"Levi!"

"Rose!" I yelled on top of my lungs. I've never been so desperate and in pain. This had to be a nightmare.

Wiping the tears away from my cheek with the back of my shaky hand, I continued to run in the darkness. Even the moon was hidden behind dark clouds, ridding the place of the dim light that was cast over it during night.

I couldn't see anything around me. All I could do was somehow trust my hearing and follow the voices through the path ahead of me.

It was a dark alley. The only sounds I could hear was my panicked breathing and the soft sound of water flowing, indicating there was a river nearby.

"Rose!" I called out again. Despite my throat feeling like it was closed, despite the surroundings feeling like they were closing in on me, I managed to yell her name out with all my might.

"Help!" She yelled back.

I ran towards the source, stretching my hands forward, in case I'm about to run into something. My racing heartbeat suddenly started echoing in my head, almost making me feel deaf.

"God please," I cried, pathetically when I couldn't find anyone.

"Oh, you want to yell for that bitch," A male voice yelled, which was followed by a sickening thud. I tried to hold back the flinch that threatened to accompany the sudden intake of a sharp breath.

Forcing my feet to keep moving forward, I turned a corner and came to an abrupt halt.

Rose was laying on the ground, her head resting in a rather uncomfortable position against the base of lamp post. He stood towering over her, drunk and out of his mind.

"Leave her alone, Lucas!" I yelled as I stood a few feet away from him, panting heavily. My short breaths came out shaky, while my hands clenched and unclenched to get myself to come down from the verge of a panic attack.

His drunk self finally turned around to face me. The only light in the alley was the one street light right above his head. The light made darkness appear under his eyes, due to the shadow the light cast.

"The bitch is here." He let out a maniacal laugh, taking a stumbling step forward.

"Leave her alone," I said, enunciating each word.

He stopped laughing, which caused the surroundings to quieten down to the low voices of the water flowing. He stared at me through red puffy eyes for some time then smirked slightly.

He turned around towards Rose again, almost tripping and falling down in the process.

"What a piece," he muttered, sickening me to my stomach.

"You're out of your mind, Lucas!" I yelled, gathering every ounce of courage I had in me, which wasn't much at that moment. I desperately wanted to get his attention back to myself.

He ignored me and moved his hand towards the unconscious girl. I sniffled and looked around, trying to keep my panic in control.

My eyes fell on that particular thing on the ground and before my mind could register, I was reaching for it. Clutching the rock tightly in my hands, I raised it above my head and another thud was heard.

Lucas let out a shriek of pain and stumbled a few steps to the side, before falling to his knees a few feet away.

I choked back a sob and threw the rock aside. With my shaky legs, I managed to cover the distance between myself and Rose.

I crouched down to her side, carefully sliding my hand under her head and pulling her away from the lamp post.

"Rose!" I cried weakly, taking her into my arms and holding onto her tightly.

My fingers skimmed through her hair trying to find the injured area. They stopped when I felt the bump on her head. It won't be too bad, hopefully.

She should be awake as soon as the drug he gave her wears off.

Rose stirred awake just when our house came into view. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, blinking to get rid of the sleepiness. Her body was still as limp as it had been when I first picked her unconscious body up.

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking down at her. My arms were shaking as I carried her bridal style towards our house. My legs were burning from running so much and it felt like there was very little air left in my lungs.

"Put me down. You shouldn't be carrying me," she muttered weakly. Her struggle to speak was clear, judging by the slow speed with which the words flowed out.

"You're not in a state to walk. Are you okay? Do we need to see a doctor?" I asked, my concern seeping clearly into my words.

"I'm fine." She shook her head. "Besides, we don't have enough money."

I looked ahead at the path I was walking on.

"I could always steal," I mumbled, thinking about the 'secret' place where Lucas hid all the money. The place obviously wasn't that secret, after all.

"Where is he?" She asked. I looked back down into her eyes then looked away almost immediately.

"He ran away after I hit him," I said. A frown appeared on my face as I avoided looking at her.

"What if he's home?" She asked, showing the fear that made me furious. I don't like seeing fear in those pretty gray eyes of hers.

"He won't be dumb enough to come back here," I said. My voice came out colder than I expected.

"Okay." Rose said. Being the sweet baby she is, she replied to everything with a sweet little okay from her side.

She put her trust in me a long time ago. By that, I mean, every decision, everything I do for us, she never questions it. And she will never need to question it.

Thankfully, I have not failed her till now and I never will.

Kicking the front door open, I entered the house. It hadn't been locked because of the panic I ran out with. One look around the house we spent our childhood in and I immediately wanted to curl up and cry.

How did it come to this? There's no one except us left in this house that now held more bad memories than good ones. That had seen more tears and pain than giggles and smiles.

