Arlo

After my mom's ugly snake stunt that morning, Lexi called the girls and invited them to come with her and mom to the mall. They did not need to think — they said yes and would meet her there. I was getting dressed when my brothers, Jude and Holden, entered my room like they owned the place. "What?" I asked as I put on my shirt and the necklace I got from Lexi on my fifteenth birthday. It was one of the best birthdays ever.

"We have to prepare for Lexi's birthday party, which will be tomorrow. We will go buy her gifts and the home decorations, then we will send her away until we are ready," Milo explained, and I nodded, then put on my shoes.

"Good thing we don't have classes tomorrow. It was like fate decided it was a good time for some idiots to vandalize the university and make us stay home tomorrow," Theo said, and we all agreed. It was rare for something like this to happen, but it happened in the right place and at the right time.

I do not encourage vandalism, but it was my baby sister's birthday, and we all will be there. We were not there for her last birthday last year, and we all felt terrible for it. Now we will make it up to her.

"Let's go," Jude said, and we all headed to a mall, but not the same one the girls went to because we did not want to give Lexi the feeling that we were going to throw her a party. It was a surprise.

~~~

"No, I will buy her that," Theo argued with Milo about a present.

"No, I saw it first; back off." Milo fought back, and they looked like five-year-old boys. I looked more mature than them, and they were older than me, for God's sake! I clapped my hands and stood between them.

"Who told you that Lexi loves necklaces?" I asked, then crossed my arms and raised one eyebrow. "She hates them. I learned that the hard way," I stated, and they gaped at me. I just rolled my eyes and walked out of the store. I knew what the perfect gift for my sister was, and I walked to the store that was in my mind. My brothers and the boys followed me without knowing anything.

"Where are we going?" Jude asked. I stopped in front of a stuffed animals' shop and smiled widely.

"Stuffed animals are her life, she just adores them, and I know that for sure because I sleep in the same room as her. She sleep-talks, and she has a diary that she writes everything in. I read it once by mistake and saw that she still loves them. That's why, gentlemen, we will buy her seventeen stuffed animals since she's turning seventeen tomorrow, along with five chocolate baskets," I explained and waited for questions. Holden arched his eyebrows. He obviously looked confused, so I cleared my throat.

"Why exactly five? Why not one or two or even ten?" he asked, and my brothers smiled.

"That's her lucky number," we all replied and entered the shop. Jude looked impressed by our answer but did not say anything. He just walked to the dolphins.

"Hello, how can I help you?" A tall girl in a uniform came to us and asked with a calm yet professional tone. She was cute. Let me clear this up. I was taller than her.

"Um, we want seventeen big stuffed animals of all kinds for a present," I stated, and her eyes grew wide. Yeah, that was a significant number.

"Seventeen? That's a lot... Who's the lucky girl?" she asked with a grin, and we all cracked a smile. She was quick and slick. I liked that.

"Our sister." We replied, and the worker's smile grew bigger, if that was possible.

"Well, she's lucky indeed to have you. And you two, what is she to you? I'm just curious because we don't get five customers that want to buy a huge gift just for one girl. I bet one of you likes her," she pointed out, and we all looked at Jude and Holden.

Holden raised his hands up in surrender. "She's my friend, and I'm her best friend's boyfriend!" he countered. Then the worker looked at Jude, and we waited for his answer. He seemed hesitant to reply, but then he ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

"She's my best friends' sister," he replied, then averted eye contact with us. Theo and Milo seemed okay with his answer, but I was not. He did not give a direct answer, and he could have said Lexi was his friend. But I knew Jude; he was not sure of his feelings, which set me on edge. I did not want my sister to get hurt by our best friend. I would kill him if I ever saw a tear slip from her eyes just because of him. I did not want to see her cry again after her past. I stayed quiet and searched for cute stuffed animals that she might like.

~~~

"Thank you, gentlemen, for buying. Tell your sister a happy birthday for me," the friendly worker said, and we all nodded, then headed out.

"Now, let us go buy her chocolate. I saw a new store that opened a while ago, and I think they have what Lexi likes," Theo declared, and we agreed.

As we were walking by the men's bathroom, we heard trashing sounds followed by a faint scream. It belonged to a female, and we sure did not like that sound. Milo was the first one to enter the bathroom, and we were right behind him. We did not hear anything, but after a couple of seconds, we heard another scream that sounded like a cry for help. We let go of our gifts, put them on the floor, and listened closely.

"L-let go..." I heard someone say, who sounded like she was fighting, and I busted the third bathroom stall door open, and I was flabbergasted. We saw a huge man crushing a small girl under him. He looked over twenty, and she barely looked thirteen!

"You mother fu... Hey!" I grabbed him off of her and tossed him harshly to my brothers. As I heard the first punch from one of them, I turned my gaze to the fragile girl. Her shirt was ripped apart, and her pants were lowered to her thighs. She was still wearing her underwear which made me sigh with relief.

"Hey, hey!" I gently grabbed her face and made her look at me. "You are safe now — no need to cry." I hugged her tightly, and she cried even harder. "He didn't do anything other than ripping your shirt off, right?" I asked, wanting to make sure that she was still pure.

"Y-yes, he k-kissed me, but I f-fought. I didn't let him steal my innocence!" She stated, then looked me in the eyes. "I-it could have been worse if you didn't show up. I'm still twelve!" she added, then her voice cracked again. I hugged her again and made her rest her head on my chest.

"Shh, shh, now. You are safe," I soothed, then ran my hand through her short hair. I turned my head to look at that ugly pedophile bastard. He was knocked down on the floor, still breathing. His face was covered in blood, and all the boys had blood on their knuckles. I looked at Jude and saw that he had the most blood on him. I gave him a questioning look, and he just shrugged.

"I have a sister her age," he simply replied and tried to lift the pedophile up, but he was too big for him alone, so Milo helped, and Holden opened the door for them. Theo looked at me, then at the girl, and he took off his jacket and gave it to her. I covered her well and carried her. She rested her head on my shoulder.

"I will get the presents — Holden, give me a hand here," Theo said, and Holden nodded. We all came out of the bathroom and walked out into the mall and through a shocked crowd. As we were about to head outside and go to the police station, we heard someone call.

"Oh my God! Anna! What happened, baby doll? Where did you go?" A woman cried as she saw the girl in my arms. The girl lifted her head up, her eyes watered, and she started crying again.

"M-mom, I-I w-was almost...." She cried harder as she tried to say it, and I looked at the woman and gave her an angry look.

"She was almost raped! Where were you?" I yelled at the top of my lungs and wanted to scream because that scene was too familiar to me. To all of my brothers.

Milo walked closer to me with the pedophile still in his arms. "Hey, Arlo! Calm down!" he ordered, and I just scoffed.

"No! Where was she when her daughter was almost raped? Shopping?!" I glared at the mom, and she cried harder. I was furious. I knew it was not her fault, but I could not help it. Tragedies happen in split seconds, and if you ignore the most minor details, grave disasters will happen. That was what life taught me.

"I'm so sorry, Anna! I'm sorry!" The mom apologized and kissed her daughter's head. She was still in my arms, so we told her we were going to the police station and she must come along.

~~~

After we got there, we explained to the officers what had happened, and they took care of the man. They told the girl, Anna, and her mom to press charges. They will.

I saw Lexi when I opened that bathroom stall. My baby sister! I saw her life pass in front of my eyes, and I was sure my brothers saw that too. I hoped everything would be all right tomorrow, and we all agreed never to mention it in front of Lexi and my mom, at least not soon.

I just published chapter 40 on Inkitt, if you want to read there, send me a message :)