The Truth Behind the Badges

Leave Me Alone

Liam's POV

It's been almost a year since mom passed, almost everyone was pretty much back to being simi normal, and by almost, I mean the men of the house. Kira and Anna have almost seemed to disappear, they only come out to eat and even then, they never speak. Carter and I had just gotten the letter saying that we passed the Firefighters exam. We were to start at the end of the week and both report to 62. Dad figured that we could learn the basics from him, and Dylan then after a couple months have us transferred out. Dylan still worked out at 51 and seemed happy about where he was. Some of mom's old units would still call or come by to check in on us, they were family just like 62 and 51 are. Mom's partner, Lisa Knight, had stopped by many times mainly to check in on us like everyone else but occasionally she'd bring her daughters over. Lisa worked undercover cases a lot and depending on the length of the cases she'd bring Mia and Ivy over.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of a knock at the door. When I opened the door, I greeted Lisa and the girls "Good morning, Aunt Lisa," I hugged her then crouched down to be eye level with Mia and Ivy, "and hello you two." I stepped back to let them in. "Kira and Anna are upstairs if you want to go see them" I said to the two little girls as I watched them run for the stairs. "Mia's gotten so big and so has Ivy. Ugh, where did all the time go?" I said walking over to the kitchen with Lisa close behind. "I know, it seems like just yesterday I was coming home with Mia and now Ivy." I heard Lisa say as she sat down. "Hey um...I was wondering if maybe you could possibly talk to Kira and Anna? We've all tried but nothing is helping. They've become more distant. While you can see a difference when Mia and Ivy are here, it's just not the same. The little sisters I knew would be talking to someone instead of balling everything up. I know Kira always talked with mom when she was struggling but now that she's gone, she doesn't talk to anyone anymore and to make it worse she has brought Anna down with her. Anna was doing good till they both went out a few months ago. I never should have let them go, they told me they were leaving, and I let them." I spoke softly.

Lisa's POV

"Liam, you can't blame yourself for what they do or did, whether you knew or not. I honestly believe they are trying to be the best they can be. You guys lost your mother and each of you chose different coping methods. While some chose better methods than others, you weren't there when everything happened and if you had been maybe, you would still be trying to cope with everything as well. I will still try to talk to them, but I can't promise the results you're looking for." I said as Liam was cleaning dishes. "I understand that and that is all I'm asking for. I need you to try because no one else is getting through." He said setting the last dish in the drying rack.

I had plenty of time to go talk to them before I had to leave for work, so I got up and headed for the stairs. As I reached the bottom step, I heard giggles and laughter, I took in that wonderful sound, a sound that was a mixture of both my kids, Kira, and Anna. "Haven't heard them laugh in ages. If talking to them doesn't work, then we might just have to keep Mia and Ivy." I heard Liam laugh behind me. "Then let's hope me talking to them works." I said smiling as I ascended the stairs.

Anna's POV (two hours earlier)

We had come home about 4am, and went straight to the showers, I could see the bruising along my wrists and stomach both old and new as I stood in the mirror letting the water heat up. Rick wasn't getting any better but if we left, we feared the things he would do, he knew where we lived and had threatened us before when we tried to get out. He had forced us into his group that were smuggling drugs in and out of the city and told us if we left or said anything he would make sure we took the fall. The pain was becoming normal over time, but his anger was only growing along with his need for power. Rick was obsessed with Kira to the point of following her every move. One night I had become sick and could not attend his party leaving Kira to go alone, when she returned her face was pale, her tights were ripped, and her make-up was running as if she had just stopped crying. That was four nights ago and even tonight she'd left in an almost worse state than last time. Kira was leaving the parties earlier which Rick wasn't happy about, but he was starting to move on to another girl. Watching him chase around her made us upset, but not in a jealous way. We didn't like the idea of her being hurt, even Kira had become angered after seeing the way he treated others. Rick started off sweet but grew, well, evil after a while.