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Chapter 1

If you're reading this, I just hope that you like it!

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A spoonful of mashed potato was shoved into my mouth. If I wanted to survive this, I needed to eat. I have to. It hurt to see my parents and my adopted younger sibling enjoying themselves as all of us had our dinner. I could never understand why, why they needed another child in their lives when they already had 4 children. Biological ones. Well, they never acted like real parents to me and my siblings though. When I was 15, tragic struck. Or it was just me that really felt the loss of love. All of my older siblings went missing. They were just... gone. I never saw them afterwards. Furthermore, to add on to my devastated state, my parents felt nothing. No emotions, no tears.

"Eleanor, wash the dishes. We're heading to the carnival now." my mum instructed, interrupting my train of thoughts. She smiled widely at her younger daughter-as she liked to put it that way-with her gleaming eyes. My adoptive sister, Drace, was spoilt. Drace was given everything she wanted. I, however my circumstances in the household, held no hatred towards her despite my parents' evident favouritism towards her. Perhaps, it was just my nature. I always felt the connections with my surroundings. Not just that. The people I met, whether it was on the streets or anywhere else, pulled me towards them. I knew how they felt, what kind of a person they were. Weird.

The sound of the front door slamming shut snapped me back to reality. Glancing around the dining room, I realised I was alone. Nothing new. I quickly stuffed and swallowed my remaining well-done steak and collected the dishes to the sink.

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Fire alarm. That was what I heard as I stirred in my sleep. What's going on? Propping myself up with both my elbows on the soft mattress, I looked at every corner of my room. No fire. Was it my imagination? Just as the thought came across my mind, something clicked in me.

It wasn't a fire alarm. Instead, it turned out to be my alarm clock. How could I be so stupid? Perhaps it was the fear I had towards the alarms' ringing.
Swiftly, the stupid alarm clock was shut off as I swung my body out of the bed and got ready for the day.

No acknowledgements were made as I entered the dining room with my teal Herschel backpack slung across my right shoulder. I didn't bother to even take a look at my parents. They wouldn't care.

Casually walking to the counter, I poured myself a glass of water and gulped down all of it in one go. After I had the cup washed, I grabbed the house keys and exited the house. I pedaled my bicycle onto the familiar streets. The wind hit my face and my hair touched my skin ever so softly.

I was halfway on the road to school when I heard high-pitched sreams. Out of the corner of my right eye, I saw someone pulling onto a little girl's hair. They were in an alley. Whether it was my business or not, I decided to help the young girl. The sight was just too unbearable to watch. I stopped my bicycle and parked it outside of the alley. I prayed hard that if I left my bag there, it would be safe.

As I approached them, I heard the man shout incoherent words with his saliva spitting out. He tugged onto her hair harder and she struggled under his death hold.

"Stop what you're doing. You're hurting her," my voice came out in a rather clipped tone. As soon as the words left my mouth, the man looked at me with a scowl.

"And who do you think you are, young lady?" He sneered at me. I was fortunate to have stopped three feet in front of him. The way he dressed himself was unpleasant. His shirt was torn and stained with coloured liquids, pants in the colour of mud. It wouldn't surprise me if he hadn't slept properly for the past few months since circles rounded his eyes.

I checked the alley. Litter were scattered everywhere. It stank.

"I doesn't matter who I am. Now, let her go!" I shouted-I was losing my patience. To my surprise, he yanked the girl's hair off his grip. The little girl clutched onto her head, whimpering. Tears were streaming down her face. My face softened at the sight.

I didn't realise the man getting closer to me as seconds passed. His face was filled with fury. The next few moments caught me off guard. He raised his hand and swung it towards my face.

I turned my face away from him, waiting for it to sting from pain.

But I never felt it collide with my cheek.

"I wouldn't hit her, if I were you." The sound was deep, resonant and at the same time, powerful.

The man's wrist was captured by my saviour. His face turned red with wrath. Turning his intense gaze from mine, he shifted it towards the the stranger standing behind me. Heat radiated off of him from behind. I jumped when a warm hand clenched on my left shoulder.

I looked behind me and locked eyes with the most amazing pair of eyes I had ever seen. Not just his eyes, all of him were... beautiful. Intoxicatingly beautiful.

"Go. Help her. I'll deal with him," he held our steady gaze and motioned with his right hand towards the little girl. I gave him a subtle nod and unwillingly withdrew my eyes from him.

The girl was wretched when I reached her side. She was a mess. I'd do anything to help her. When I touched her soft-skined arm, she flinched and sobbed harder. Poor girl. I squatted down so that I was about the same height as she was.

"Sweety, let me help you. I won't hurt you," I told her gently. Her big green teary eyes looked at me hesitantly. Tear stains were noticeable on her cheeks. Then, I continued, "I promise. How about a pinky promise?" I offered her a smile. A genuine one.

She stared at me and nodded. We hooked our last finger together and sealed a promise.

"Climb on my back all right?" I asked her and she did as she was told.

As we got us out of the alley, I couldn't help but turn back and look at the beautiful boy, who looked like he handled the abusive man well for he scurried out of the other side of the alley, once again.