Tainted |✔️|

chapter 1 - two years

Zach's POV

I walked down the street holding money in my hand counting my pay for the day. I walked past a candy store that both Rei and Kat loved. If I had enough money I could get them both something good as a treat for the day.

I pushed the door open and listened as the bell rang. I looked around at all the different kinds of chocolate bars and sour candies they had. I grabbed two of each and put them on the counter.

"That will be $12.26." the cashier said in a dual tone. He had blonde hair and brown eyes and was maybe a little taller than me. I gave him the cash and walked out heading for home. My home was a two-bedroom apartment that held me, my little sister Katherine, and my little brother Rei.

Tucking the candy into my back pocket I started to count how much money the old man gave me. By the time I was finished I had $32.85. Not to mention the 12 I spent on my siblings. The old fart paid me $26 short. I silently cursed under my breath.

I walked into the apartment and was immediately tackled to the ground by a small boy with black hair and big green eyes.

"Rei why did you tackle me?" I questioned.

"because sis is trying to put makeup on me," he whined as I saw Kat come out of her room with a makeup brush in hand.

"hey when did you get home?" she asked as she hid the brush behind her back. She tried to keep me from seeing however she didn't get very far.

"just now. Also, stop trying to torture Rei with makeup. He's not going to become a girl no matter how much you want him to be." I said standing from the floor and picking Rei up in my arms.

I walked over to the kitchen and placed Rei down on the counter. I don't need to carry him. He is 9 years old but he's still a baby to me. Katherine however is 14 even though she acts like she's 12 most of the time.

"Kat. If you promise to never put makeup on Rei again I have something for the two of you." I said. Both of their faces lit up as they waited impatiently for whatever they were going to get. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out two candy bars and handed one to each of them. Then I pulled out the sour candies and gave them to them as well.

"Happy birthday guys'' I said. Rei and Kat aren't twins or born on the same day. However, since they were born in the same month of February we just celebrate both of their birthdays at the end of the month. Rei was born on the 7th while Kat was born on the 23rd.

"big brother. When is your birthday?" Rei asked with his mouth full of chocolate. I just shrugged my shoulders and walked away. I never told them when I was born because then they would try to do something for me and I don't want them to.

"come on and get ready for bed," I said as Rei walked behind me into our room. Rei and Kat used to share a room however when Kat got older we had to change that. So now Rei shares a room with me.

We have been living like this for almost 2 years now. I will admit that it was hard to take care of them but I would rather die than lose my siblings. Rei crawled into bed and I quickly followed after him. All of us easily fell asleep that night.

...

I woke up that morning to Rei crying in his sleep. He often did this because the 1st of March was the day our parents abandoned us. It's officially been two years since we have been left on our own.

I shook Rei awake and as soon as his eyes opened he engulfed me in a hug. I rubbed the back of his head trying to calm him down until his crying stopped. A few minutes later he looked up at me and kissed my cheek giving me a quick thank you before getting out of bed. We both got dressed silently not wanting to interrupt the quiet after the nightmare.

The first day of March was always a quiet one for us.

After Rei and I were dressed we walked into the living room to see Kat had been up since the TV was on. I watched Rei peeking into the kitchen to see Kat making breakfast for all of us. Just like how Rei cries every morning on this day Kat makes breakfast and dinner.

I don't usually eat breakfast but since today's the day, I guess I'll eat with them like I used to. I took out three plates and placed them on the table while Kat brought the food over so we could dish ourselves. There were bacon eggs and pancakes. I only had a little but it was really good tasting and I almost grabbed more.

I often only ate lunch and that was it. I did that because it's hard to earn money and with my job, I hate it so I only get enough money for my siblings and put the rest into savings for when we need it. Like last year when Rei was messing around and he fell and sprained his ankle.

Today was Sunday which means Kat and Rei had to school tomorrow. Luckily for them, it was almost summer break in two months and they would have three months off of school.

I got up from the table and finished getting ready for today's day of work. I have two clients today and neither of them was happy to see me. I left the house after giving Rei and Kat a kiss on the cheek and headed off for my first client.

"it's going to be a long day," I mumbled as I walked down the stairs of our apartment building.