'This' means it is something that was said or happened in the past or a nightmare.

'This' is what the voice in Levi's head is saying.

"Will you be okay, Rose?" I asked, as she laid down and I pulled the desk chair towards the bed.

"Yes. Only if you rest too." She said, with a pointed look that almost looked cute on her. Almost.

"Okay. But I won't be able to sleep." I said, sighing and standing up.

Climbing in on the other side, I remained half laid down and half sat.

"Lay down, Levi." Rose commented. "I thought I wouldn't get any sleep, I still slept for a good three hours."

"Okay." I complied.

"Thank you." She said, turning her head to give me a sweet smile.

"Never thank me again." I said, knowing why she was thanking me.

She just shook her head and stared at the ceiling.

I tried not to sleep, but the exhaustion from the night hit me like a bitch. The comparatively softer bed did not help.

I stayed awake till one hour more then I drifted off, despite trying not to. Rose was asleep within minutes.

"Who got lesser points in the quiz?" Lucas asked, looking between me and my twin.

"Me." I said, stepping forward and pushing Rose behind me.

"Okay. Go to your room." He said, dismissing both of us. Rose shrugged and started walking away. I stood there for a second longer, looking at the evil smirk on his face.

I turned my head. Rose was already walking upstairs.

"Meet you in five." He said, still smirking.

I took a deep breath and walked out of there. Just as I reached the hallway that had our rooms, I saw Rose walking into her room. She popped her head out and smiled.

"Goodnight, Levi." She said, smiling.

I smiled back.

"Goodnight, Rose. "

Her smile got wider as she shut the door softly. I moved forward and locked her door from outside, quietly.

She never knew about this. She never knew I locked the door then unlocked it every single night. She's too oblivious for her own good.

I walked into my room, feeling numb and helpless.

I've thought of running away, but who would feed us. Rose needs a normal home and she has it. If we run away, we will have to suffer. She can't live a life so hard.

Sacrifices are necessary. I'd have to sacrifice something so the happiness stays.

I lose it all if I don't. If I'm happy, Destiny finds a way to ruin that for both of us. I was happy when we lived both of our parents, they divorced and our custody was given to Mom. When I was happy with my Mom, she got married and we got introduced to Lucas. Then I was happy with my parents, God took Mom away. I managed to find happiness again, with my Dad's help, he left too.

Now Rose is happy with a normal life and I'm happy to see her happy. It just take some compromises and sacrifice. That's all.

I walked into Lucas' room and shut the door quietly. I stood in the middle of the room, waiting for him to come and get this over with.

He entered the room, exactly three minutes later. I just stood emotionless and numb, looking at his smirking face.

"So, how many?" He asked, although he knew the answer.

"Just above the passing points." I muttered what I'm supposed to say every time.

He chuckled.

"Always on the verge of failing." He said.

'The one who gets lower score goes through the punishment.'

The first time I went through this, these were the words he spoke to my fourteen year old self.

Two years. Just two years and life has flipped upside down.

I looked away when he reached for his belt buckle. This was always the scariest part, knowing what was coming.

I heard the familiar removing of the belt before he moved to stand behind me. I gripped the edge of my top tightly and clenched my eyes shut. This would be over in no time.

Rose is safe if I do this. Two more years and we'll be away from him, out of his care. I'll find a job and Rose will go to college.

I held back a gasp and my eyes flew open when the belt wrapped around my waist, sending searing pain across my back.

This continued for forever. Like always he was enjoying this, while by the end I wished nothing but to choke him to death with his own belt and hang him from the balcony, he threatened to throw me from some days ago.

"Run before you ruin my carpet with your blood." He said, with disgust. I stopped biting into my hand and put it on the ground shakily, beside my other hand.

Pushing myself up shakily, I kept my head down as I hurried out of the room.

My knees buckled as I passed my room. Walking slowly towards Rose's room, I unlocked it and moved back towards my room, quietly.

My legs gave out as soon as I heard the click of the lock.

"Don't cry. Don't cry." I muttered while sitting on the floor with no energy left.

