*The Boys POV*

Victor could hardly sit still as he waited for the rest of his brothers to arrive at his home. It was early in the morning, but Victor had informed them the night before that he wanted to speak with them and Mr. Blackbourne had as well. They were only waiting on Sean, Kota, and Nathan at the moment, but Victor felt like he had been waiting an eternity even if it had only been around 40 minutes.

Down the hall from his den, sleeping peacefully, was sweet, innocent Sang Sorenson. Victor hadn’t had the heart to wake her up when he got up, and thought it best to let her get some sleep. After what she had been through in the past couple days, he thought that she deserved it.

“Victor,” Luke said, a serious look on his face. He was obviously worried about why they had called a meeting so early and as to why Victor looked so shattered. “What happened?”

Victor only shook his head. He wasn’t so sure he could get through telling them what happened without exploding or crying. He hated that Sang had to suffer what most him and his brothers had to suffer through as well, and even more so, he hated the fact that she felt like she wasn’t good enough because of it. He hadn’t been lying when he told her that he thought that she was the best.

He could tell that it would take time to erase the damage that her mother had done, but he wanted to try to ease the pain he saw burrowed in her soul, and he suspected that as soon as his brothers were aware of the truth, they too would want to try.

All of them had had to grow up quick, and had to put up a tough exterior. But when they were around Sang, it was easy to let their facades drop and to let her in. She was sugary sweet, but also tough, as seen when she fought with her older brother. The words that Zain had spat at his sister was unforgiving, and Victor knew that he was not the only one out of his family that had wanted to punch him for it.

“Vic,” Nathan gently nudged Victor, a concerned look growing in his eyes. Victor blinked several times, shocked that he had got so caught up in his thoughts that he had missed the arrival of the rest of his brothers. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Victor sighed then looked over at Mr. Blackbourne. “But we have something to tell you about Sang. You all know about the strained relationship between her and her oldest brother, but her relationship with her mother isn’t the best either... Owen, would you like to tell them?”

Mr. Blackbourne took a deep breath then straightened up in his seat, preparing to tell them what they had witnessed as well as preparing for their reactions that would most certainly be violent. He had to keep them subdued though; he wouldn’t want their shouts to wake up Sang. Quietly, he dove into the story and watched as each word caused their anger to grow.

As expected, the room exploded in shouts.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” North exclaimed at the end of it, pushing himself out of his seat and beginning to pace. “She doesn’t deserve this shit!”

“No wonder she’s got so much damn anxiety,” Silas grumbled, looking nearly heartbroken for the girl he had begun to care for deeply.

“Quiet!” Victor immediately tried to silence his friends, his eyes wide. “She’s right down the hall. You’ll wake her.”

At that, all of them froze and instantly silenced, their eyes sliding over to look at the hall. For nearly a moment, no one breathed, afraid that their outburst had woken the angel. When no sounds came from Victor’s room, they relaxed, but remained heated with anger.

“What can we do about it?” Kota asked, attempting to keep a cool head, though he wanted nothing more than to steal Sang away from her family in order to protect her battered heart. He was the most sensible of the group, but his temper could easily be broken if need be. There was a dark side to every boy in that room, and Sang’s family was bringing it out in them.

“Nothing.” Mr. Blackbourne said, then sent them all glares as they began to protest. “For now, we wait it out. We wait to see if she’ll come to us about it, and if she doesn’t and it get’s worse, we’ll go from there. But she’s not like you boys, remember that. You were willing to join this life, we can’t force her. As long as she doesn’t know the whole truth, then we can’t fully rescue her. She may be in danger with her family, but with us she would constantly be put in danger.”

The boys knew his words were true, but that didn’t mean that they liked it. She wasn’t happy with her family, and that much they could see. And she may have been in danger with them, but if it came down to it, they knew that all of them would bring her into their family and do what they could to protect her.

***

    *Sang’s POV*

Going back to school on Monday wasn’t exactly something I wanted, but I knew that I had to. Even if my mom wasn’t around, I knew she could find away to find out about me skipping school, and I wasn’t sure what kind of punishment I would receive for it and how my siblings would react.

Even though I felt like I was sleep walking, I went to school on Monday. The boys seemed rather concerned about me, but I brushed it off, reassuring them that I was just tired, which wasn’t exactly a lie. I was tired both physically and mentally, and it was beginning to catch up with me much to my disdain.

The first half of the day passed in a blur, and before I knew it, I was at lunch, standing before the vending machine. I waited in line for a good ten minutes, and was now waiting for my potato chips to fall, practically swaying on my feet. Gabriel had offered to accompany me, but I told him I needed a moment alone, and he didn’t fight it. I blinked slowly, trying to fight off the drowsiness that was pulling at me.

“Sang!”

I jerked at the sound of my name being called and quickly ducked down, collecting my bag of potato chips before straightening and turning towards where I had heard the person. Karen was walking towards me, a big smile on her face, with Danielle and Derrick accompanying her on either side. Danielle looked bored, but Derrick had the decency to shoot me a small smile. I returned it, though somewhat hesitantly.

“Karen, hey,” I muttered, squirming in my spot slightly. I suddenly regretted not bringing one of the boys with me, but there was nothing I could do. And technically I owed Karen, too, after she had watched out for me at the races a few days previously.

“I’ve seen you around but I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to you yet,” Karen said, sidling past me to use the vending machine. I stepped out of the way and leaned against the wall to feel slightly more secure. “I’m glad I caught you. There’s a boxing match tonight. Kayli, Derrick, and I are going. I wanted to invite you to come too.”

I hesitated then smiled slightly, remembering how much I had enjoyed spending time with her at the races. It wouldn’t hurt me to have more friends than just the boys, and Karen seemed rather nice. And while I had never been to a boxing match, I had watched some on TV with my brothers, and I had found them interesting.

