'Dysfunctional: not operating normally or properly'
That was one way to describe Clara Campbells family. Dysfunctional; not operating properly. That was just what happened when your older siblings leave you.
Or that's what Clara had always believed...
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| Third Person POV |
Cameron Campbell - 4 years old
Sitting down, Cameron was handed another baby, as his younger brother sat to his side, while his older brother was pacing around his mother and father, looking as if he was on edge. Cameron knew, that he should have been on edge around his father, after the pain that he had seen his brother in whenever their father decided to show up.
Today, their father had made one of the longest appearances since his younger brother, Greyson had been born. Greyson was only 3 years old, as it was his birthday last week. Cameron had watched, as Auston, his older brother, had scavenged around for money from their mother, as he bought presents for Greyson.
He had watched, on numerous occasions, the money that they got from the government, for every child that their parents had, as Auston saved it, so that their father couldn't get it. He had been forced to hold onto money, plenty of times, just so their father couldn't get it. Just so that it wasn't used for someone else's wants over their needs.
Cameron had nearly swallowed a few notes of cash, just so their money couldn't be taken from their father. Auston had once told Cameron, that before he was born, their father had been a good man, and that he was around more. This would always make Cameron feel like he was the reason that they didn't had a dad, only a father figure.
He felt at fault, for taking the father that Auston must have had, away. He didn't understand, as he was only 4, that Auston never really had a father either. He was more absent in Auston's life than anyone else's, and that he was only telling his little brother the good parts; the times when their father actually tried to parent them.
Auston didn't want to scare his little brother, so sometimes he had to lie and tell him that their father used to be great, he used to be around for them. But now, as Cameron sat there, he watched it all happen over and over again, as their parents were back to kissing one another and looking as if they were in love with one another.
Cameron looked down at the little baby boy in his arms, knowing that this wasn't going to be the last one; that this boy was going to be an older brother too. That this child would be just as screwed up as the rest of them were. That the cycle was going to continue, the same way that the fingers continued to curl around his fingers, making a small smile form on the 4 year old's face, as he looked down at his little brother, that he had named Kaiden.
---
Cameron Campbell - 10 years old
Once again, Cameron was dragging his tired body, with his younger brother holding onto his back, as he carried another three bags and held the hand of his younger sister, as he walked into the apartment, already hearing his mother pained screams and the other two boys, standing there, unsure of what to do.
