FairyTale Ending

Chapter 1

The flourescent green lights are flashing at me from across the room, the numbers bold and bright; as if they're screaming at me.

I've been staring at them for a few hours now, watching the time slowly tick by. Hour after hour. I may have dozed off once or twice, but... no more than a few minutes here or there.

I was used to it though. This was my nightly routine.

The numbers read 3:46. 3:46 in the morning. Another night without sleep before a long day of work. I knew how this worked. I knew exactly how my day would go. Ever since June 28, 2010 my days had been the same. I would never forget that day. Forget the nightmares that came along with it.

I pulled my aching body out of bed, wincing slightly as my feet made contact with the ground. Every part of me just... ached. I didn't bother to look at myself in the mirror; I knew the reflection too well that would greet me if I allowed myself to glance over, and I knew I wouldn't like what I saw. So I simply swapped the pajamas I was wearing for a pair of under armour shorts, and a light pink camisole. I pulled on a pair of socks, and just a pair of beat up Nike sneakers that I had.

I grabbed my iPhone and the running band I would slide over my arm so I could listen to music before I crept quietly down the stairs.

I knew that if I woke my family up I'd be in heaps of trouble. And I use the term "family" very loosely here.

They were the people I was required by law to live with.

And no; this was not me being a precocious teenager, it was a very true statement.

You see, when I was about three months old, my mother put me up for adoption. She was 16. I was her third kid, she had had a set of twins before I was born. Kathryn and Kaden. All three of us were adopted by the same family, the Mahone's. So I was just a baby, but Kaden and Katie were about 5 years old.

I can tell you now, I'm sure at some point the Mahone's were a lovely family. Obviously there was something good about them since they were allowed to adopt the three of us at all.

I probably have Kaden to thank for me thinking they were good people. Maybe in all actuality they were pretty shit people all the time. But because I had my "protector", my big brother, nothing seemed bad.

He always watched out for me. If I was ever upset, or confused, or hurt, he was always there for me.

I could feel my throat tightening up just at the thought of him, and the familiar burning feeling behind my eyes, and I just knew I had to get him off of my head. He was gone, he wasn't coming back, and I needed to stop thinking about him.

I shut the front door quietly behind me, before putting my earbuds into my ear, hitting "shuffle", and taking off at a brisk running pace into the cool morning breeze.

******

It was almost 5:00 when I staggered back to my house. Instead of the achiness I had felt in my body when I woke up, I just felt all of my muscles burning. I didn't have to worry about being quiet on my way in, My mom would be out walking the dog at this point, and then getting ready for work. So that meant that I had to hurry and take a shower before she came back in. I wasn't in the mood for a fight this morning.

I hurried up the stairs as fast as I could without being TOO loud in case the other kids weren't up yet.

The Mahone's had three other kids; Charles, who was 14. Mason, who was 12. and Elizabeth, who was 10. Of course, they got along just smashingly with their parents, but they were the typical pain in the ass siblings who knew what my "weak spots" were with my emotions, and knew just how to toy with them to push my to my breaking point. Pretty great family, eh?