Captive

Chapter One

The house was quiet, silence echoing around the walls, almost earsplitting after the noise which had preceded it. There had been a lot of shouting, voices raised in anger and upset which had made her cringe into herself, curl up in a ball in the corner of her bedroom with the door tight closed waiting for it to end. Doors had slammed, voices had risen and then the sound of something breaking, another violent shout and then silence. Tentatively she lifted her head and got slowly to her feet, going to the window where she could see her dad's car was gone, the drive empty of vehicles. Her hand reached for the handle of her bedroom door and she headed downstairs, her eyes taking in the broken glass in the kitchen. A shiver went through her as she looked at it and then she jumped almost out of her skin as a hand landed on her shoulder.

"It's ok Ju Ju, they've both headed out." She looked up to meet the warm brown gaze of her brother and gave a sigh of relief. Kane gave her a small smile and then headed into the kitchen to collect the broken glass up in the dustpan and brush, depositing it in the trash can before he came back in and looked at his younger sister who was standing completely still in the doorway, her arms wrapped around herself and tears burning in her eyes. "They don't mean anything by it you know? They're both just worried about Mom and  I guess they went too far, forgot you were in the house."

"Do they fight like that often?"

"More often than they should," Kane replied, shrugging. "They just clash is all. Don't let it upset you."

Juliet glanced across at him and wondered how she would ever not let it upset her. Back home life was quiet, moved at a sedate pace. There were no fights or drama at school and when she was home her mum was often either working or reading so their apartment was a peaceful retreat. She was unaccustomed to such extreme emotions.

"What was it about?" she asked tentatively and Kane paused before answering her.

"Mark is talking about moving out. Dad isn't keen on the idea, thinks it would upset Mom. But we're not kids any more Ju Ju. It's time really both of us started thinking about out futures. Mark is talking about moving out to Texas, going back to our roots. He's never really settled here, even though we moved out when we were pretty young. We've been back a few times and he loves it. Dad doesn't understand why he would even consider it when Mom is how she is, but we can't put our lives on hold until... well you know." He broke off swallowing hard and Juliet closed her eyes briefly on the unexpected grief which flooded her. At twelve years old she felt in between being a child and a teenager while her brothers were on the cusp of adulthood at eighteen, both making decisions about what they would do with the rest of their lives. It was strange because Kane still seemed to hang on to the remnants of childhood; there was an innocence about him which was almost childish and she felt completely at ease with him whereas Mark was harder, sharper around the edges and quick with a harsh word. Mark was cold as ice where Kane was warmer and though she got on with both her brothers she felt closer to Kane.

"But Texas is so far away," she finally said. "I'd never see him."

"None of us would," Kane agreed. "Dad wants him to go to university, get his degree but Mark has no interest in that. He's focussed on sports, thinking about going into wrestling maybe. He's been up to Stampede and they were impressed with him; his size and his ability make him a good prospect to bet on."

Juliet just nodded; she knew her brothers had both dabbled in fighting but she didn't really understand it. Kane looked up suddenly, his sharp ears hearing a vehicle draw up on the drive.

"I'd keep out of the way if I were you," he said as the front door banged open. She went to move but before she could Mark strode into the kitchen breathing heavily and still clearly furious.