*Arriving at school, that day*

"Hey" I look up to see Nathan jogging over to where my siblings and I are walking.

"Umm. Hi Nathan, what are you doing here so early? I thought football players wake up late and barely make it to school on time. Well, at least that's the case with this numskull here." I reply. I can see him looking all of us over intensely.

Oh please don't let him notice that anything is wrong!

He replies with some weird comment about not sleeping and then goes on to ask what I was hoping he hadn't noticed. I was about to speak up and just play it dumb, but I didn't beat Wyatt to the punch.

"Her car broke down this morning. We didn't have time to get it fixed before school, so we had to walk. Lainey, why don't you tell him why you are in pain." He replies.

I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!!! What the hell does he think he is doing, we can not let on that anything happened. I think back to this morning and all that happened.

_______________________

*This morning, after work*

I had just gotten off work a bit early because Hal accidentally double booked another server and me, so I figured I would make the kids a breakfast treat this morning.

Damion, my uncle, is usually non-existent in the mornings which is very helpful. Normally, he comes home drunk the night before (that's when he dishes out the worst of his abuse) and by mornings he is passed so far out, nothing could wake him. But apparently, this morning was not like that.

As I pull up on my driveway, I see Damion's car is parked haphazardly on the lawn.

Figures, he was probably too drunk to properly drive again.

Judging by his parking, I walk in assuming he is passed out drunk in his room. That's why, when I walk through the door, I am not expecting to take a direct hit on my knee.

"You Bitch! Where were you!" He snarls in my face. Pain is shooting up my leg and I can barely stay standing, but I know if I fall, he will have much better access and I can't let that happen.

"SLUT! You were probably out getting pregnant huh? Not that anyone would actually look at you. You fat, ugly, whore." He follows his words with a hit to my ribs. I can see he is carrying a wooden baseball bat, thank goodness he is close to passing out, otherwise his hits would be a lot stronger.

*Hmphhh*

I make a small grunt after feeling the impact. I want to scream and cry because the pain is starting to make me see stars, but I know if I do, Wyatt will come down and end up getting hurt.

Even though Dorian is usually past out in the mornings, I still created a system for the kids. When the abuse first started, I put the three kids in the same room, with a lock on their door, and myself in the guest room. This way, if Dorian was feeling extra mad, he could get to me easily and hopefully leave the other three alone.

In the morning, the kids know to wait in their room, with the door locked, until I come and get them. I'm the only one who has a key to their room, so Dorian can never get in but I don't have to knock for them to let me in. It's for days like this that I do that.

If they were to come down right now, Wyatt would most likely get in the middle of it and get hurt, and Katie and Dylan might get caught in the crosshairs too. I would rather bleed out by this monster than watch any of them get hurt, when I could've protected them. So here I am, on the ground groaning in pain, trying not to scream because I need the kids to stay upstairs.

*Whack*

Another hit, this time to the shin. That one hurt, I need to just let him get it out.

"You're a waste of a human being. YOU KILLED YOUR PARENTS AND NOW I HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOU, BITCH!" That sentence was followed by a kick to my ribs.

Everything hurt so bad, I didn't know how much more I could take silently. I heard a phone ring in the distance and watched as Dorian answered it, slurred something out, and then left the house with a bang.

Followed by the bang of the front door closing, I heard footsteps running down the stairs and watched Wyatt come into view, followed by a concerned looking Dylan and a crying Katie.

Damnit, they heard.

"Lainey, SHIT! Are you ok? Where does it hurt the most? We need to get you to a doctor right now!!! I am going to kill that bastard!" Wyatt angrily rambled on.

"Wy, shhh, it's ok. First off, watch your language and second I'm fine, just a couple of bruises. Come help me up or we will be late to school." I croaked out. Really I could feel the pain radiating all up my left side, but I couldn't tell them that.

I need to be strong.

"You are not fine, we need to go to a doctor and tell someone. I heard his phone ring, what would have happened if he hadn't of gotten that call. This has gone on too long. We need to... SHIT LAINEY!!" he screams as my leg gives out. During his speech, I was trying to stand up but I underestimated the amount of pain I was in.

"I'm fine Wy. We are not telling anyone. There's no way I'm letting the state separate us. Now, for the last time, watch your language and go get your brother and sister ready for school. We leave in 15 minutes." I say, as I go to stand up again, this time putting my weight on my right side so he doesn't notice the pain.

I watch him look at me with a mix of anger, surprise, and pain. I can see he's about to say something, but we need to get moving. I don't want to be here when Dorian comes back and the longer we stay, the harder it will be to convince Wyatt not to call the police.

"Wyatt, please don't argue with me today. We need to leave before Dorian comes back." A look of understanding crossed his face as he picked Katie up and carried her to their room, with Dylan following.

Every step I take towards my room, I can feel a shooting pain up my leg. I've had a lot of injuries and can tell that I bruised at least three of my ribs, the kneecap, and my shin bone. Luckily, nothing seems to be broken and he stayed away from any visible areas, so I won't have to deal with that.

I quickly, well as fast as I could move, changed into sweats and a t-shirt. While changing, I could already see my knee bruising badly.

Looks like it will be sweats for a while.

After dressing and wrapping my ribs, I put a bit of makeup on the few bruises that were visible and went downstairs, calling the kids to meet me at the car.

I quickly take some Advil and limp outside to get the car started.

*Vr... Vr... vroomm.. vroo.."

"No, No, No!!! Shoot!!!!! Ughh I cannot deal with this today." I scream as my car turns over and pitters out.

Damnit!

I get out of the car, just as Wyatt and Dylan walk out with a tear stained Katie.

"Ok guys, We are going to be walking to school today. Dylan, hold Katie's hand and both of you stay on the sidewalk the whole time. We need to get going if we are going to be on time, so come on." I watch Dylan take Katie's hand and look at me, waiting for me to start walking. I reach down to take my backpack, but Wyatt grabs it before me.

"Now can I call someone? This is ridiculous! You can't walk that far. You're injured!!!" Wyatt tells me. I look over at Katie and see her tears have started again and Dylan looks close to crying too.

"Wyatt, we aren't doing this right now. You are scaring your siblings. Now get walking and when we get to school do not tell a single soul about what happened, do you understand me. Do you want us to get separated? Because I don't. Start walking now or we can stand here and wait for your uncle to come home and make things worse." I say to him, as I wipe away Katie's tears and give both my youngest siblings a hug.

"Fine! But this discussion isn't over and I am carrying your backpack." He says to me and then starts walking off, looking very angry.

I don't even bother replying and just start walking, trying to ignore the pain in my leg and ribs. I know if I show even an ounce of pain Wyatt will flip and tell someone, so I make my face emotionless and begin the long walk to school.