Enchanted

Prologue

1 year can change a lot.

This was always known but they could have never imagined that this one year would be this gruesome. Everything is out of balance and no one can seem to figure out how to keep things straight.

Arabella's family is like a pile of building blocks that slammed to the floor no longer being able to stick together. Vincent lost his youngest child, again. He can't help but blame himself that he didn't keep enough protection on her and he should have been extra safe due to past events. He should have learnt his lesson back then and maybe this wouldn't be happening again.

Alejandro who had been working like hell to get his baby sister back, fell into his own dark whole as he tried to keep his family together. The pressure of losing Arabella, or maybe it was the pressure over all the years and this was the final straw, that Alejandro found a line of white dust running across his desk and he inhales it's alluring relaxation.

Lorenzo and Antonio were doing no better. To keep their family balanced and in some sort of way controlled, the two threw themselves left and right to whoever needed it. Without looking out for themselves, they got trapped in others misery forgetting the take care of themselves. Neither ate or slept just in case someone needed them. This didn't go unnoticed by Lorenzo who was quick to get his little brother back to health. Though he forgot about himself not caring even as he fainted a few times a week, the only reminder that he had forgotten to eat.

The two carefree brothers, Xavier and Luca, almost like a light switch, flipped their entire personality. No longer were they there to make other laugh and smile yet instead they were there for war. War against the Germans who took their baby sister. So they trained. And they trained. Even as they slept they trained to keep their ears wide open for any sort of displacement.

Xander unlike the rest of his brothers who either changed their personalities or used their feelings in help of others, he chose to ignore. The pills that he used to avoid due to its capabilities of no longer feeling, were now a constant consumption. He hated those pills because he want to feel something. Anger, happiness, sadness. He was okay to let his guard down once in a while. But without Arabella, the person who could let this out in him, he didn't care anymore. He instead hated the feeling of pain and anguish that he had the endure everyday. So he would take these pills to feel numb.

The worst part, is that this isn't even everyone who was effected. Arabella's friends, the one she could call her family, they were struggling as well. In a year they all graduated with Dominic barely passing due to his lack of care in school. He didn't care for anything anymore. Except to find Arabella. Keeping himself only focused on that, he was late on everything even missing his own graduation. He never walked the stage. He couldn't find it in him to care.

Vivian saw the way her brother was falling apart. She watches as he chose alcohol over help and is drowning in his own misery. Yet getting him to listen was almost impossible. Dominic wouldn't listen. Dominic wouldn't talk to them. The only words that leave him are either about finding Arabella or a simple "fuck you".

Arabella was gone. But they would get her back. No matter the cost.

Author's Note

The prologue! Yes, this is a one year time jump. I wanted to change things up a little. And I wanted the characters to have a different sort of contrast than from earlier due to Arabella's kidnapping.

It was heartbreaking to write this brief description of how everyone's struggling but I want to go into more depth throughout the story of these challenges that people face everyday. Alcohol, drugs, and even ignoring your own feelings are different ways people cope though some cane be more harmful than others.

This is why I thought it would be important to include that as well and give each character more to them that others may or may not be able to relate to.

Next chapter will be posted as well.

Bye baes