His angel

8.

It was Wednesday and another dinner was on the schedule. Claire said she doesn't want to go, because it will just cause more fights and Sebastian was sad it was like that, but he had to be there. His parents literally threatened him with taking his car if he didn't show.

It was a cold evening and the dinner was at their home in the garden, so I put on some light high waisted jeans, a beige crop sweater and put my hair in a high ponytail.

Sebastian was sitting on his front steps, his head bent down and in his hands. I saw he was taking all of this hard, seeing his sister after so long and their family pushing her away.

"Hey, it's going to be okay." I sat beside him and he looked up at me.

"It's just not fair. I wish I could do something, anything."

"You are doing what you can by watching after Lizzie, helping Clara find a job and making sure they can stay here. It's not your fault Sebastian."

"I could have talked them out of it. I could beg them to let her stay here instead of sending her away." It broke my heart that he blames himself for this.

"It's getting better now. If you want you can stay with Claire when she moves into her own apartment, makeup for all those years you were apart."

"I can't. My parents are paying for everything, my car, school, basketball."

"Get a job, try getting a scholarship, you can do a lot."

"You think so?"

I smiled and squeezed his hand encouragingly. "I know so."

He smiled back softly and nodded his head. I hated seeing him like this. I feel I could do more, but it's not really possible. I just hope everything will be alright soon.

"Should we go to the table?"

"Yeah, probably." He stood up still holding my hand and intertwined our fingers.

"You really make everything easier for me Lia." He leaned down and kissed my cheek.

I was thankful he turned around to walk and not see me blush

Compared to our small, empty garden, this is like heaven. I heard a small bark and out of nowhere a little furry Pomeranian jumped on my leg. I bent down to scratch him as he wiggled his tail vigorously.

"Bacon, down!" He jumped around excitedly, running from me to Sebastian.

"He is so cute! Why did you name him Bacon?" I laughed, turning to Sebastian and saw him cringe at the question. I laughed and raised an eyebrow.

He scratched his neck nervously and looked everywhere but at me. "Well, you see I was 4 when we got him and I loved eating bacon at the time. Every time I gave a piece to him, he loved it, eating it in a second. When he needed a name, I said Bacon. And Bacon it is."

"It suits him." I laughed when Bacon licked my hand.

"Yeah. Come on, food is here." He offered me a hand and helped me stand up.

We walked hand in hand to the table and sat down beside his grandma. We talked about school and what I want to study. I overheard a conversation between Sebastian and his dad.

"You can't keep me from my own sister and think I won't talk to her. I called her all the time, I knew everything she was doing these last five years while you didn't even bother to call her once." I heard disappointment and anger in Sebastian's voice.

"She is a disgrace to this family, Sebastian. Pregnant at 16, not even finished with highschool. It was only right to send her away, what would people think of us?"

"So you care more about your reputation than your own daughter? Classic."

"Don't you dare disrespect me, son."

I saw Sebastian's patience fading. "What are you going to do? Beat the shit out of me again, huh?" I widened my eyes as did all of the others at the table.

"Watch your mouth." Arthur whispered, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh sorry, I shouldn't tell everybody here that you used to beat me daily, that you still beat me occasionally? Come on do it now, let everyone see who you really are." Sebastian stood up and glared at his father.

"Sit down!" Arthur yelled, making me jump at the volume.

"What? Are you too scared everyone will know what you did? That you have been coming home drunk every night, beating me and my mom? That you broke several glasses by throwing them at me, but luckily I always escaped it? Tell them!"

Rose just looked down at the table, tears falling down her face. It was true, Sebastian was telling the truth. I stood up, going to Sebastian's side.

"Let's go, Sebastian." I tried holding his hand but he pulled it away from mine. "Come on, not here, not now." He didn't even look at me.

"Come on dad! Where is your courage now?"

"Bash, please!" I felt tears in my eyes. He looked down at me, his expression softening when he saw my face. He nodded.

"You're a coward." He said to his dad before turning away, walking back to my place. I walked close behind him, a few tears escaping down my cheeks.

We sat down on a bench not far away from my house. He immediately looked at me, frowning at my smudged mascara and stained cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to see this Lia." He pulled me into a comforting hug. I could smell his cologne and it made me calm down.

"Last week, those bruises were from him?" I asked, remembering that night.

"Yeah." I hugged him tighter when his breath hitched like he was going to cry. I can't imagine living like that.

When I calmed down he stood up, shaking his head as to getting rid of those thoughts. We started walking to my house in silence. Clara and Lizzie were on the couch as we came in and she frowned when she saw our faces.

"What happened?" She asked and stood up.

"I'll be here with Lizzie, you two go talk upstairs." I said to Sebastian and he nodded.

I sat down on the couch beside the little girl that had her eyes glued on 101 Dalmatians. I watched with her, trying to forget what I heard today. Lizzie was soon asleep on my lap, so I carried her upstairs.

"Sorry to interrupt, she fell asleep." I whispered to Sebastian and Claire, who were on the bed, talking. Claire was in tears and said she will go to sleep soon, so we got out of the room.

"You can stay here on the couch tonight if you want." I offered, laying a hand on his arm while he leaned on the railing above the staircase.

He just nodded and went downstairs. I brought him a blanket and a pillow and he thanked me. I went to my room, but hardly slept all night, tossing and turning, thinking about everything I got to know about Sebastian's life.