No Dawn Without Apollo, No Apollo Without Artemis, No Artemis Without Hermes

Chapter One... The Wrong Dawn

*Dawn Snow's POV*

Drip... Drip... Drip... the sound of the leach faucet mocks my current situation. Here I am, on the same bathroom floor, sitting on the same bathroom rug, alone in the same dark room, crying about the same damn thing. I hear my dad yelling about how he doesn't want to teach me anymore again, and Mama telling him to calm down. I sigh and press the home screen on my iPhone. The bright, white screen hurts my eyes and lights up my face. I unlock my phone and select's my best friend's contacts. I hesitate and erase my text. Get up. Tell her. I don't. I know both my parents are trying, and and I am too, but sometimes, I just feel so alone. He has such a short fuse and it's so annoying... and it seems that I've inherited it too.

"Dawnie, honey, can you open the door? I need to go," my mom knocks, trying to get me out. I know that trick. She says she needs to pee so I can come out... but I get up and do it anyway. My older sister, Madelaine, is still at work, her twin (our brother), Niklaus, is at a concert, our eldest brother, Elijah, is still in L.A... well, he's been in L.A, with his fiancé, Mason, and the youngest, Nicolette, is at her pee-wees dancing class. I still don't understand why they can't name the toddler group something cuter like... The Dancing Kitties or something. I miss having Eli around... I want him to come home... stop this mess and crack jokes with the family and starts tickle fights until I can't breathe. I want him to make everything okay again.

"Mum..." I say in a low tone as the door squeaks open. Her beautiful crystal green eyes light up when she sees my red-noses face, sprinkled in uneven freckles. She runs in, turns on the lights, stays in there for twenty seconds and comes back out, joking that she doesn't need to go anymore. I knew it... but she's trying to make me feel better.