I stepped inside and kicked the door close, holding back my emotions perfectly now that I had Rose back in my arms. I lose my control and ultimately myself, if I lose her.

"The lock," Rose said, pointing behind me with her little index finger.

I sighed and started moving towards the living room instead of the stairs. Laying her down on the couch gently, I pointed my index finger at her.

"Don't move," I said. I took a step back and turned around.

The dimly lit hallway did nothing to help with my anxiety. My chest tightened as the dark corners of the hallway seemed to be hiding monsters ready to lunge at me any moment. Ready to remind me of the failure I had been.

So much could've happened today. So many things could've gone wrong. He could've scarred her forever. I couldn't have lived through the guilt. I promised her with my life.

After hearing the soft click of the lock, I trudged back towards the living room. A gulp was all the attempt I made for swallowing the guilt; to not have my throat closed up with the thick emotions.

Every breath I took was painful. My ribs felt like they were contracting, squeezing my heart painfully. Squeezing my lungs just enough for negligible air to reach them.

Every step I took made my body scream for rest. My head pounded like a bitch and I just wanted to close my eyes and get away from everything. Get away from every small piece of twisted shit life has thrown at me.

This was enough. I had reached my limit of tolerance. I could tolerate a thousand hits if it meant Rose was safe. But even a single hit towards her was enough to shatter my shield into pieces.

I was the shield for her. Yet it came to this. Yet it got so worse that it affected her, that that monster's eyes somehow zoned in on her.

Moving back into the living room, I saw her laying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. She was lost in thought when a tear slipped from her eye and slid down her temple and into her hair.

She wiped the tear away quickly when she saw me approaching.

"Do you want to eat something?" I asked, standing beside the couch, looking at her with a forced smile. In hopes my smile could calm some, if not all, of her nerves.

"No. Can I sleep in your room tonight?" She asked, timidly. She refused to look at me as she asked that question.

"Of course. You shouldn't be asking that," I said, smiling wider to assure her.

My smile must be brighter than anything because she smiled a little herself. But I was getting destructed inside. That look on her face. That fear in her eyes. That was something I never wanted to see nor did I ever wanted to imagine.

Keeping a small smile on my face, I bent down and slid my arms under her knees and back again. Rose looked like she wanted to protest but before she could utter a word, I had her lifted into my arms.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and clutched tightly, in fear she'd fall.

"You're tired too, Levi," she muttered. The guilt in her voice had me looking at her quickly.

"Yeah. But I'm not hurt," I said, trying to reassure her. "You're hurt and you can't walk."

I climbed up the stairs, which was harder than I expected. Much harder.

"Close your eyes, Rose." I muttered, not bothering to look at her. I was sure she'll follow through with it without question.

The door creaked when I opened it. Rose opened her eyes when I put her to bed. Her face was tear-streaked and her unshed tears shone in the dim moonlight entering the room.

"I'll be right back," I said, softly, watching the storm of panic raging behind her unbothered front. I pulled the covers over her and tucked her in gently.

Walking slowly to the bathroom, I shut the door behind me softly. As soon as I heard the soft click when it locked, I let go. I let go of everything that was gathered inside, letting the tears fall down my cheeks.

My legs gave out, making me sit in the middle of the bathroom, with my head in my hands. My head rested on my knees, while my hands dug into the skin on my head.

My hand lowered to my mouth, as I felt the sobs bubbling in my chest. I cradled myself back and forth while biting into my hand to stop the sobs from escaping.

It's getting painful to breath. It's getting painful to go through each day fighting something.

After about one minute of crying, I stood up shakily from the floor. That took a lot of struggle. This whole situation had drained my energy more than any other horrifying situation did.

Grabbing the edge of the sink tight in my hands, making my knuckles grow white, I stared at my reflection.

The girl staring back at me was pathetic, who couldn't even take care of her only family after promising them with her life.

All this twisted shit should not have reached Rose. Yet it somehow did.

'Amira Levi Verlice, I promise I will protect you till my last breath.'

Splashing the cold water on my face, I took a deep shaky breath in. Bending over the sink, I closed my eyes, letting the cold water soothe me.

The tear-streaks will not be visible now, at least.

Wiping my face dry, I made my way out of the bathroom, watching Rose struggle to keep her eyes open.

She looked at me approaching and closed her eyes, releasing a long almost unnoticeable breath.

Trust.

Another dagger dug into my chest. How could she trust me again?

I laid under the covers on the other side of the bed, maintaining distance between me and my twin.

Rose sighed every few seconds, making me aware that she wasn't getting any sleep.

"Should I lock the room door too if that helps?" I asked, turning my head towards her. She shook her head slowly.

