Lost Soul (Book #1)

17|New York

Slight Time Jump

Trigger Warning: Mentions of Sexual assault,

Anastasia's POV:

It was almost the holidays. My brothers had decided to spend in New York. Apparently, they had had a work event that they needed to attend on New Years'. I had told my brothers everything.

Flashback:

It had been a few days since my birthday, and I decided to have a sit-down with all of them. So there we were in the living room, Adrik knew more than they all did. I decided to let Adrik fill them in because I don't think I could say it all over. He did and well my brothers looked angry, but not at me.

"Whenever you are ready tell us." Aleksander gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Promise me, promise me first that you won't send me back when I tell you everything," I said tears were forming at the thought of being all alone again. They all told me they promised me so I began where I left off.

"As I told you Gerald was physically and verbally abusive. I was young, but I had grown to understand everything he said to me.

H-He had friends that would come over to drink. One night one of his friends came inside the room I was sleeping in. He touched me inappropriately, and Gerald came in before anything could happen or so I thought. Instead, they took me downstairs so he could resume in front of all his friends." At this point, I was sobbing and I was staring at my lap to avoid the look in their eyes. I quickly glanced up to see the dark expression on their faces.

"We can take a break if you want," Adrian spoke but I shook my head. I needed to leave everything out in the open.

"This went on repeatedly until one day my nine-year-old self decided to do something about it. I had taken the pocket knife that Gerald owned. That night the man came to get me, and before he could do it I brought the knife that I hid to stab his neck. I did it over and over again. I killed him and I felt nothing." I looked up at them to see them but I saw a glint of proudness

"You may be wondering how I got away with it, well Gerald as always was drunk. So what I did was made it look like Gerald did it, and he took care of it. Although I had gotten rid of one of them, that man who killed my mother visited me every year on the day of her death anniversary. I thought since I succeeded in getting rid of the other man that I could do the same with him.

I was so wrong. He was so angry that he nearly beat me to death and I don't know what else he did to me because I had blacked out. Gerald found me took me to the hospital and left me there. That is how I ended up in foster care. I thought he wouldn't come for me anymore, but he always showed up that day." I felt arms wrap around me to try and console me.

They never left my side, they weren't disgusted.

~

Now I was packing since we were leaving for New York tomorrow. Octavia was going too. She texted me to go shopping for a dress since we were going to a ball. Anton and Andrey decided to tag along. Ever since I had told them they had become very overprotective.

I quickly changed because I received a text saying she was almost here. I put on a pair of black jeans and a red hoodie that I had stolen from Adrian so it fits huge.

I ran downstairs to see Adrik eyeing me in disapproval I gave him a sheepish smile in return.

"No running, I don't know why you and Octavia need to go shopping. You can always shop for a dress in New York."