CHAPTER 1:

"Delroy! Insaie! Come inside, dinner is ready!" My mother called from inside of the house. I looked up a moment but remained where I was while my little brother, Delroy rushed inside eagerly with yelps of excitement. He turned to me at the last second, his green eyes shining.

"Come on Insaie Mom called us!" He said, urging me to get up with his contagious smile. I laughed and stood up, walking over to him and ruffling his jet black hair teasingly. He puckered his lips out and crossed his arms at me. "I told you to stop doing that." He complained, smoothing it out. I stifled another laugh, for he didn't act like he was ten at all.

"You're right Delly I'm sorry." I said, smirking at the nickname he clearly didn't like and pulling him inside to our impatient mother. She smiled lovingly at us both and her dark brown hair drooped in her face. Not that it made her delicate features any less pretty than they were. Our husky father sat impatiently at the table, running his hand over the stubble on his chin optimistically. Mother looked at him and made a face.

"You aren't trying to grow that out are you?" She asked, her eyes, though the same color as Delroy's, could never compare to the youth and energy within his. Father ran his hand through his greasy black hair and shrugged. She wiped her hands on her apron and sat down with a sigh "We'll have to talk about that later." She said, her tone, although soft, was firm. Our father as usual said nothing, for he was a quiet man, and even his own wife rarely heard him speak. Mom glared at Dad and shook her head, making Dad shrug carelessly. Delroy's shining eyes dimmed at her frustrated expression and he lowered his head.

"I'm not hungry anymore…" He grumbled, walking off down the hallway and closing the door to his room loudly. Mom leaned her head back and exhaled uneasily. Dad stared at his plate of food and stuffed it in his mouth like an animal, unaware of Mom's discomfort. I shook my head at both of them and walked past them and opened the door to mine and Delroy's room cautiously.

"Delly? Are you alright?" I asked. Delroy sat at the edge of his bed, his head lowered. I sighed and sat beside him, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders. "They aren't fighting like they used to, honest." I insisted, a concerned expression crossing my face. He looked at me, his innocent eyes burning into mine.

"I-Insaie…They are. I don't like it." He murmured. I lowered my head and tightened my grip on him.

"Cheer up kiddo. Things will get better. I promise you that." I assured him. He shook my arm from his shoulders and peered at me sadly, his eyes watering.

"No. It will never get better! Never!" He exclaimed, tears steaming down his face. I held out my hand to him but he slapped it away. "It's not fair!" He cried. I relaxed my shoulders and opened my arms.

"Delly stop it…" I murmured. He looked at me, his hands shaking. Then he jumped into my chest and pounded on it with his small fists and sobbed into my chest. I wrapped my arms around him and the soft blows faded. He dropped his arms and buried his face into my chest crying.

"Why do people fight Insaie? Why?" He muttered into my shirt, clutching the fabric and squeezing it tightly. I sighed and rested my hand on his head.

"I don't know." I admitted, staring out the window into the dark clouds forming around the house. I heard faint shouting outside our room and hugged him tighter to prevent him from hearing it. I hummed one of his favorite songs to him and swayed slightly until he relaxed. The house was silent so I released him and his shallow breaths grew back to normal.

"Why are you looking outside?" He asked. I peered at him and smiled faintly.

"Because I want something to blow this house away and get rid of the memories it holds." I said quietly, glancing down at my now tear stained shirt. He stiffly nodded and sat beside me on the bed looking at the darkness with the same grim expression.

"When do you think God will give Mom and Dad a break?" He asked me. I shrugged and lowered my head.

"He doesn't stop misery Delly. That's the one thing he wants us to deal with ourselves." I grumbled. Suddenly a loud bang was heard outside our door and we both jumped. A tear slid down my cheek and I looked away from him. "And sometimes it's his way of entertainment." I said mournfully, clenching my fists at Mom's cry. I shakily stood to my feet and walked to the door. Delly jumped at me and hugged me around the waist.

"Don't go out there Insaie. Daddy's going to hurt you too like last time." He insisted. I lowered my eyes and dropped my shoulders.

"I don't care anymore Delly. He'll kill her if I don't go out there." I pointed out, gently pulling him off of me and swinging the door open. The house was as dark as it could get, lightning temporarily lighting it up. My heart rate jumped at the dead silence in fear. I wanted to scream out "Hello" To see if anyone was still here, but I forced myself to keep silent.

Heavy footsteps behind me caused me to freeze in my tracks a moment. They got to close for me to bear so I ran forward without even thinking about the risk. I reached the kitchen and eyed the large wooden knife container. The footsteps grew more rapid, and I rushed to the box, sliding the largest one from the top space and holding it out in front of me. Silence overtook the house again, and I forced myself to breath quietly and deeply, sliding into a dark corner and shakily holding the knife near my face with the blade nearby my cheek.

