The cracks in the sidewalks are all reminders that we all still break, no matter how strong we are.

That saying is really big in my family. My little brother Daniel and I have gone through a lot in the little amount of time we've been alive. I was eleven when my mom died; she died giving birth to Daniel. My dad has attempted to give us a mother but we always drive her away on purpose. My dad has been with six women in the five years Daniel has been alive. Sadly though, my dad died in a car accident when Daniel was five and I was sixteen.

He left behind an evil woman that just married him for the money. Harper. She was the last girl my dad was with before his accident. After she got a fourth of the money, she ditched us. We now live with our Aunt Anna, my mom's sister.

"Katie, where's Daniel?" Aunt Anna asked.

"He's at school, Anna." I replied dully.

"Why aren't you at school as well?"

"I dropped out, remember?"

"So you did. I knew that Jacob person was a bad influence on you."

"Jacob has nothing to do with me dropping out, Anna." Jacob is my boyfriend that dropped out when he was fifteen. He could pass for seventeen so they let him drop out. I never wanted to go to high school so I dropped out as soon as I possibly could, which ended up being at the legal age.

"I still think he had something to do with your choice."

"He didn't. I've never wanted to go to high school. It was my choice and my choice only. He doesn't own me, Anna."

"I didn't say he did, I just said that he was a bad influence."

"Oh, well. I'm going to go see that bad influence. I'll see you later, Anna." I didn't wait for her to say anything.

I slammed the door behind me and got into my silver bug. Since I didn't have school to get in my way, I could work as much as I needed to, to afford it.

Jake's apartment was only ten minutes away from Anna's house. Most of the time, I stay at Jakes when Anna is getting on my nerves. Like now, for example.

I pulled up to the curb in front of his apartment and walked to number 36. I knocked on the door once and waited for him to open the door.

"Hey, what's up, Babe?"

"Anna's getting on my nerves. I had to get out of the house."

"Again?"

"Yeah, she was saying how me dropping out was your entire fault."

"You have to admit it kinda was."

"Well, yeah, but I wont admit that to her."

"I wouldn't either, come on in, you look hot."

"Well, it is ninety degrees outside." I said walking into the apartment. The apartment was small, but it fit Jake. It had one room and one bathroom. The front room was also a dining room. If you kept walking straight you would be in the kitchen, but if you turned left you would be in Jacob's room, and if you turn right, there was the bathroom.

It was a nice place, and Jake agreed.

"Stop whining." He joked, and then pulled me into his arms.

"I wasn't whining. It's the truth." I hugged him back and then walked over to the couch and sat. He sat next to me.

"Katie, will you please move in with me?" Jake pleaded. This was about the twentieth time he's asked me that. He's been asking since he got the apartment. "You're not happy at Anna's and you know it. I just want to make you happy."

"Jake..."

"Why not, Katie? You love me don't you?"

"Yes, I love you." I said a little too overly defensive.

"So what's the problem?"

"I'm sixteen! You're seventeen! Is that even legal?"

"Yes, it is legal, Katie. Now tell me the real reason you won't move in with me."

"I can't leave Daniel behind with Anna. I promised I would be there for him, forever, since my parents never were."

"You'll be ten minutes away."

"Compared to ten seconds? A lot can happen in ten minutes."

He sighed and put his head in his hands. "Katie, I love you."

"I love you too, but we don't have to live together for that to stay the same."

I pulled his head out of his hands and held one of my hands. We didn't say anything; we just looked into each other's eyes. His were agonized. I knew that this would happen again. I knew he would ask me yet again to live with him. But as I told him, Anna is bad enough when I'm there, who knows how bad she'll be when I'm not.

"What if Daniel could come with you? Would you come?"

"You have one bedroom, where would he stay?"

"Just answer my question. Would you come if Daniel could too?"

"If Daniel could come, I probably would. I've got nothing to lose. Anna already hates me anyways. But the question still remains, where would he stay?" I asked him.

He thought about it for a second. Then his face lit up.

"I'll just buy a new apartment; one that has two bedrooms instead of one."

"You just moved into this one, Jake."

"It's still brand new. I can rent it out and find a new one for all three of us."

"You would do that for me? Just so I can keep my promise?"

"Yeah, why not? I don't have too much stuff in here anyways. Besides I like Danny."

"Danny likes you too."

"So..... Guess I better start looking for a new apartment." I threw my arms around him and hugged him. Anna wouldn't be happy with any of us, but if that meant we were both safe I'd do anything. Jake put his arms around my waist.

"You should go get me a newspaper." he said jokingly.

"How about I pay for it but you go get it."

"Okay, that works too." He reached back and pulled my arms so they were in between us.

He held one hand and pulled me off the couch and out the door. We got into my bug and drove to the nearest gas station. Then we went back to his house and sat at the dining table. The newspaper was spread out all over the table and we each had a highlighter in hand. I found a two bedroom apartment for 430 a month. Jacob found a two bedroom apartment for the same price with the same number of rooms, only it was in a different part of town. We decided we would go to check both of them out tomorrow.

I had to go pick up Daniel from school that afternoon. I drove right passed Anna's house and then he got suspicious.

"Where are we going, Katie?" he asked.

"We're going to go stay with Jake, Danny."

"Why are we going to stay with him?" I could tell he was excited to go stay with him but suspicious as to why.

"We have a surprise for you. So we're going to stay over there." I smiled encouragingly and kept my eyes on the road, pulling up to the curb. We walked to number 36 and instead of knocking I just walked right in like I owned the place.

"Hey, Katie. Hey, buddy, how was school?" Jake said.

