The next morning, Knox drove me home and not a single word was exchanged between us the entire time. I couldn't tell exactly why I was shutting myself off to one of the most important people in the world to me, but it didn't matter. I had more important things to concern myself with, one of them being the fact that the moment I walked inside the house I would have to face the Momster.

"Sang," Knox sighed, leaning his head against the window. "Please get out of the car."

Ever since Knox had pulled into the garage twenty minutes earlier, he had been trying to plead with me to get out of the car, but I was frozen in fear. My mother was inside, Zain could still be inside, and I didn't have my phone on me, which meant I hadn't been able to check if any of the boys had texted me about what had happened at the party. I pulled up the hood of the sweatshirt I had borrowed from Knox and sent him a scowl.

Knox scowled right back at me, and I mentally cursed the fact that we were both so stubborn. This stare off could go on for hours, possibly long enough that we would miss the dinner party all together. The idea didn't sound so bad, and I began to seriously entertain it. That was until the Momster herself, Lauren Sorenson, walked out into the garage.

Immediately, I was climbing out of the car, straightening into perfect posture to greet Lauren, just in case she was in one of her mood's again. When she was in one of her mood's, it didn't matter what I did, she would still punish me anyways.

"Knox, Sang," she said in greeting, looking between the two of us. There was something almost like an accusation in her eyes, but she didn't voice it. "We have things to do today. You both better get inside and get ready, if you don't there will be consequences."

I clenched my jaw to keep from saying anything. When she said there would be consequences, she meant there would be consequences for me. She would never dare punish one of her prized baby boys. Knox and Zain were the sun; Marie, Micah, and I were their shadow. I wanted badly to punch something, preferably Lauren or Zain, but instead just nodded then shuffled past her inside the house.

It had been awhile since she had punished me, so I already knew that I was in for it today. As I treaded up the stairs, I exchanged a look with Knox, both of us mentally preparing ourselves for the long day ahead of us.

***

"Have I ever mentioned that I hate dinner parties," Marie spat out, glaring at anyone who dared to get too close to us. Marie, Micah, and I were standing as far away from everyone else as we could, leaning against a wall and observing the other guests. There was no time to give ourselves a buzz before we had to leave, resulting in us being painfully sober.

"Have I ever mentioned I hate our mother," I grumbled, crossing my arms and glaring across the room at Lauren fucking Sorenson. For a monster, she cleaned up well, pretending to laugh at her elite friend's jokes. I wonder how many xanax's she had to take to make this false image possible.

"Is this a new game we're playing or something?" Micah asked, clearly amused by me and Marie's sour moods. "Because if so, then I hate crab cakes."

Marie and I both sent him annoyed looks, but he just chuckled, obviously finding himself funny. My eyes sought the other unwelcome member of my family that was attending the party: Zain fucking Sorenson, Lauren fucking Sorenson's prized son. It turned out, that since Zain was home when Lauren arrived home that morning, she had forced him to come along so she could show him off. The only pleasure I took out of seeing him at the party was that there was no way he could fight with me in public, and he was obviously miserable.

Knox had ran off with some blonde nearly thirty minutes after we had arrived, and I was already planning all the ways I was going to harm when I saw him again. From the looks on their faces, Marie and Micah were feeling just as murderous as I was towards our two older siblings. As much as I loved them, they certainly made me want to hit them in the head with a waffle iron quite often.

As I did another scan of the room, my eyes drifted over a pair that I barely registered, but then my eyes widened and I looked back at them. I momentarily forgot what breathing was as I looked the two over.

Victor Morgan and Mr. Blackbourne looked absolutely handsome in their suits. Mr. Blackbourne was speaking to Victor, who looked like he would rather be anywhere other than here, and I couldn't blame him for it. He kept yanking at the sleeves of his suit, a look of discomfort present on his features.

If I couldn't have booze, than some friends would just have to do.

I didn't bother telling my siblings where I was going as I strolled across the large party hall the party was being held in. Victor caught sight of me first, and his face lit up, obviously pleased to see there was someone he knew. My heart rate picked up and a smile formed on my face, much too glad to finally have a friend at this damn thing. Not even caring about appearances, I picked up my pace until I had finally reached Victor and I was wrapped up in his arms.

