Chapter One

I sat in my room. Mother had hit me for the fourth time today. Tears shreaked down my face and I couldn't move. I was scared, frozen, my heart raced at a hundred miles per hour. I bowed my head and weeped for several more minutes until I cried myself to sleep.

When I later woke up my head was hurting. My door was open and so was my window. I slowly climbed out bed and realized that something was wrong. I could smell food, lots of it. Mother never cooked. I took a shakey breath and walked down the hall to the kitchen. There was mother, and my older brother. But they wern't alone, someone was with them.

I took a step forward and my brother turned his gaze towards me. He stared at me for several heartbeats then back to mother and the figure I couldn't yet name. I walked into the kitchen stopping at it's entrance. There sitting and lauging with my mother was some man I could not yet name. Though, he looked familiar.

I wasn't mad or angry. I felt no emtion for this scene. My mother and father were divorced so I had no reason for feeling disapproval towards her. I slowly made my way to the seat next to my brother. His gaze once again shifted towards me. His icey blue eyes peirced through me. I dropped my own gaze and listened to the conversation mother had started with the man.

"I never liked that man anyway, he was tense," she said with a bit of slur in her voice. I wondered what was wrong with her. "After having three kids with him, I said forget. I'm not having another," she continued. "After Zeo came along, I was sick of it. We divorced when the child was three." She was speaking about my father to this man, and was talking about me too.

The man laughed. "So, what do you think about us being together," his voice with deep and held a bit of amsument.

My mother gave a sly grinn. "That sounds good." She looked at him then said. "I can't stand having Zeo around. He doesn't seem like a child. He doesn't even seem like a human. I don't claim him as my child, I don't even want him around. Adoption sounds pretty good to me," she said with a hint of seriousness.

The man lifted his eyebrow and looked at me. He was suprised she'd said that aloud with me sitting in the same room. He looked at her then back at me again. Then to my brother, but quickly shifted his gaze back to me. My brother had that affect on people. They never made eye contact with him for long.

The man gave a sigh. "Well Cindy, I'd love to stay, but I've got work to do." He stood up and the chair screeched against the floor. "See you tomorrow." He said as he headed for the door. My mother quickly rose from her seat and ran over to him throwing her arms around his neck and smoothering him in kisses. "Bye," she said in between a kiss.

After he'd gone mother turned on me quicker than I predicted. She walked over to me and raised her hand bring it acorss me face. I didn't try to dodge as she hit me and I fell out the chair. The hit stung my face and I held back my tears. I didn't want her to hit me again. "This is your fault. If you hadn't showed your hideous face I would have still been talking to him!" She yelled.

I crawled to my feet and starred at her. I glanced at my brother but he was gone. I hadn't seen or heard him move. I held my breathe and waited for something to happen but she turned around and left out the door. I burst into tears. I wanted so badly to die, or to run, just to get away from the pain.

Chapter Two

I sat down on the couch, sweat slid down my face. It was that last day of school and then we were out for two months. Most kids would enjoy two months out of school, but not me. Those two months meant being at home with mother. I sighed deeply and glanced at the clock. It was almost six o'clock. I slid off he couch and headed out the door.

I went to the elementary school a couple of minutes from the house and my brother went to the high school across the street from my school. We walked together, but never talked. I met him at the door and set off into the hot streets.

As the minutes ticked by I wondered if I should ask the question that had been bothering me for the past couple of years since mother started beating me. I looked up at him but he was looking straight ahead.

I decided to try. "Um, Kole...."

He slowly turned his head to wards me. His icy blue eyes were blank. For a minute I believed he was going to hit me like mother. Kole had a short temper, even though he seemed calm most of the time. That was one thing I was grateful for.

"Kole, do you...not want me around," I asked.

He stopped and for an instant I thought I saw sympathy, but it was gone before I could confirm it.

"Zeo (Zay-o) if I didn't want you around I could have gotten rid of you a long time ago kid." He said in a calm voice.

I didn't know what to say. My brother didn't mind having me around but something still bothered me. Why doesn't he protect me from mother. Was he lying. My head began to spin as my mind began to race.

