A/N: Does anyone bother reading this anymore? I'm feeling quite unmotivated with this book right now. 

    It was a Tuesday when she began to tear her family apart. She visited her family's home without her boyfriend the night of the special lunch. Some words were said and her parents, especially her father, did not agree with her choices. They had a vendetta against her boyfriend and his family so she stood her ground and she left. "Mariand'r Grayson if you walk out the door you can never come back." Her eyes shot open and she rolled over in bed.

     The sun was high in the sky already; her phone said it was a Tuesday. It had been two days since the fight, two days since she tore her family apart. Leo didn't know she did any of this; she didn't want him to know. "Oh good, you're awake. I have to head out my father is in town and he wants to talk business." Leonardo said from the closet door as he looped his red tie around. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and squint her eyes at him. The room was quite bright with the curtains drawn.

     His father usually told them ahead of time whenever he was stealing Leonardo away from her. "Am I ever going to be let in on these business details?" she asked, eyebrow quirked. He rolled his eyes and walked over pressing a good morning kiss on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered closed and she breathed in his cologne. "When will you be back?" she asked, opening her eyes once she felt him pull away from her. Leonardo stood on her side of the bed still fiddling with his tie.

     The young man looked at his watch, his nose scrunching up as he calculated the time. "A few hours at the most, I'll call you when I get out. Don't get into trouble." He smiled and leaned down once more capturing her lips. Mar'i smiled and stretched out on the bed like a starfish once she heard the front door to the apartment close. There was a lot she could do, a lot that she should do. After a few minutes of lounging in bed, she willed herself up and jumped into the shower.

     After a lot of thought, she decided to go for a walk to Toni's apartment. Her best friend surely was home, she didn't do many things that prompted her to leave her place – besides work of course. The air was brisk and a little colder than usual for the autumn weather. As walked through the city, hands shoved into her jacket pockets, she thought back to when she was back in boarding school. She and her friends used to get up to a lot of trouble when they were younger. She missed the times where it was just her, Toni, Colette, and the colourful leaves crunching underneath their shoes.

     Mar'i could hear that nagging voice in the back of her mind invading her memories. In typical Mar'i Grayson fashion she was brushing off her feelings for what happened between her and her parents – well her and her father. Later on, she knew it was going to hit her hard but she couldn't go back on her decision. She thought they were finally getting along, Leo and her parents but she guessed wrong. Toni indeed was home when she arrived at the apartment building. Her dearest friend was busy packing her suitcase when Mar'i stepped up into the loft.

     The brunette jumped when she heard Mar'i gasp from behind her. Toni quickly turned around and fumbled behind with her hands to close the suitcase. "You didn't tell me you were leaving." Mar'i said keeping her voice low and steady. It was upsetting to know that her best friend was going to leave without telling her first. "My father's here, I can't be here while he's here. It is bad enough with my wretched brother around and now my father? I'm sorry Mar'i but I'm leaving, just until they go." Toni apologized.

"So until I leave." Mar'i retorted

"– no Mar'i I didn't mean it in that sense. You just don't understand." Toni fumbled over her words.

"I came to Gotham with one main reason and that was to rekindle my old friendships but I mostly came back because I wanted to see you. But I get it; you're scared of your brother and your father, for what? You're a coward and you'll always be a coward." Mar'i said coldly.

     There was a harsh silence that followed after that. Toni's face contorted into a mixture of disgust and anger. She had seen that look before – her father gave her the same look before telling her to never come back. It was a harsh punishment but her parents didn't understand. Leonardo was such a lovely person to be around and well she was in love with him. Her eyes flickered down to Toni's hands as her fingers curled up into tight fists.

     Instead of yelling or screaming her friend drew in a deep breath and turned to zip up her suitcase. Mar'i followed her down the spiraled staircase and to the front foyer of the condo. "So that's it, you're going to leave just like that?" Mar'i asked staring at the back of her friends head. Antonia fit a nearby hat onto her head and opened the front door before turning to look at Mar'i. "Damian was right; you are blind as much as you are a bitch."

     With that said Antonia left leaving her best – well ex-best friend dumbfounded in the front foyer. It took a moment for everything that just happened to process in her head. She just lost potentially the only other family she had besides Leonardo. This was considering the fact that her father previously banished her from their family and household. Nonetheless, Mar'i instead tried to focus on something else. "When did you see Damian?" she whispered to herself.

     It was strange to hear his name come out of Antonia's mouth. Her aunt Artemis told her that the Huxley's and Wayne's didn't get along. However, she took into account that Toni wasn't exactly what Leonardo's father would consider 'Huxley material'. Mar'i knew of her and Damian's arrangements through Melody but Toni would've told her if it was something more than that. This was unraveling into more of a mystery than she wanted it to become. Mar'i Grayson was naturally a curious person and it seemed to run in the family.

     Everyone was so secretive around her, including Toni who was supposed to tell her everything, and she just wanted some answers.