“Okay,” I agreed. “If I give you my address, can you pick me up and we can go together?”

“Derrick is driving, but yeah of course!” Karen exclaimed. “Here, I’ll give you my number so I can text you and we can figure out the details.” She tore off a small piece of paper from one of her notebooks, then scribbled the digits of her number on it before handing it to me.

“Great,” I sighed then straightened up realizing I had been gone for a good amount of time, and the boys must have been worrying at that point. “I’ll see you later, Karen. I gotta go.”

“Bye, Sang!” Her and Derrick chorused, while Danielle tilted her head at me as I walked away. I waved over my shoulder then scurried back over by the boys, trying to bury the excitement that was growing within me about the fact that I was going out tonight.

*

Part of me dreaded going to Mr. Blackbourne’s class, mostly because I knew deep down that he was going to want to talk to me about what had happened with my mother. I knew that it would be best to talk about it, but it was like re-opening a healed wound every time I did. My siblings knew to avoid the subject, but the boys didn’t, and I was afraid that if they knew all she had done, they would want to discuss it thoroughly.

I hesitated outside of the music room’s door, and Silas noticed it. A frown formed on his face, and I expected him to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, he pulled me into a tight hug. I was holding my books, making it impossible for me to hug him back, but I did burrow into him and soak in his warmth and enjoy the comfort he provided.

“It’ll be okay, Aggele,” he whispered and pressed a kiss to my head. We stood like that for only a few moments before I pulled away and forced myself to walk into the music room.

I was surprised to see that not just Mr. Blackbourne stood waiting for me in the music room, but Dr. Green too. Mr. Blackbourne looked as serious as ever, but also concerned, but Dr. Green looked odd with a somber look resting on his face as he stared at me, scanning my body over as if looking me over for any noticeable injuries. I flinched at that, gritting my teeth. I didn’t like that the way they looked at me made me feel like they were taking a look at my soul.

“Miss Sorenson,” Mr. Blackbourne said, his voice softer than I was used to hearing it. “How are you feeling?”

I hesitantly took a seat in one of the uncomfortable plastic seats that the school was riddled with, and squirmed in it, something I had been doing all day. “I’m fine...”

“Sang,” Dr. Green sat beside me, and gently took my hand, his green eyes reflecting the care and concern he felt for me. “I was made aware of what happened. I think it might help if you talked to us about it... Maybe there’s a solution, or maybe it’ll at least help get some of that weight off your shoulders.”

I closed my eyes and let out a shuddering breath. I knew that he was right, that in someway I would feel better once I finally told someone all that I had been through, that my mother hated her youngest children, especially me, for some inexplicable reason. I had never exactly spoken the words out loud, spoken the feelings that the abuse evoked in me.

“It’s okay, Sang,” Dr. Green whispered, squeezing my hand in a reassuring gesture. “It’s okay. We’re here for you. You don’t have to keep this all bottled up.”

“It’s not okay,” I said, my voice stronger than I actually felt. “It’s not okay how she treats me. She’s supposed to love me, to nurture me, care for me. But she doesn’t. She treats me like I’m her toy for her to dress up and play with, but I’m not. I’m a human being. Does she even realize that?”

“Sang-”

“No.” I cut Mr. Blackbourne off, shooting him a glare, warning him to remain quiet until I was finished. I must have felt a good amount of courage to do something like to Mr. Blackbourne of all people. “Please... just... what I'm about to tell you is something I’ve never told anyone...” I paused, taking a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to confess. “Zain and I got nosey one day when we were little... We... we overheard some things that we shouldn’t. Both of my parents were, and still are, having affairs. We found out that I’m a product of an affair, a constant reminder. A bastard child, that was what Lauren called me.”

“How old were you?” Mr. Blackbourne asked, crouching in front of me and wiping away tears that were falling down my face now. I swallowed the sobs that wanted to escape, reminding myself I was strong, stronger than Lauren and my fucking father were.

“Seven,” I admitted in a shaky whisper. “I was seven, and Zain was eleven. He had to... had to hold me afterwards because I cried. He promised me that even if mommy and daddy stopped loving me, he always would. It was from that point on Zain became one of the most important people in my world, only for him to shatter it as soon as he left the house. He promised me that he would never treat me like our parents, but he lied. I can’t believe I ever believed him.”

I lifted my head, my eyes wide as I looked between the two. “They were my world... and yet, they both shattered me.”

I was pulled into a tight hug by Dr. Green, and I clung to him, gripping his shirt, burying my face in his shoulder. We were at school, and it wasn’t proper, but I needed his comfort. It was hard discussing how two people who I had once loved more than myself had ruined me more than once. I was trembling, and I could feel anxiety rising inside me, pushing for an attack.

“Sang,” Mr. Blackbourne’s strong but soothing voice washed over me. “Sang, I understand. My father never treated my mother right. She loved him, with all her heart, and all it got her was abuse, and eventually a grave, in return.”

I pulled away from Dr. Green stare to at Mr. Blackbourne, horrified. Before I could even stop myself, I had wound my arms around his waist and pressed my face against his chest. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Oh god. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”

The anxiety attack washed over me, and I let it. Mr. Blackbourne was obviously startled by my hug, but he continued to hold me, even as I sobbed and tried to breathe properly through the attack, continuously muttering an apology. He didn’t speak, he only held me as Dr. Green sat besides us, coaching me on breathing, stroking my hair.

If I ever doubted it before, then I could no longer; I found a group of men I truly belonged with.

a/n: hello, everyone!! here's your new chapter, and it was a little heavy hearted. I'm sorry but the next few are going to be like that. But, at least she began to bond with Owen. Please leave your thoughts and such!

xoxo,
ry.