"Levi!"

My head snapped up and my breathing became panicked. Just that tone. Just thinking about the person saying that, made my eyes fill with tears.

Suddenly Rose appeared on the edge of my bed, laying on the floor, while I sat before my room door.

Lucas moved his dirty hand towards her unconscious form.

I woke up with a gasp, my chest moving rapidly due to the panic I felt.

I looked to my right. Rose wasn't there.

This is why I don't sleep in her presence. I don't want to act like I'm having a seizure while she's around.

I heard soft humming from the bathroom and the sound of the water running.

I rubbed the back of my trembling hand on my cheek.

12.37 pm.

She slept for about five hours , if we don't count the previous three hours she slept at our home and the one hour in the car.

Pulling the covers off me, I swung my feet down, met with a cold floor against my warm feet.

'Rose is already feeling at home.'

I flinched a little when that came into my mind out of nowhere.

"Good Morning." I heard a soft voice say. I turned around and saw Rose standing by the bed, with wet hair but the same clothes on.

"Good Morning. How are you feeling?" I asked, extending my arm towards her, motioning her to come forward and let me check her head.

She walked over to my side and sat beside me. I ran my hand over her head, touching the bump softly.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, quietly.

She shook her head.

"Just when it is touched. Nothing too big."

I nodded.

"When did you wake up?" I asked, smiling at my twin.

"About forty minutes ago." She said. I nodded again.

"Okay. I'll go shower. Then we'll talk about what we're gonna do." She nodded her head and smiled.

"It will be okay." She reassured.

I stood up and walked to the bathroom. Turning the water to hot, I jumped in quickly.

'She's going to leave you too.'

I ceased my movements. No she'll not.

'She will. Maybe she's already tired of you doing everything.'

No.

Wearing the same clothes after a shower was gross. But I didn't have much of a choice, so I got dressed quickly and walked out of the bathroom.

Rose sat on the bed, staring into distance.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, as I made my way over to the area where the sunlight was coming through the huge glass doors.

"Stuff. Have you thought of something?" She asked, swiftly changing the topic.

"I don't know. Lucian forced us here. We don't want to be here. I think we should contact the social worker." I said, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Foster care?" She asked, making me shrug.

"Maybe." I said and looked at her face. If she is uncomfortable with foster care, we can drop that idea.

She seemed to like the idea and agreed as always.

I released a sigh of relief. I'm always afraid she will not like what I do or hate me for it.

A knock pulled us out of our thoughts. I went to stand beside Rose, who was sitting on the bed. The door opened and Damien stepped in.

"Lunch is ready." He stated plainly. "You can't skip. Lucian's orders."

I nodded my head, staring at him blankly. I waited for Rose to stand up, then held her hand and walked out.

Damien looked at us blankly, before following us. I waited for him to show us the way when he exited our room behind us.

All he did was stuff his hands in his pockets and start walking towards the staircase.

I followed him with Rose walking beside me.

Damien looked so dangerous now. He was always the silent angry one but he wasn't scary looking.

But now with a muscular and towering body and the countless tattoos, he looked like the definition of danger.

"He's scary." Rose whispered, from beside me. "And I thought Jayden was scary when I saw him last night. Jayden looks like a puppy before him."

I nodded my head, while staring straight ahead, indicating I did listen to what she said.

"Have you met Lucian?" I blurted, before thinking. He's the scariest person I've ever met.

"Duh." She said. Anyone could've failed to notice the sarcasm in that sweet voice.

Damien stopped and pushed a door open, letting himself in and leaving the door open.

A huge kitchen was what we were greeted with. With shining countertops, black and grey themed kitchen and fancy lights.

And four men.

Jayden was standing beside a man looking exactly like him, just a kinder touch to him. Josiah.

Since I've met all of the others and been successful in recognizing them, the one standing next to Josiah was Asher, the second oldest brother.

"They're small." Asher said, putting his hands on his thighs and bending down to look at us properly.

My eyebrow twitched at the statement.

