Sibling spotlight - billie and Finneas story

Love

Chapter: Love

TW: implied sa/r@p3

The room felt like it had stopped breathing, every word Y/N had just spoken hanging in the air like a weight none of them could bear. Billie clutched Y/N tighter, as though she could protect her from the memories that had come spilling out, but the damage had already been done.

Finneas stood frozen for a moment, his mind trying to process the horror of what his little sister had been implying. His body felt rigid, his hands balling into fists at his sides. He wanted to scream, to throw something, to hit something—but none of that would make what happened go away. None of that would make her pain any less real.

Y/N broke down then, sobs wracking her small frame as she trembled in Billie’s arms. “I’m sorry,” she kept repeating, her voice small and broken. “I’m so sorry…”

Billie’s heart shattered at the sound. “No, Y/N, you don’t have to be sorry for anything,” she whispered, trying to hold back her own tears as she rocked her sister gently. “This wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault.”

But Y/N couldn’t stop apologizing, her words slipping out in between sobs. “I tried… I tried to fight him, I swear… I didn’t want any of it—”

“Stop!” Finneas suddenly shouted, his voice booming in the small hospital room. Everyone jumped, startled by the intensity in his voice. His eyes were blazing with fury, his hands shaking at his sides as he glared at nothing in particular, just the weight of what had been done to his sister burning inside of him.

Y/N flinched at the sound, her whole body going rigid. Her eyes widened, filled with panic as she looked up at him, terrified that he was angry with her.

But Finneas quickly realized his mistake. “No, no, Y/N,” he said, his voice softer but still trembling with emotion. “I’m not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. I’m mad at him. Whoever did this to you…” His voice broke, and he had to stop, clenching his fists tighter. “I swear, I will make sure he pays.”

Their father, standing near the door, was already on edge himself. Seeing Finneas this angry only made it worse. He understood his son’s rage—he felt it too—but he knew this wasn’t the moment for it. Y/N was too fragile, too scared, and the last thing she needed right now was to see her brother lose control.

“Finneas,” their father said softly but firmly, stepping toward him, “you need to calm down.”

Finneas turned to him, his face twisted with anger and frustration. “How am I supposed to calm down?” he snapped, his voice shaking. “Do you understand what she’s been through? What that monster did to her? And we—” His voice faltered for a moment as the guilt hit him. “We couldn’t stop it.”

“You couldn’t have known,” his father said, his own voice thick with emotion. “None of us could have known.”

Finneas shook his head, pacing the small space, his fists still clenched. “I should have done more. We all should have. And now she’s—” He stopped himself, unable to finish the sentence as his emotions got the better of him.

His father moved closer, placing a firm hand on Finneas’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Listen to me,” he said, his voice steady but filled with pain. “I know you’re angry. I’m angry too. But Y/N doesn’t need our anger right now. She needs us to be strong for her. Losing control won’t help her—it’ll only make things worse.”

Finneas closed his eyes for a moment, his breath coming in shaky gasps as he tried to calm himself. He didn’t want to upset Y/N any more than she already was, but the rage inside of him felt like a fire he couldn’t put out.

Billie looked up from where she was still holding Y/N, her eyes meeting Finneas’s. “He’s right,” she said quietly. “I know how angry you are, but she can’t handle that right now. We have to be here for her, not for our anger.”

Y/N, still curled in Billie’s arms, looked up at Finneas with wide, teary eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered again, her voice barely audible.

Finneas felt his heart crack in two. “Don’t be sorry,” he said quickly, stepping toward her and kneeling by her side. He reached out, gently taking her hand in his. “I’m not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Y/N sniffled, her body still trembling. She wanted to believe him, but the guilt she carried felt too heavy, too suffocating.

Finneas squeezed her hand gently, his own tears threatening to spill over. “I’m mad because I love you, Y/N. I hate that someone hurt you like this, and I hate that I couldn’t stop it. But none of that is your fault.”

Their father took a deep breath, his hand still on Finneas’s shoulder. “We’re going to find him,” he said quietly, but with a hard edge in his voice. “Whoever did this to you, Y/N. We’re going to make sure he can’t hurt anyone else.”

Maggie, who had been standing silently in the background, stepped forward then, her face lined with worry. “Y/N,” she said softly, “we’ll get through this together, okay? You’re not alone in this.”

Y/N nodded weakly, though the weight of everything still bore down on her. The pain, the fear, the shame—it all felt too much. But the hands that held hers, the arms wrapped around her—they were keeping her grounded, reminding her that she wasn’t fighting this alone.

“I don’t know how to… stop feeling like this,” Y/N admitted, her voice barely a whisper. “I keep seeing his face, hearing his voice. I keep feeling like I did something wrong.”

Billie’s heart broke all over again. “You didn’t,” she whispered fiercely. “None of this is on you, Y/N. You did everything you could to survive. That’s all that matters now.”

Finneas leaned in, his voice soft but filled with determination. “We’ll help you through this, Y/N. One step at a time. You’re not alone.”

Y/N nodded, though her body still trembled with fear and exhaustion. She wasn’t sure how long it would take to feel safe again—if she’d ever feel safe again—but in that moment, surrounded by her family, she knew she wasn’t facing the darkness alone.

And as the room quieted once more, the anger still simmered beneath the surface, but it was tempered by something stronger: love. A love that refused to let Y/N slip away, no matter how dark things got. A love that would fight for her, even when she couldn’t fight for herself.