"Zeo, you're pale."

I blinked twice then looked up to see my brother starring at me. The words spilled from my mouth before I could think.

"Why don't you protect me from her!" I burst into tears.

Kole sat their for a second. I don't think he expected me to ask that. He ran his fingers through his spiky jet black hair. "Zeo, I never meant to leave you to face her alone. But..." He stopped and thought for a second. "You don't understand what's going on."

I looked up and whipped the tears from my eyes. "You're right, I don't. And with that I took off down the road.

Chapter Three

That afternoon after I'd ran from my brother I stayed in the school parking lot trying to gather my thoughts. Even after I'd ran he didn't come for me so that we could walk home together and I didn't hate him for it. Then again, I didn't hate anyone. Not even mother who constantly abused me.

I waited six minutes before standing up and heading toward the lake. I loved the water, it was one of the few things I enjoyed and one of the reason I kept going. When I made it there I dropped my bag by the tree and stood on the shore. "I wonder....where all the water came from," I said watching the waves climb onto the shore.

"Yeah, so do I," said a man's voice from behind me. It was rough and threatening. I had a feeling that he wasn't alone though.

I slowly turned around to see three guys behind me. My shirt suddenly felt sticky with sweat. I felt unusually hot and cold at the same time. My vision got blurry and I started to sway. The world seemed to mix into a ruined painting. I felt sick and this wasn't the time to be sick. Three grown men had surrounded a seven year old who was defenseless. I was not having a good day.

"What's a little kid like you doing out here by himself," asked the one with a red shirt on. His face looked disfigured but it was just a trick of my eyes. My mind seemed to have blended everything together.

"Um..." was all I could get out. I was scared. I took a step back ignoring the cold water that filled my shoes. The one with the blond hair reached out for me and I jumped back out of his reach into the water. It filled me mouth and nose as I went under. I was thankful for the swim lessons I'd been taking since I was four.

I came up to the surface to see them getting ready to come after me when a whistle sounded behind them like a master calling to it's dogs. The figure stood in front of the sun so that it was hard to tell who it was. My wondering didn't last long. The figure to a step forward.

It was like a movie scene. The wind was blowing his hair and clothes to the left. His hands were in his jacket pockets which reached down to ground, and his eyes were steely and a piercing blue.

"Who are you," asked the man with a heart tactoo on his right arm.

"Kole, and that's my brother."

Chapter Four

Time seemed to stop with that one sentence. The three adults backed up some like they knew how dangerous my brother was. Then they made a mistake. They got cocky and turned on me. Big mistake.

Kole was down th hill in an instant. His fis met the guy in the yellow before he could blink. The guy in the yellow lay stunned as Kole brought a powerful leg on the back of the guy with the tactoo. He gave a slight pause and narrowed eyes toward the guy in the red.

''Wanna try something too,'' Kole asked.

The man grinned and pulled out a blade. ''You think you're something don't you,'' he said circling Kole. ''How about I show you who's acually something.'' In the blink of an eye he lashed out the blade. My brother moved back and before I could blink a second time he had his own blade.

It's handle blue, almost the color of his eyes and he blade itself was pure silver. I can't remember where he'd gotten it from, but he always kept it with him.

Silver met flesh and th swee scent of blood filled the air. A large gash opened up in the mans arm and he yelped in pain falling back. Kole showed no mercy and kicked him in the chest. The man's skull smashed against the ground and he was out cold, or dead.

''Zeo, are you okay?''

I looked at my brother. ''I'm fine,'' I said. My voice sounded weak and I'd forgotten how sick I felt when my brother showed up. In times of need when I'm around him. I feel safe as long as the situation didn't involve mother.

Kole made his way towards me; picking me up by the shoulders and lifting me onto his back. ''You're pale,'' he said.

I looked at him confused. I've always been pale. I'm acually th color of the paper in my textbook. ''What do you mean,'' I asked.

''Your skin isn't its usual textbook paper white, it's cloud white.'' His voice held worry, but there was something else. He sounded as if he knew this was going to happen, and if so...why wasn't I warned.