"I didn't know you were going to be here," I said as I pulled away from him, my first real smile of the day forming.

Victor smiled back at me. "Well, I didn't know you were going to be here either."

"Hello, Miss Sorenson," Mr. Blackbourne said, his lips twitching up into a slight smile. "It's good to see you again. The boys informed me of what occurred between you and your brother last night. Are you alright?"

I tensed slightly, not exactly fond of the topic of discussion he was steering us towards. I answered him anyways. "I'm fine. It happens a lot."

Both Victor and Mr. Blackbourne looked at me with curious expressions but I didn't care to elaborate. I didn't need them to see how messed up my family life was. I was nearly squirming where I stood at the thought of my family and home life. At the thought of my family, my spine was straightening up, and I began to look around. My eyes locked with a pair of familiar dark brown ones, and dread filled me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice trembling from the fear that was welling up inside me. "I have to go now."

Both of the boys began to start talking, trying to stop me, but I didn't need anymore damage done. I swallow a big gulping breath of air and walked away as fast as my legs could carry me. Both panic and fear were consuming me, and I was working hard to control my breathing. I ducked down the long hall that lead into the depths of the mansion and was in the process of yanking my phone from my dress, when a hand wrapped around my arm and shoved me against the wall. I bit my lip to contain a whimper.

"Please tell me that I imagined you hugging that boy," Lauren spat at me, her eyes alight with fury that she reserved especially for me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, licking my lips, trying not to show the fear that I felt. She fed off that fear. "I'm sorry. And he's not just any boy. He's Victor Morgan. You know how highly esteemed his parents and him are, don't you? Shouldn't you be glad that I've made friends with him?"

A sharp pain spread through the side of my face and I bit down on my bottom lip hard to keep from hyperventilating. Out of anyone I knew, Lauren gave me the most anxiety. Her grip on my shoulders was tight and she shook me slightly, her lips twisted into a disapproving scowl.

"Do not back talk to me," she demanded, her voice low but venomous. "I told you that you were not allowed to have boy friends, abide by my rules, young lady."

"Yes, mother," I muttered, dejected and utterly hopeless. I was resigned at this point. If nothing I had done thus far was good enough for her, then I supposed I would never be good enough at all, for anyone. "I'm sorry."

"As you should be," she said, seeming pleased by the way I was behaving. "If I catch you talking to a boy again then you'll be having a big glass of lemon juice and vinegar."

My eyes widened and I pressed my back against the wall in a weak attempt to push myself further away from her. I had suffered from the lemon-vinegar concoction too many times, and I wasn't trying to deal with that punishment again. The hits I could take, and the kneeling in rice, and locking me in my bedroom I could handle as well. The lemon juice and vinegar was something I could not handle well, mentally or physically, and it was slightly harder to hide or explain away like the other punishments.

Lauren seemed to have evoked enough fear in me for the moment, as she stepped away, looking somewhat pleased with herself. "Don't come near me for the rest of the night, and stay quiet. Have Knox drive you home tonight. I'm not coming directly home. I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks, as will your father, so if you need anything, go to your older brothers. If you step out of line, they will tell me, so behave yourself."

She shoved at my shoulder as she walked past, muttering something about bad posture. I waited until she disappeared around the corner to collapse to my knees and fully allow myself to feel the emotions she evoked in me. Tears clouded my vision and I rested my head on my knees, inhaling deeply in a weak attempt to calm myself. I knew that I should have called one of my brothers, but I felt ashamed, as I always did when my mother came at me with a punishment or a tongue lashing.

"Sang?"

I looked up, horrified. Victor and Mr. Blackbourne were standing before me, both of their eyes soft with sympathy and understanding. My heart dropped, aware that the only reason they would be looking at me like that was if they had witnessed what had transpired between Lauren and I. A sob caught in my throat, and I turned my head away, feeling both pitiful and mortified. I hadn't wanted them to ever find out, and now that they had, they wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore.

"Sang," Victor said, his voice more urgent this time. He crouched down beside me and began to stroke my hair gently. "Sang, it's okay, sweetie. It's okay."

