Eccedentesiast

Prologue

Dallas

July 13th, 2007

'It's a girl' the doctor cheered, as he lifted my little sister up to show my mother. The tiny baby started wailing loudly as he poked and prodded her, but stopped almost immediately when he placed her down on moms bare chest

'Who'll be more excited, Dems or Mads?' Mom joked, looking down at the infant, who was more the size of a micro-preemie than a baby delivered at thirty-six weeks

I thought over the matter for a second, 'Mads, definitely' the thought of my five year old sister obsessing over the baby brought a smile to my face

Two hours later the five year old ran into the room, almost bursting with excitement, 'Mommy, where's the baby?' she yelled, peering over the bed, 'she's so little' I helped Madison up onto the bed, 'Hi baby' she cooed, placing her hand on the baby's chest, the infant's tiny hand grabbed her finger, 'mommy look' she beamed

'she loves her big sister already' mom smiled, pulling Maddie closer to her, 'where's your big sister?' Maddie shrugged, 'this baby needs a name, and I promised Dem she could name her, seeing as she couldn't be here'

'I'll go find her mom' I offered, my mother smiled at me.

I walked out of the room and into the bathroom, my younger sister cries filled my ears, 'Dems?' I called, my younger sister walked out of a stall, throwing herself into my arms, 'What's wrong love?' I cooed

'I wasn't there for her when she was first born' she cried, 'what if I turn out to be a terrible sister?' I sighed, keeping my arms around the stick-thin fourteen year old

'Dems, I think she'll understand that you were filming when she's older' I reassured her, 'this is your dream'

When she didn't calm down I knew there had to be something else that was bothering her, 'Dallas, am I too fat for TV?' she questioned, dropping her gaze

'Demi' I said softly, 'sweetheart, you aren't fat' i wish mom would see that you're struggling

My younger sister just held me tighter, not saying another word, 'now, lets dry that pretty face of yours, mom wants you to come and name the baby' I pulled a tissue out of my purse, dabbing away Demi's tears.

She smiled after I was finished, it was almost terrifying how quickly she could go from bawling her eyes out to smiling like nothing had happened. She slid her hand into mine and followed me back into mom's room, her eyes lighting up as they fell upon the baby, 'wanna hold her Dems?' mom asked, Demi nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Mom placed the baby in Demi's arms, her smile became genuine as she admired the tiny baby in her arms, 'Eliana' she whispered, 'Dallas can choose her middle name'

'Sophia'

'Eliana Sophia, I promise I'm going to protect you' Demi whispered, a tear running down her cheek. I knew exactly what she was talking about, as did mom. The relentless bullying that had forced her to drop out of school into homeschooling had seriously affected my younger sister, and she had vowed to protect those she loved from being hurt by the people around them.

'I love you babygirl' she cooed, placing a kiss on Eliana's forehead. Eliana made a small noise, stretching in Demi's arms before grabbing hold of her finger. Demi smiled wider, kissing the baby once more,

'forever and always Elly-Bear'