'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 |
Colton Campbell - 5 years old
Standing near the doorway to the living room, in between the hallway that connected the bedrooms to the living room before heading towards the small storage closet and the laundry down furhter, stood a young boy, holding his little brother to his side, while he held his baby sister in his arms.
Even at the age of 5, it was clear as day that Colton was protective of his little sister, as much as he may say that he despised of her. If anything, the two of them had the strongest bond there could possibly be, even if later on, Colton would choose Elias over her, everybody knew that Clara and Colton had something nobody else had, not even Auston or Grayson.
But, there was other issues playing out. School had just ended the day before, and it was the weekend before Christmas, meaning the Christmas tree was finally being put up. At the age of 5, Colton already knew that Santa wasn't real, but he hadn't spoiled it for the rest of his siblings that still believed in it, or so they say. Mainly, it was just for the purpose of keeping the innocence of Clara and Caleb.
Clara, Caleb and Colton - the C trio - was known as the three that would take a bullet for one another. They had been inseparable and protective of one another, since the moment that they knew how. In truth, Colton had been the one that had looked after the two of them the most, but Auston would take most of the credit. Auston, the same person, that was just trying to set up the small Christmas tree that had bought a year after Colton was born, as their mother was out and could not say no to them in doing so.
Colton was already replaying the argument from last year, about the tree being in the way, and it being taken down a few days before Christmas, meaning that presents were broken and ruined, due to the tree falling on top of it in a haze of anger by their mother. It wasn't last year that destroyed Christmas, or the year before that, except the knowledge and lack of want for Christmas to even be apparent in the apartment, was what had ruined it for Colton.
He knew some of his siblings tried, and they tried their damn hardest to make Christmas something that the three of them could enjoy, but for some reason, Colton always felt like the Grinch. No Christmas movie could make up for the lack of Christmas that they had in their apartment, as it had never been there in the first place.
No tree or presents was going to change that. It was people that he spent it with. His father was never here, so it didn't matter, but rather his mother always lingered and held the spirit within her fingers, and wanted to crush it. She had told Colton, that her aim was to ruin everything for them. He was the only one that she ever told her dirty secrets about the abuse, to try and scare him or at least get him off her back.
If anything, Colton would just look at her, bored out of his mind over the crazy lady. No matter how scared or fearful Colton may be, for some reason, he could never show emotion. Elias had mastered it, but that had taken years, while Colton had just always had it. He showed happiness and everything good, but he never showed anger or distress in moments where most people would. He was just cool, calm, and collected. The 3 C's.