"Of course they are." Damien scoffed. "One of them has quite an attitude too."

"Be polite, Dex." Josiah reprimanded his older brother. "It's just their first day here."

Hopefully the last.

"You've grown beautifully." Asher said, softly while looking at me. I had, once again, pushed Rose behind me, so she wasn't visible.

"Come on out, Rose." Josiah said, softly.

I clenched my jaw when I felt her move. Rose slowly stepped out from behind me and stood beside me.

I was on high alert now, keeping an eye on everyone.

"It's nice to see you again." Josiah said, taking a step forward and opening his arms.

I grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her closer to me, before raising my hand in the air.

Josiah stopped in his tracks, his mouth hung open and hurt visible on his face.

"We don't hug." I stated, in a monotone voice.

"What has happened to you?" Asher asked, looking at my emotionless face with furrowed eyebrows.

"Nothing has happened. We just don't trust brothers." I stated, looking at all of them one by one.

"Bunny..." I cut Jayden off.

"Levi." I corrected for the nth time. He rolled his eyes.

"Let's just have lunch." Josiah said, quickly turning around and walking towards the table.

I stood there watching the brothers take their seats.

The head of the table was empty. Asher and Josiah sat on one side, while Damien and Jayden sat on the other.

Only one seat was left on either side.

I can't sit so far away from Rose. I stared at the seats and frowned.

"Can you sit beside Josiah please, Jayden?" Asher requested, looking directly at Jayden.

His tone said it all. It wasn't exactly a request.

Jayden stood up and wordlessly went to sit beside Josiah.

I made Rose sit on the side while I sat in the middle. Asher smiled when Rose shifted her chair closer to mine.

"Good to have you back." He said, looking between me and my twin.

We just stayed silent and stared at the empty plates.

Soon after, some maids entered the kitchen with plates. The smell hit my nose and the realisation hit that we haven't eaten for about seventeen hours.

God! How could I forget that?

I looked at my sister with an apologetic look on my face. I should've made her eat.

She just smiled in return and nodded.

The plates were put before us and I just glanced at my sister and back to my plate.

Everyone started piling food onto their plates, while we just sat there staring at our empty ones. Once the boys were done, I moved forward slowly and started putting food in Rose's plate.

"I'll do it myself." She said, trying to stop me. I looked at her and she dropped her hand that was holding mine, muttering a 'fine'.

After I was done putting food in her plate, she started taking small bites.

I turned back towards the plate and put some food for me and sat back.

Doing the mistake of looking up, I froze.

All of the boys were looking at me.

"What?" I snapped, knitting my eyebrows together.

Rose looked up and stopped eating.

"Nothing." Josiah said, a small smile showing on his face.

I just shrugged and focussed on the food again.

That was until I saw a hand move in my range of vision, putting more food in mine.

"Seventeen hours, Levi." Rose reprimanded. I held her hand, trying to stop her, but she just turned to me with a pointed look. I released her hand and muttered a 'fine'.

She went back to eating while I nibbled on the food. Lunch was mostly silent. Jayden and Damien talked among themselves but Asher and Josiah glanced at us every now and then, asking if we wanted something more.

After we had finished, I stood up and grabbed my plate. Taking Rose's too, I turned around and almost dropped the expensive plates. Damien was standing there, too close for my liking.

I looked up at him and clenched my jaw.

"Put the plates back down." He said, crossing his arms.

"What he means is, you don't have to do it. We'll do it." Asher butted in, throwing a pointed look towards Damien.

"And there are more than enough people to take care of Rose. You don't have to be her Mom." Damien said, glancing at Rose for a second, causing me to take a step to the side to hide her from him.

"Damien!" Asher snapped, glaring at his younger brother. Damien just rolled his eyes then stared at me.

"We don't follow orders. I don't have to give an explanation to you as to why I'm playing the role of her 'Mom'." I said, airing quotations. "But I do have to say. You don't have to be our Dad and try to act all authoritative." I mocked him.

Damien clenched his jaw while I stared at him defiantly.

