the only reason

chapter one (mine)

I always sit on the school steps late at night. Usually there's nobody anywhere near them or there.
I felt horrible because Taylor and Chloe have to go through stuff that they are too young for. Yes, Chloe is only two years younger then me and yes, Taylor is 14, so 4 years younger. But they shouldn't have to go through that.

I was sitting there on my front steps, crying because I didn't want my sisters to see me cry. It would be horrible if they did because I'm supposed to stay strong for them.

Suddenly I heard footsteps and two voices... They were hushed voices coming from next door. I tried to quiet myself but I couldn't. I just kept sobbing. The footsteps got closer and I could make out the word they were saying now. "But she's crying, Luke! We can't just hear somebody crying through an open window and not see what's wrong! That's so cruel!" Voice one said.

Voice two seemed mildly upset. "Well we have no idea who it even is! What if they try to rape us?!"

Voice one, or, I'm assuming it was voice one, laughed. "It sounds like its a teenage girl. I doubt she'll rape us, Lukeypie. Just calm down so we can see what's wrong."

By this point I was assuming that voice two was named Luke. I still had no idea who voice one was but oh well. "Fine, Michael. We'll see what's wrong and if it's about a stupid boy, we're leaving unless HE raped her or abused her or something serious. Got it?" Luke demanded.

Well, I guess mystery voice one was solved. He's named Michael. "Fine. Let's just go already, she's still sobbing." Michael said.

Then, as suddenly as I had been listening to them and crying, they stepped through the bush separating the two yards. "Hi! I'm Michael and this is Luke... We heard you crying through an open window and was wondering... What's wrong, sweetheart?" Michael said.

I wiped my eyes trying to control myself. "I-I'm L-L-Lacy. And it's p-p-personal." I said through sobs.

"Does it have to do with a boy? Cause if it does and it's not about rape or abuse or something serious, I'm outta here." Luke said.

Michael glared at him. "N-no it has nothing to do with a boy.. It's just... M-m-my mom and dad are just... Sorta abusive, y-y-y-you could s-say. And my d-dad has a d-d-drinking problem which makes it w-worse." I said, still crying.

"Oh Lacy... That's terrible." Luke said, softening up. I sniffled. "Calm down, sweetie. You're okay now. Just breathe, okay?" He said. I nodded and took a few deep breaths. "Okay, now, what else is going on? Also, do you have siblings?" Luke asked.

"My dad and mom are both jobless and I have to try to make sure there's always food on the table, they work me like a fucking mule. And there's so much more and my dad has been sexually abusing me since I was 7. And I have two younger sisters, whom do not get sexually abused because I won't let my father touch them. They're Chloe, who's 16, and Taylor, who's 14." I said.

Michael gasped. "how old are you now?" He whispered. "I'm 17 but I turn 18 in a few months. Once I do, I'm adopting the girls and were moving the hell away from here." I said.

"Lacy... I think you should get your stuff and your sisters and come stay at our house until we figure this out... I'm sure Ashton's mum would take Chloe, because she's older and I'm sure that Calum's mum would take Taylor cause she's been wanting somebody else to take care of since Cal moved in with us.." Luke said. I nodded.

"I'll go wake the girls up and get our stuff. If were not over there within 10 minutes come looking for us, okay?" I said. They nodded.

LUKE'S POV

We went back over to the house. "Boys! We have company coming over! You have ten minutes to get up and get the fuck dressed!" I shouted.

Calum came stumbling out of his room with his underwear. "What?!?! At this hour?! Why?!?!?!!" He was pissed off.

"Because they NEED a place to stay because of their situation at home. They live right next door. Here it's like this...." I went on to explain what was going on.

"I'll call my mum in the morning, Luke. Mum will be glad. She misses taking care of somebody." Calum said. I looked at Ashton. "Well... If I don't fall in love with Chloe before then, then I'll call my own mum in the morning too." He said. "You better bloody well NOT fall in love with a 16 year old!" I snapped at him.

Suddenly there was a knock on our door. "You two go put some pants on, okay?" Michael said. Calum and Ash nodded and quickly went to their rooms. "HEY! Come in, come in." I said.

LACY'S POV

"So which one is which?" Michael asked me. I pointed to Chloe, "The one with the red hair is Chloe, who's 16. She doesn't like 5 Seconds Of Summer. " I said pointedly. Apparently they figured out that I knew who they were. "And that one, right there.." I said pointing to the shortest girl, who had curly brown hair, "Is Taylor. She's 14. She likes your music but has no idea who you are," I stated.

They nodded. "Well, you guys have to share beds with us for tonight, I'm very sorry. So, Lacy, you'll be sleeping with Mikey. Taylor, you'll be with Cal over there, and Chloe... You'll be sleeping with Ash tonight." Luke said. Luke pointed to Calum, who has dark colored hair, "Taylor, follow him. And Chloe you follow him." He said, pointing at Ashton, who has curly blond/brown hair.

I followed Michael to his room and climbed into bed with him. He wrapped his arms around me and cuddled me, not letting me go.

"Good night, Lace." Michael said, kissing my forehead. "Good night, Mikey.." I whispered as we drifted off to sleep.