I shook my head vehemently, not even caring that I was openly crying in front of them. "It's not okay. It's not okay."

Victor pressed a kiss to my head and wrapped his arms around me tightly. "It will be okay, though." He paused then whispered into my ear, "Want to get out of here, princess?"

I looked up, riddled with confusion and sadness. My eyes darted between Victor and Mr. Blackbourne, silently questioning them.

"Sang," Mr. Blackbourne said softly, a frown pulling down at his lips. "You shouldn't have to stay here after that. Leave with Victor, and hopefully I'll see you tomorrow, but if I don't then I'll see you on Monday. I'm going to have Victor give you my number. If you need someone to talk to, not just about your mother but anything, please call or text me." His eyes shifted over to Victor. "I'll distract your parents. Text me when you arrive home."

No other words were exchanged after that, the decision having been made. They were right in assuming that I would no longer want to be in the same vicinity of Lauren after how she had treated me. Victor and I left the party together, our heads ducked down in a futile attempt to get out unscathed. We were foolish for thinking that if anyone saw us they wouldn't know who we were, but we were hopeful and desperate to leave. Luckily, though, we were able to escape the dreadful place without any incidents.

"I like your house," I told Victor, a small smile on my face as he lead me up the stairs. He sent me a look, one eyebrow raised. I giggled, and his fire eyes blazed, a smile forming. "I'm sorry, it's just too easy to tease you."

"I rescued you," he pretended to be offended, gently taking my hand and leading me into a bedroom. I blushed when I realized that it must have been own, then I blushed even harder when I remembered that this was the first boy bedroom I had ever been in that wasn't one of my brothers'. "You should be kinder to your knight in shining armor."

I ran my fingers over the piano that stood in the middle of his room, a small smile on my face, the words spilling from my mouth before I could stop them. "You're not my knight, Victor. You're my prince."

I froze once the words had left my mouth, and I looked up to see that instead of looking horrified, he was smiling at me. "Well, what's a prince without a princess?"

"Historically and realistically, lost and in need of help," I whispered, my filter still apparently off. My cheeks flushed bright red at my words, but Victor laughed, and I smiled, glad that someone found me funny.

Victor stripped off his suit jacket and then tugged off his tie, throwing both of them at the foot of his bed before flopping down onto the bed. I smiled softly and kneeled at the end of the bed, running my fingers over the blanket. His eyes were closed, and I took the time to trace my eyes over his face. He was really, awfully handsome, and I was tempted to trace the planes of his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Victor asked suddenly, turning his head to look at me, his fire eyes slightly dimmer.

I let out a small sigh then laid beside Victor, slipping my hand into his. He squeezed gently, reassuring me that he was there for me. My heart warmed, and my lips spread into the smallest of smiles. We hadn't been friends for long, but I knew that I could rely on him, and I hoped he knew that he could rely on me.

"I don't understand what I did to her to make her hate me," I whispered, tears forming even though I had cried enough in the past few days. "I've always done as she asked, but she still punishes me and berates me. I try... I try hard. But nothing I do is good enough... I'm not good enough."

Victor pulled me into his arms and I buried my face in his chest, momentarily forgetting that I would most likely end up smearing makeup on his white dress shirt. I needed his comfort at the moment, and I would personally wash his shirt for him afterwards. I clung to him tightly, taking shuttering breaths.

"You are more than good enough, princess," Victor whispered into my ear, his fingers tracing over my ribs in a soothing motion. "You're the best, and your mother doesn't deserve your love or your tears if she can't see that."

I didn't know how to respond, so I didn't. Instead, I listened to the sound of Victor's heartbeat and breathing. Time passed and we remained in silence until he began to tap his fingers on my back, and hum quietly. The quiet tune and the sound of his heartbeat mingling together began to lull me to sleep.

The last thing I heard before slipping into darkness was, "Sweet dreams, princess." 

a/n: Here you go, everyone. I hope you like the cute scene between her and Victor. It was kind of hard for me to write the scene between her and her mother, to be honest. But, the story is going to have a lot more action and romance soon.

Song: Liability by Lorde

xoxo,

ry.