No Control (Luke Hemmings' Sister)

Chapter 1

"Ew, look. It's her."

"I heard that she lives in an old apartment because she can't afford anything else."

"Someone told me that they saw her taking clothes from a dumpster."

"So that's where she got that horrible outfit?"

"She's so pathetic."

These were the kind of things that I heard every day at school. No administration bothered to stop it. I walked past the other students and went into my math class. Thankfully, it was my last class of the day. I fell deep into thought and ignored everyone who was in there.

I was teased because I used to live in an orphanage. I left there a year ago because I wanted my own place. I work at an old coffee shop and made just enough money to buy myself an apartment. It isn't the nicest, but it's a lot better than the orphanage. What everyone said about me getting clothes out of a dumpster was a complete lie. I can afford clothes on my own.

"Grace Hemmings, did you hear a word I said?" My teacher snapped me out of my thoughts. 

"What?" I heard the other kids burst into laughter.

"I asked you to solve for x. Listen next time." She shakes her head.

"The answer is 15." I mumble.

"Thank you!" The bell rings and everyone runs for the door. I pack up my things and begin to walk out of the school. I accidentally walk into someone.

"Watch where you're going!" The guy yells, pushing me into a locker.

"I'm sorry." I say softly.

"Don't speak to my boyfriend! You're not good enough!" A girl named Hailey kicks me in the stomach. Her friends joined in and after five minutes, I had bruises everywhere. A man that looks to be about 30 runs over to me.

"Hey! Leave her alone." He glares at the girls and they ran off.

"Thank you." I whisper weakly.

"Are you Grace Louise Hemmings?" The man asks me.

"Yeah, who are you?" I question.

"My name is David Miller. I'm a private investigator that was hired to find a missing relative of the Hemmings family. Are you aware that you have living family members here in Australia?" He asks, helping me off the ground.

"No! I didn't know that at all!" I exclaim.

"You have three brothers. Their names are Ben, Jack, and Luke. Your parents are in America. Your mother's name is Liz and your father's name is Andrew." David explains.

"Where are my brothers? Can I meet them?" I asked, hoping they were close.

"They live a half an hour away. I can take you there if you'd like." He tells me, and I nod my head. I get into his car, and I am buzzed with excitement. My stomach, though it was covered in bruises, didn't hurt as badly as it did before, but it was still slightly painful. I stared out the window for the whole car ride. The car stops outside of a really big house. David opens the door for me and I get out, slowly making my way towards the front door. I knock on the door and a boy answered it. He had blonde hair and blue eyes, and he looked just like me.

"Grace, this is your brother Luke. Luke, this is your younger sister Grace." David introduced us to each other, but then went back to his car and drove off. Luke suddenly reached his arms out, but I automatically thought he was trying to hit me. I flinched back and looked up to see a hurt expression on his face.

"You thought I was going to hurt you?" He asks, obviously upset.

"Sorry. I'm not used to people actually caring about me." I say softly.

"Can we try this again?" I nod and he holds me tightly. I begin to cry. I had never felt safe before. I actually felt loved. Luke wiped away my tears.

"Hey Luke. Who's this?" I looked up to see another blonde haired guy, but he looked a few years older than Luke.

"Jack, this is our sister." Luke smiles. He must have been the one who hired David.

"We have a sister?" The third guy, who I assumed to be Ben, asked. Jack and Ben rushed over and hugged me. They accidentally nudged my stomach, and pain shot through me.

"Ow!" I shouted out.

"Grace, what's wrong?" Luke asked me with worried eyes.

"My stomach!" I cried out, not able to say anything else. Luke quickly pulled my shirt up, exposing the bruises on my stomach. My three brothers gasped simultaneously.

"What happened?" Ben questioned.

"The people at school don't seem to like me. I'm constantly being bullied." I said.

"Come inside. Lay down on the couch, and I'll get you an ice pack." Jack lead me into their house. I do as he said and he handed me an ice pack. It was cold, but it made my bruises heal quickly.

"Luke?" I called out. He came around the corner.

"Yeah? Did you need something?" He questioned.

"Do I have to go back? To my old school?" I asked him.

"No! Of course not! Speaking of going back, can we go to your old apartment and pick up your stuff? You're living here if that's okay." He exclaimed.

"Yeah. Let's go now." I set down the ice pack.