"I'm okay," she said, softly.

God! Her voice was so soft and babyish. That makes me melt every time. Every worry fades away by just hearing a word from her. Just a look at her innocent face and everything seems to look all heavenly.

"Levi?" She mumbled after a moment, snapping me out of my thoughts. I hummed in response.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked, softly. Her voice was so soft, it seemed to blend into the silence. "Where will we go? We can't live with him anymore. It's not safe and we don't have anyone else to live with."

I clenched my jaw and stared at what little I could see.

"I don't know, Rose. We'll just stay here until I find a way."

"They'll find out and throw us in foster care, if he doesn't return," she voiced her concerns further.

I stayed silent for a moment.

"I'll think of something. I will not leave your side no matter what happens or where we go." She nodded her head in response.

"I won't either," she said, weakly. "I don't want to be away from you."

I took a breath in and nodded.

Lucas James Verlice is our step-brother.

Our Mom, Lily Ellison, married our step-dad Elijah Verlice, two years after she got our custody and moved away from our biological father. We were five when she got our custody just after divorcing our father and we were seven when she got married again.

She died when we were twelve. Leaving us to live with her second husband and his son.

Our step-father died when we were fourteen, two years ago. That left us in the custody of Lucas, who was nineteen at that time.

He's twenty one now and still unemployed. I don't know how he got our custody. How the system gave a teen our custody, who was, no doubt, an adult now but was unemployed. We didn't know where the money came from.

We haven't seen our biological father since the divorce, which was when we were five. Leaving us in the care of our Mom and our five brothers in the care of our father.

We haven't seen them either. We don't know how to contact them now and they never tried to.

Lucas fucked me up. And he will surely pay for it. That's all I ask from whatever higher power is up there. To make him pay for whatever he did and however he affected us.

I jumped when a hand touched me, successfully pulling me out of my thoughts. Now sitting on the bed with my hand to my heart, my gaze snapped to my side when I felt movement.

Rose was flailing her arms around, with a rather distressed look on her face.

"Rose!" I rushed towards her. "Rose, wake up!"

I shook her a little with one hand, holding her hands in my other.

"Rose!" I said, louder this time.

Her eyes snapped open.

"Levi!" She said, which came out more of a gasp.

"I'm here," I said, in the best soothing tone I could muster. "I'm here."

She started crying, barely able to breathe due to the panicked breaths shaking her.

"It felt so real," she said. I know.

"Calm down, Rose. Take deep breaths. I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you," I soothed. She held my hand in hers in a death grip and took a deep shakh breath in.

"Can you hold me?" She asked, timidly, holding back her tears.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded shakily. Letting go of her hands, I leaned back a little, to settle myself beside her.

I wrapped my arms around her, while she buried her face in my neck, wrapping her arms around me.

I breathed out a sigh and rubbed my hand on her back, while my other hand worked on stroking her hair to calm her down.

I'm glad she slept but damn that bitch for giving her nightmares.

The sound of a door opening in a distance made me go cautious. The creak was almost inaudible, hence Rose didn't hear it. I tensed up and my movements ceased.

"Rose," I whispered, straining my ears for more sounds.

"Hm?" She asked, almost asleep again.

"Will you be okay if I go check the locks once? It'll just take a minute," I said, watching her tense up a bit.

She complied as always. Although she didn't want to part herself from me.

"Okay," she said, pulling away slowly, trying not to show the hesitance in her tone and movements.

I nodded and moved towards the edge of the bed. Swinging my legs down, I stood up and crossed the bed.

I just took two steps towards where I calculated the door was in the dark room, when I froze. Rose froze too, judging by the sudden halt in the sounds of the covers rustling.

Footsteps.

There surely was someone in the house.

"Go hide in the bathroom," I ordered, keeping my volume low. Rose turned on the lamp that rested on the bedside drawer. I kept staring at the door to our room.

"But you-" My head snapped towards her. Rose swallowed and nodded.

Goosebumps rose over my skin when I heard the footsteps drawing closer and muffled whispering.

"Okay," she said after inhaling a deep breath. She got up and rushed past me towards the bathroom.

After I heard her shut the door, I moved towards my desk chair and picked it up, preparing myself to swing it at whoever was now approaching my room. I switched off the lamp, letting the darkness fall over the room again.

The silence was deafening. My breathing became rapid and heavy and my racing heartbeat didn't help with the ringing in my ears.

The door to the room creaked open, still not letting any light in. The hallways didn't have any lights now, for some unknown reason.

The door was opened fully and I braced myself, clutching the chair tightly, ready to attack.

What I was met with was a beam of light that fell directly on my face, making me squint my eyes.

"Bunny?"

----

There will be about three updates a week.