Kyla

I stand here staring at the door that Diedrek just walked out of for a moment. I found myself doing something I haven't done in so long; I lay my head back with my eyes closed and say a silent prayer. I haven't ever gone to church, but Uncle taught my cousins and I all about the Gods up there and how they sometimes hear our cries in moments of need. I have never hoped that were true as I do now.

"You all right over there?" Darius's voice breaks away my thoughts. I turn to him and smile.

I find my hands have grown sleek with sweat, my heartbeat has accelerated, and I'm feeling a little dizzy. I'm not sure if it's the smell of my fear radiating off my body in waves, my face, or everything all together but Darius stands from the chair and makes his way to me.

"Hey, hey it's okay. I promise I won't bite." He shoots me a wink with his hands held up in a surrender motion. Just like that I forget all about my worries. I break out into a fit of giggle.

"You promise?" I squint my eyes in his direction.

He crosses his heart with his fingers, "of course, although you're my little sister, Diedrek would have my head." He reaches for my hand and pulls me along behind him to the couch.

Once he's helped me sit down, he reaches behind me for a blanket, covers me with it, and makes his way to his favorite chair. A smile grows along my lips. I cannot help but think how adorable that was. He's really trying to be a good brother.

"So," he begins to say as he puts his elbow on top of his knees. I watch as he relaxes his upper body, his head on top of his folded hands. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me?" His eyes are inquisitive now. He almost looks like a little boy, with his cute blonde hair slightly in his eyes, head tilt, and a look of innocence on his face.

Once his words are out, I find myself wondering where to begin. Clearing my throat, I just decide to go with it. To ask the first thing that comes to mind.

"Do we have any other siblings?" I really want to know the answer.

I've always been an only child, and as much as I love my cousin Lucas, he's not really my sibling.

His smile only grows, "we have an older sister. Our father..." He pauses mid-sentence, leaning back in his chair. He looks down at his legs. I give him the moment that he needs to collect his thoughts. I twirl my thumbs, looking at the fire. Wondering what he is about to say.

"She looks a lot like our father." He puffs out a laugh, but it holds no humor. "They both hate it. Her because she despises our father with a passion." I can hear his teeth grind as he speaks the words.

"Why does he?" I whisper so softly I'm not certain he will hear my words. When his eyes make their way to me, I can see the devastation in them.

"In his words it's impossible to fuck the stupid out of someone that is the female version of yourself." My eyes widen in horror.

What kind of a monster thinks that way about his own daughter? "He didn't?" my words break away as my throat clogs with terror as I await the answer.

When he shakes his head no, I find I can breathe again. That feeling doesn't last long, his next words hit me right in the heart causing me to double over on the couch.

"He didn't, but it didn't stop him from allowing his friends to have their way with her." His eyes turn red for a moment. Showing his anger with what our sister had to go through while growing up.

My face falls into the blanket that is laid on top of my body. I feel the first tear fall from my eyes. Before long I have a trail making its way down to my chin.

It takes me a few minutes to gather my composure, once I do, I lift my body back into a seated position. Wiping the salty drops away, I take a deep breath and look to Darius. He does nothing but looks at me. Understanding held within his eyes.

"What happened to her?" I'm afraid to ask but I need to know. I'm hoping with everything I am that she is out of the monsters' clutches. Happy and thriving elsewhere.

"Well, that went on for years. I wish I could have done something, but it started when I was only three. Not much I could do." His voice sounds defeated.

"I used to sneak into her room after I saw the last of father's men leave. I would knock hesitantly on the door." A small smile grows on his lips.

He lifts from the chair and makes his way to the fireplace. He watches the flames for a moment before he turns around to face me. "She would tell me to go away from inside her room, both of us knowing all too well I wasn't going anywhere until she opened the door." I hear humor in his tone as he speaks fondly of the girl he grew up with.

He takes in a deep breath; it comes out seconds later in a sigh. "She would finally give in. Open the door and walk back to her bed. I wouldn't say anything. I would just follow her to it and lay beside her. I would hold her while she cried in my arms." Sadness is written all over his face once more.

"How long did that go on for?" Hesitantly I ask, making sure to tread lightly. This topic is a difficult one to talk about. Especially, when it has to do with someone close to you.

"About four years. When she was seventeen, I walked in on her holding a stake to her heart." The last word comes out broken. The same as my heart feels as I listen to him speak about this.

I stop breathing all together. I cannot believe this; I will never get to meet her. I will never talk with her. "She didn't do it." His words break into my thoughts. My eyes shooting to him.

"I took the stake from her hand. She tried to fight me for it, and if I hadn't been trained since the age of five, she would have been able to win that fight. Luckily, although ten years her junior I was able to win." He walks back to the chair.

Once seated he scooches to the edge. He lifts my hands into his, looking at the backs of them. "I knew even at the youthful age of seven I needed to get her out of here. Far away from the monsters that raised us all." Conviction marks his tone.

"Did you?" I bite into my lip so hard I taste a droplet of blood on my tongue. I lick it away as his eyes make their way to me.

He smiles, as he brings one hand to the corner of my mouth to wipe away what I missed. "Yes, I did, she waits for me to call upon her for help when the time is right." I smile at him. Kind of hard not to with the devilish one that is growing on his lips right now. He looks like a devious teenager, one that knows a dark secret that he doesn't wish to share.

"How did you get her away from here?"

His eyes fill with mischief, "That is a story for another time my dear sister." He kisses the back of my hand, before sitting back in his chair. I huff and puff like a child, as I cross my arms over my chest. Causing the sweet sound of his laughter to fill the room.