Page 1 of Bren

Prologue

BREN

6 Years Old

Cringing back against the wall, I closed my eyes and hoped that they’d leave me alone. I knew better, though. These two boys made it a hobby to tease and harass everyone. I wasn’t very big, and I knew they’d hurt me if I shouted out. I needed to get this medicine to Ben, though. I’d managed to pinch some money from Mum’s purse before she left today, and I’d snuck out to go to the shops.

Ben had been sick for nearly three days, and I’d given him the last of the paracetamol last night. We couldn’t go to the doctors because Mum or Dad would have to take us, and they didn’t care anymore. We were trying to keep under the radar from child services so that they didn’t take us away. Although sometimes I wondered if anywhere else wouldn’t be better than where we were. I didn’t want to be separated from my brother and sister, though.

My attention was brought back to my situation as the jeering got louder and one of the boys grabbed at the carrier bag with the cold and flu medication I’d managed to buy.

“Hey,” I shouted, holding on tight to the bag. They weren’t getting it, not when Ben needed it. “Let go,” I yelled, bendingover the hand trying to take the bag. I bit down hard—so hard that my teeth met through his skin. I didn’t let go, not even when his screaming and shouting brought others out of their flats. The second boy was pulling at my hair, trying to get me to let go, but I was determined to make a stand so that they knew never to mess with me again.

“What the fuck are you two doing?” a voice growled, and the one pulling at my hair suddenly disappeared.

“You can let him go now,” the voice told me. I shook my head. A hand patted my back.

“It’s okay. You can let him go; I won’t let them hurt you.”

I don’t know what made me believe him, but I did. Removing my teeth from the hand, I spat the blood that filled my mouth onto the floor and looked up to see who it was that had intervened.

It was the grumpy boy from the flat just down from ours. I was surprised that he had. He usually kept to himself.

Grabbing hold of the boy whose hand I’d bitten, he pulled him towards us. Nodding his head at me, he told him, “You see her?”

When the boy nodded, cradling his bitten hand, snot and tears running down his face, my saviour informed him, “Make it known that she’s off limits. Her brother too.”

The boy nodded, pulling at the hand holding his shirt, “Okay, Alec. I’ll let everyone know.”

At least I now knew his name. Alec!

“See that you do.”

Gripping the bag with meds to my chest, I waited for my tormentor to scurry away before thanking my saviour.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling, not thinking about how I must have looked with blood covering my face and teeth. Now that all the excitement had died down, everyone had disappeared back into their flats. It was the way of the people who lived here; nobody got involved in anyone else’s business.

“You shouldn’t be out here by yourself,” Alec told me. “Where’s your brother?”

“He’s sick. I went to get him medicine,” I said, holding up the bag.

Alec looked from the bag to me and then to our flat door. Taking my hand, he tugged on it, “Come on, you can’t stay at yours, not if Ben is sick, not with your parents the way they are. You can come to mine and Mum’s until he’s better.”

“I have to bring my sister with,” I told him. “I can’t leave her with Mum and Dad.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything else, and I didn’t question that he would take us to his mum’s, I was just glad that someone else was taking control. Between the two of us, we packed a few things and got Ben up and out of the house, taking Ellie with us.

Alec’s mum, Beverly, didn’t bat an eyelid. She got us settled and said she’d let our parents know where we were. Not that I thought they’d care.

That week was filed away in my memories as one of the best weeks of my childhood, other than when we got taken in by Reaper and Abby, who later adopted us all.

It was also when I knew Alec was special. Over the years, my infatuation grew from hero worship to something more, even though I knew he was no good for me.

The heart wants what it wants until it gets shattered.

Chapter 1

BREN

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