Everything was quiet and I tried desperately to adjust my eyes to the dark and make out any dark moving figure, but it was difficult and they stung from the effort. I heard a creak in front of me and held my breath nervously, making sure it wasn't my brother I was planning to jump at. A tall, wide figure stood in front of me, the heat from the body nearly unbearable. I curled my upper lip and hurled myself forward at him, knocking him over in surprise. "Hey!" I heard him cry out. I jabbed my knife into him and heard his scream of pain. I took it out and stabbed it into him over and over again until he stopped moving.

I shakily stood up and held the knife up just in case he wasn't as dead as he appeared. "Bastard…" I said in a choked voice, running past him and down the hallway to the room Delly was in. I opened the door and felt for the cigarette lighter I kept in my pocket from stressful times and clicked the thing. It popped but refused to light up. I tried again but gave up and just walked forward into the room, closing the door behind me and locking it behind me. I turned on the light to see my brother under the bed. He peeped out from underneath and gasped at the sight of me.

"I-Insaie… What have you done?" He whispered. I looked down at my blood soaked hands and dropped the knife to the floor, staring at the guilt that read on my clothes.

"I-I have no idea…" I stammered, fear taking over me and causing me to shake violently. I heard a bang at the door and looked at him with wide eyes. "Run Delly…" I whispered, gesturing to the window and into the dark world outside. "Go before he gets in here." I said quieter as the door was being slammed into. He shook his head but I grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the ground and hugged him tightly. "Get out of here." I muttered, pulling him to the halfway opened window and holding him outside of it.

He stared at me with wide eyes and I heard the door give way behind me. I sighed and looked at him one more time. "I love you…" I said, dropping him to the ground safely and gradually turning around and gasping in disbelief. "…You…" I murmured.

CHAPTER 2:

I jolted awake in a sweat, gasping fearfully for breath. Only a nightmare again. Or well, more like a memory, but there was no need for me to remember it every night. Delroy lay awake on the floor, looking up at me expectantly. "Same one huh?" He said with a frown. I stiffly nodded and looked around at the completely different environment I was in now ever since the incident.

"Is she still here?" I replied. He shook his head and sat up, eyeing me suspiciously. I sighed in relief and lay back. "I just don't want her to listen to this. I don't trust her anymore Delly. You know that." I pointed out. He nodded in agreement and peered out the door cautiously.

"Well I told you not to make her upset you know." He said. I smirked and turned my head to him.

"I don't like her. I know it, you know it, and well…now she knows it!" I exclaimed. I heard a creak outside in the opposing room and went quiet. A light took over the room and I squinted in frustration. "Really Hilary?" I grumbled. Her features looked older now, like a twenty year old woman. Her dark, chocolate brown hair appeared longer and darker now. She sneered her same vile smile she used and raised an eyebrow.

"Problem Insaie?" She asked cruelly, shooting me a look and sliding her eyes over to my brother. "It's time to get up. We're leaving." She added. I groaned and sat up.

"Count on you to be a bitch about it." I spat, throwing my legs over the opposite side of the bed and standing to my feet. She crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yes that's my job…" She muttered, cackling at her own statement. Delly stood uneasily to his feet and looked at her awkwardly.

"We need to get dressed Hilary…" He said quietly. She shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"And…?" She said. I walked over to her, towering over her and smiling politely.

"And you need to get out so we can have some privacy." I said harshly. She backed up slightly and nodded.

"Yeah, right. Whatever." She mumbled, walking out and closing the door behind her. I growled under my breath and slipped my stained white muscle shirt from my body. "She needs to back off." I muttered. Delly nodded in agreement and stripped down into his boxers.

"Well you know she's…different." He said. I put on a new black t-shirt and shot him a strange look.

"We're all different Delly. But we can still understand the difference between awkward and not." I pointed out. He shrugged and slipped on some clean jeans, buttoning them up. I looked down at my own jeans and frowned in concentration. "Do you think I should wear a new pair yet?" I asked.

"Nah, you only put them on a couple of days ago." He said with a wave of his hand. I nodded in agreement and looked at him. He was only a year older now, but he seemed so much more mature than he used to be. I put on my socks and shoes and waited for Delly to be done. We opened the door and stepped out, realizing Hilary was right outside.

"Come on we only have a few hours before the authorities come into town." She said, grabbing Delly's hand and my own, running to the back door. The outside was filled with wilderness and forests. I shook her off of me and opened the door.

"Don't touch me." I spat, rushing outside and pulling Delly away from her.