     The rain started up again, Gotham couldn't seem to get rid of it, as she knocked on the generic brown doorway. It was chilly and the sky was darkening quickly while she waited for the person to answer. The door opened and the first thing she saw was a head of bright fiery red hair. "I'm not supposed to let you in." Her uncle said flatly.

"Yeah did dad tell you that? You still do what he says?" she teased.

"No, come in." He said moving out of the way to let her inside.

     It was surprisingly quiet, she never really visited her aunt and uncles house without her entire family so this was new. She took her boots off at the doorway and shivered, her hair and clothes were slightly dampened by the rain and the house was so much warmer than it was outside. "Are Arrow and Abigail here?" she asked hanging her sweater up on the coat rack in the corner. Wally shrugged and shoved his hands into his back pockets. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments before Artemis swept into the foyer to see who the visitor was.

     Mar'i was surprised when she was suddenly engulfed in a tight hug. Her aunt pulled away and then swatted her in the back of the head as well. "Mar'i Grayson what the hell is wrong with you? In what world is a boy worth losing your entire family over?" she yelled in her ears. The young woman winced at her aunt's loud voice.

"But you chose me before your family Arty –"

"- shut up!"

     The redhead slowly backed out of the foyer and into the next room after hearing the ferocity in his wife's voice. Artemis placed both hands on the young woman's shoulders and shook her head. "I never belonged there." Mar'i frowned. She always felt like the black sheep of the family. One: she wasn't related to her siblings biologically, and two: her parents sent her off to a boarding school when they should've kept her home. "If they really loved me they wouldn't have sent me away in the first place." She said holding her aunt's gaze.

     Artemis sighed and shook her head again. There was a loud creaking from the staircase and both of their eyes flickered over to the source of the noise. There were three familiar teenagers sitting at the top of the staircase watching them. Her face fell when she saw Sindella stand up and glare at her. Arrow stood up and grabbed Sindi's shoulder only for her hand to be shrugged off as the ebony raced down the staircase. "So, me, Jaxx, Charlie, John – we don't mean anything to you is that it? You and Mr. Huxley deserve each other." Sindella spat, turning and heading back upstairs.

     It seemed like nobody was in Mar'i's corner anymore. This was one of the worst feelings in the world. Her aunt sat her down in the kitchen and gave her a cup of coffee. Mar'i stared down at the dark liquid swirling around in the green mug. That's when she perked up and her eyes widened and glimmered in that 'I've-got-an-idea' sort of way. "I know exactly how to get my answers." She said aloud. Her aunt seated at the table looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow.

     Usually, Mar'i's ideas were a good thought but she never actually went through with hardly any of them. Which was why Artemis looked so surprised when she asked if where Megan's brother lived. "You want to know where Garfield Logan is why?" Artemis asked.

"He's best friends with the head of Wayne Enterprises."

"No, you are not persuading the poor guy into getting you to speak with him."

"Oh please, this way it's easier. There is no way they would let me in to see him."

     Her aunt shook her head and let her face fall into her hands. The young woman seated in front of her had crazy ideas and was a piece of work. "Why did you come here Mar'i? If you think you have your life all laid out then go for it but why do you keep dragging us all into your messes?" her aunt asked seriously. Mar'i didn't mean to drag them into her messes; she didn't know that she created any. "Do you all really not want me around?" she asked, her tone sad and heavy.

     Artemis sighed and reached out squeezing her hand. "You're like Zatanna when she was younger, always getting into messes that she didn't need to be in." Artemis smiled. Everyone told her that she acted a lot like her mother. She looked strikingly like Kori but her personality was all Dick and Zatanna. Anyone who said otherwise was proved wrong once they met Mar'i Grayson. She was stunningly oblivious and had a heart of gold. "I came here because I have nowhere else to go." She admitted.

     Besides Leonardo she really had no one else now, she hated it. Loneliness was the worst kind of feeling. However, she finished off her cup of coffee and stood up striding to the front foyer to pull her almost dry sweater and boots on. The rain was still falling when she looked out through the nearby window. She looked back and at the top of the staircase. Although she couldn't see her she definitely knew her sister was listening. "I'm sorry Sindella and I didn't mean what I said, okay?" she said loud enough for her voice to travel upstairs.

     In the corner of the room, she saw her aunt leaning against the doorframe to the living room. Just beyond her, she could see her uncle lounging on the sofa, Abigail lying on the floor staring at the ceiling with her headphones in. "He's staying on the farm for awhile to help with the crops, Conner said he needed a hand and apparently he offered." Her aunt informed. Mar'i flashed a thankful and reached for the brass door handle.

     That's when she heard a pair of feet racing down the staircase behind her. She turned around to see Sindella tying her running shoes and pulling on her raincoat. "What are you doing?" she asked looking down at her sister who was tying her left shoelace. The ebony looked up, blew the hair away from her face and smirked.

"What do you think? I'm coming with you." 

Skycrystal23 ;)