"Pretty, good. My teacher let us play games most of the day."

"That must have been fun."

"It was."

"So Buddy, we have to talk to you about something." Jake started.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Come sit down, Daniel." I told him, gesturing to the couch. He walked over to the couch and sat down. I sat next to him and Jake kneeled in front of him.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at me.

"Well, it's good news for the both of us." I started looking at Jake from under my lashes. He smiled at me and I continued. "We are going to move in with Jake. He wants us all to be together and I think it will be good to get away from Anna."

"We're moving in with Jacob for good? We don't have to go back to Anna?"

"Not unless you want to." I told him. His eyes lit up with excitement.

"When are we moving in?" he asked.

"Well, see, that's the thing, Buddy." Jake told him. "This apartment only has one bedroom. So you, Katie and I are going to go look for a new one that we can all live in."

"So we can move in?"

"Yup. Does that sound like something you would want to do?" I asked. I knew the answer before he said it but I thought I should ask him anyways.

"Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. Only, would I still go to the same school?"

"If you didn't, Katie and I would drive you everyday so that you could, Buddy." I loved Jake. He was so good to Daniel and me. He wasn't even related to either of us, but he acted like a father to Daniel. The father he never had.

"Yeah, that would work! When do we have to start packing, Katie?"

"We should start soon, Danny. But I think we should wait until we know where we'll be."

"How are we going to tell Anna?"

"I'm going to do that part alone, Danny."

"No, you're not." Jake cut in. "I'm going to take you to my parent's house, Danny, and Katie and I are going to go tell Anna."

"Okay, I don't want her going by herself."

"She won't be. I'll be with her." I wanted to object but Jake saw that I was about to and shook his head no. Anna was already mad at him for me dropping out and for me getting in trouble so much with the law. I didn't know how she would react to me living with him.

Jake drove Danny over to his mom's house in his black Sedan. Then he drove back to his apartment to pick me up to go to Anna's.

"Jake, you should let me do this one alone."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because she hasn't forgiven you yet and I know there will be screaming and yelling and possibly punches being thrown."

"And when those punches are thrown in your direction, I'll be there to protect you. Don't worry, Katie. She'll have to accept it whether she wants to or not." he was holding my hand, rubbing soothing circles on the back of it. When we pulled up to the house he got out and walked around to my side and opened my door.

We walked up the pathway to the front door to face the one person I will forever try to get away from. The one person that took us in when my dad died, no matter how much she hated him.

I walked in and Jake followed me.

"Anna?" I called out.

"In the kitchen, Katie." she called back. We walked around the corner and found her sitting at the table.

"What the hell is he doing here, Katie?"

"We came to talk to you." I told her.

"What could be so important that he had to come with you to talk to me?"

"Well, this involves him too-" she cut me off.

"Of course it does. Everything in your life involves him."

"Will you let me talk?" I insisted. She didn't answer so I continued. "We wanted to talk about me and Danny living here."

"What about you guys living here?"

"I mean that, we won't be living here for much longer."

"Why not?"

"Jake has asked me to live with him again. This time he said that if it made it better for me that Daniel could go with us. We're moving in with Jake, Anna."

"No your not, Katie! You're sixteen! He's only seventeen! I will not allow you to move in with that scum!" She spit the last word at Jake.

"He's not a scum!" I shouted in her face. "He's loves me more than you do! He wants me to happy! All you do is make my life miserable Anna!" This is why I wanted to do this alone. I knew there would be nasty things said.

"You don't know what love is Katie!"

"And you do? You've been alone your whole life!"

That did it. She started screaming at the top of her lungs. "What happens when he leaves you, and wants you out of his apartment? What are you going to do then? You sure as hell aren't coming back here! I'm sick of you."

"He won't do that. He loves me." I looked at Jake and he smiled, and then wrapped his hand around mine.

"Fine! Leave get out! I want you out tonight!"

"That won't be a problem." I marched up the stairs, Jake right on my heels.

I grabbed a suitcase and a couple of bags and started shoving all my stuff in there. It dawned on me that I hadn't asked Jake if this was ok.

"Jake, it is all right if Danny and I stay at your place for a while, right?"

"I'm hurt you even had to ask, Katie. Of course it's alright."

"Okay, I was just making sure. You never know." I smiled at him and he smiled back. I continued to pack my clothes and all my knick knacks to put up when we have a house. I left my bed, my dresser, my night tables and my vanity. Then I walked to Daniels room and packed everything but his bed and his dresser- that's all the furniture he had.

"Katie! You better make sure this is what you want! If you walk out that door you can never come back in here!" Anna yelled when I got to the front door.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" I challenged. She didn't answer. I walked out the door with Jake on my heels and out to his car. We got all the suit cases into the back seat and then we got into the car.

"I'm so sorry Anna called you a scum, Jake." I said sincerely.

"It's okay. I knew she would be mad at me and at you so it didn't hurt too much."

"So where are we going to stay until we find our new house?"

"The apartment, of course." He smirked. "I have an air mattress stored in the top of my closet. I'll pull it out for Daniel."

"Okay, where am I going to sleep?" I asked sarcastically.

"In my bed with me, of course." he rolled his eyes. "I do have a king size bed, remember? Or is being that close going to bother you?"

"No, that doesn't bother me and yes I remember. I helped you choose that bed."

"I know you did." We had reached the apartment by then and then it really hit me. I just left Anna for good. She's no longer part of my life anymore.

A part of me couldn't help but think: what if she's right? What would I do if Jake decided he didn't love me and wanted me out?

Where would I go?