He bent down a little and narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. You do follow orders here." He said, lowly. "And I'm sure you will."

I clenched my jaw while he stepped back and walked out.

I turned towards my twin, who was standing there, looking at his retreating back, fearfully.

One thing I can't stand. Rose being scared makes me more repelled to the idea of living here.

"Let's go." I muttered, making her nod.

"I'm sorry for him, sweetheart." Asher apologized. "I'm sure you will love it here."

I looked at him.

"We'll not. We will be leaving soon." I said, hearing a scoff from the table. Jayden was sitting there, casually scrolling through his phone.

"Bold of you to assume that." He mocked, looking directly at me. Rose held my hand tighter.

"Lucian is your guardian now. You will have to stay here." Josiah said, tilting his head to the side.

I just shook my head and started walking, with Rose following me quickly, clearly eager to get away from everyone.

"They will force us to live here forever!" She released the inner panic that she was hiding all the way to our room, as soon as she stepped in.

I frowned.

"We will talk to Lucian when he comes back."

"Why does he even want our custody?" She asked, panicking.

"I don't know. I don't trust them one bit and I sure as hell won't let him force us." I muttered, while taking a seat on the desk chair.

A knock made us both go silent. This time the person didn't barge in though.

A long moment of silence later, they knocked again.

"Come in." I said, frowning at the door.

The door opened slowly and Josiah let himself in.

"I thought you could wear these until we go shopping." He said, smiling at both of us. His gaze flicking between us two.

There were some clothes hanging from his arm. I looked at Rose who shook her head at me.

"We'd rather wear our own dirty clothes than wear someone else's new ones. We don't need favors." I stated.

His arm dropped a little, along with his smile.

"We're your brothers. It's not a favor." He said, gulping a little.

"We don't trust brothers." I shrugged, repeating what I said.

His face dropped into a frown as he seemed to be thinking of something.

"I could order something online and it will arrive within hours?" He offered.

"It will still be a favor for us. We have our own clothes, which we bought from our Dad's money and we have our own home." I stated, watching him drop his arm completely, so the clothes were clutched tightly in his fist.

He cleared his throat and nodded.

"Okay. You can still call me if you need anything." He said, trying to hide the sadness and walked out, completely ignoring Jayden who was leaning against the wall beside the door, with his arms and legs crossed.

I just noticed him when Josiah moved.

"You don't have to hurt him." He frowned, clenching his jaw.

"I didn't hurt him. I simply refused to take any favors from any of you."

"He came in so happy and hopeful." He said, clenching his jaw. "And he left all sad and gloomy. What else is hurt in your opinion?"

"His fault. He shouldn't be so happy. We're strangers." I stated.

"What have we ever done for you to behave that way to us? Absolutely nothing." He exclaimed, struggling to keep his volume low.

"You've done more than nothing." I was shocked when Rose said that. Apparently, Jayden was too, because he looked at her and his eyes widened a little.

Brothers can't be trusted. They're not loyal and they fail to look out for you.

"I never expected us to meet like this. You've been nothing but cold and rude since you met us." He said, making me clench my jaw and glare at him.

"We never expected to even meet you, much less be forced to live here." I said, struggling to control my anger.

"I still don't get what our fault is in this." He said, shaking his head. He stood up straight and stuffed his hands in his pocket.

"You don't have to get it." I stated and watched him shake his head and walk out. He slammed the door behind him, making Rose jump, infuriating me further.

"Do you know anything about Father?" She asked me, to which I shook my head.

"I don't know if he's alive or not." I said, clenching my hands into fists.

"So we have nowhere else to go?" She asked, sadly.

I shook my head.

"If he's dead, we will need some valid reason to be away from them so we can go to foster care." I said, clutching my head in my hands and looking down. "Running away is not an option considering they know our address and they're powerful."

She nodded.

"Is foster care good?" She asked, making me gulp, before lifting my head up.

"Everything will be good." For you.

She nodded, frowning a little.

I'll just talk to Lucian, I guess. Maybe he will save everyone the trouble and let us go.