ray said stiffly. Perhaps he shouldn't have brought her here after all.

"Hello Alyssa," Denise cooed, "I'm Denise."

Alyssa looked at her. "You're pretty."

Denise smiled at Ray. "I like her already. Can I keep her?"

Ray frowned. "Vincent wants me to bring her back."

"Yeah," Denise said, "I figured he'd say that."

Ray gritted his teeth. "I can't let her go back to that place. It's even worse than when I still lived there. When I came there the front door was wide open and my parents were all doped up."

Denise pursed her lips. "You could always place an anonymous tip."

He narrowed his eyes. "I don' want her to go into the system. They don' care about kids. They just want statistics to go down."

Denise flicked her hair and held out a hand to study her nails. "Well then, I guess you'll just have to win Vince over." She smiled at him sweetly. "Or go back home."

Ray glared at her. Denise didn't like it one bit that he was living here, though he had no clue why she felt that way. For now, he didn't have much choice. If he wanted to work Vince, he couldn't have Alyssa around. He glanced at his little sister. She had already finished her plate. He smiled. "Did it taste good?"

She grinned at him happily and nodded.

"Okay," Ray sighed, "time to get you home then." He put away the plate and lifted her.

"Can I have lazana again tomorrow?" the girl asked longingly.

Ray smiled sadly. "We'll see."

...

Immediately the noises and smells attacked his senses. Nothing would ever change here. It was a depressing thought that even Vincent's squat was better than this apartment building.

With a drowsy Alyssa on his arm, he made his way to the second floor for the second time that day. The door was still widely open, but the television was playing so someone was awake.

He stepped over the same litter that had been there before and looked around the apartment. A man stood with his back towards the door, opening a beer bottle. He didn't even seem to realize he had company.

Ray cleared his throat.

The man whipped around unsteadily and focused his hazy eyes on the boy. The man snorted and wiped his nose with the back of his hand before he spat on the floor. "What do you want, boy? You come for money?"

Ray scoffed. "I'm surprised you even remember who I am."

The man scowled and set his eyes on the girl in his son's arms. "Where are you taking her?"

Ray gritted his teeth. "I already took her somewhere. I was bringing her back, but you were too smacked to even realize she was gone!"

His father shook a finger at him. "Don't you talk to your old man like that, ungrateful brat."

"Ungrateful?" Ray spat, "look around. What's there to be grateful for?"

The bedroom door opened and a woman stumbled into the living space. Her hair was a mess and her pupils were diluted. She looked from her husband to Ray. "What's the shouting about?"

Ray's father spat again. "That good for nothin' son of yours is stealing your daughter."

The woman blinked confused. "What would he want with her?"

Ray gritted his teeth and his body shook with the effort to remain calm. The last thing he needed was for this to turn violent while Alyssa was here. "I was taking care of her," he growled.

His mother narrowed her eyes. "What are you saying? That I don't take care of my baby?"

"Yes," Ray hissed, "that's exactly what I'm saying. You didn't even notice her gone. The door was wide open. Anything could have happened to her!"

"She knows to stay put. Don't you, Lyssa baby?"

A sleepy Alyssa buried her face into Ray's neck

Instinctively, Ray held her closer. He couldn't leave her here. He just couldn't. But what was he going to do at fourteen? And Vincent had clearly stated he didn't want her near.

"Hand the kid over," his father demanded.

"I'm not leaving her here with you!" Ray argued.

"What do you care about the brat?" his father scoffed, "you didn't care when you turned your back on us."

Ray gritted his teeth. It was true that he hadn't looked back. At that point, all he had cared about was getting away from this place. That didn't mean he didn't care. He had checked in a few times. Mostly to steal cash when his parents were out cold, but still he had checked. At least that was what he'd told himself.

He hadn't checked often enough.

"I care now," he said, "and I'm taking her with me."

His father let out a roaring laugh. "You? Take care of a child?" He laugh turned into a scowl. "Take the brat then. And don't come back here no more."

"No!" his mother shouted hysterically, "don't take my baby. Lyssa! Lyssa, come to mommy!"

Alyssa buried her head deeper in Ray's shoulder. A soft whimper escaped her.

Ray watched in horror as his father hit his mother. "Shut up, woman! Let the brat take her. It's good riddance. Watcha need a child for anyway? They're only trouble."

His mother touched her cheek. "And what're we gonna tell that CPS lady that was here last week? She'll come back. What if my baby isn't here?"

"Tell her the brat ran away. Figure something out. Or pay her off. Now stop your whining." He turned to Ray. "Why are you still here?"

Ray shook his head in disbelieve as he watched the people that were supposed to be his parents. Such a joke!

He took a deep breath and with his sister in his arms he left the apartment.

Behind him, the couple had already started another argument.

...

"Vince is gonna kill you," Denise sang while applying another layer of nail polish.

"Shut up, Denise," Ray said tiredly, "I couldn't leave her there. You don't know what it's like."

Dense scowled. "I don't know what it's like? Try having seven siblings all from different daddies. You think any of them took responsibility? Everybody is yelling and screaming. Why'd you think I'm always here?"

Ray sighed. He didn't know much about Denise, but everybody knew her mother. Denise had once mockingly said her mother liked to visit all the continents. With no permanent support, it was hard to raise and feed eight children, but at least she made an effort, Ray thought. Poor as they were, they were all fed and clothed. That was more than he could say.

"I'll figure somethin' out," he said. For the moment, he had placed his little sister in his own room to sleep. Now he had to come up with a way to win over Vincent.

Denise grinned. "Figure it out fast. Vince is back." She nodded at the window where the silhouette of Vincent was clearly seen.

Ray took a deep breath and prepared himself for the approaching storm. He cleared his throat when Vincent entered. "Vincent."

"Not now," Vincent growled. He walked towards the fridge and took out a beer. He dropped down on the couch, knocking over Denise's bottle of nail polish. A smelly purple stain swiftly spread out over the deep red couch. "Dammit woman!" Vincent barked, "how many times did I tell you to keep that crap in the bathroom?!"

Denise rolled her eyes. "Well sorrrry."

Vincent glared at her. "Clean it up!" He turned to Ray. "Alec's coming over tonight. He's got a job for us."

Ray held back a sigh. Alec's jobs were always trouble, but he could not refuse. Alec's anger was worse than Vincent's and involved firearms.

Denise gave a mocking pout. "But Ray's busy, honey. He has to babysit." She smiled sweetly when Ray glared at her. Anything to divert Vincent's anger away from her.

Vincent narrowed his eyes at Ray. "What's she talking about?"

Ray looked at him guiltily. "I did bring her back, but she couldn't stay there. It ain't a good place."

Vincent snorted. "My childhood wasn't all that great, but I turned out just fine. I can't have a kid around when Alec's here. Get rid of it."

"She's my sister," Ray protested.

"Do I look like I care?" Vincent said coldly, "ditch the kid. Or I will."

Ray clenched his fists. He knew Vincent meant it. He also knew he wouldn't like the method Vincent would use. He didn't want his sister to be in any kind of danger. "Gimme some time to figure it out," he said, "I'll arrange something."

Vincent gave him a threatening glare. "You have two hours."