Elijah is a young boy that has been born and raised in a neglectful and abusive household. With his biological mother, Eliza, and his stepfather Paw.
His mother was severely mentally ill and Paw was a raging alcoholic, scarring the young child's min...
"I'll be careful, I promise that you won't get hurt."
Succeeding, I gently pick my brother up. Wrapping his arms around my neck and burying his face on my shoulder.
"Keep your head there and your eyes closed, okay?" I tell him, so that he won't get spooked by the sight of the stairs. And as I begin to walk down the steps, I can feel his grip on me tighten.
We finally reach the bottom of the staircase. However, before heading to the dinning table I place Elijah down on the floor. "Are you feeling better...?" I ask. He nods and peers at me.
"...thank you L-Leonardo." He struggles to say my name. "Leo. You can just call me Leo, Eli." We softly smile at each other after exchanging nicknames, warming my heart as we do.
And as we finally make our way to the dinner table, we're met with the rest of our family.
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My eldest brother, Miguel, sits at the head of the table. Leo guides me to my seat, and I notice a tall boy staring at me. We have the same skin tone, but his short curls have different shades of brown and his eyes are a slightly dark caramel colour.
Once we're all in place, I look over the sitting plan. Noticing that the chair on Miguel's right is empty.
"Where's Xandro?" He asks the table. "...he was upstairs just now." My cheeks warm up when Leo responds. I'm still extremely ashamed for freaking out in front of my older brother. I told myself that I was going to be good and not bother my relatives for all the kindness they've showed me, but look at how I repay them. I frown. Not noticing the same blond from before taking a seat on the previously empty chair.
"Why is there a stranger in our house, Miguel?" I snap out of my remorseful thoughts as the mean boy from before speaks up.
"Calm yourself Xandro." Miguel says in a professional tone. "I was about to introduce him." He clears his throat, catching everyone's attention while making his voice more coherent. "This is Elijah, he's our youngest brother." I study everyones reaction. The boy who was staring at me before raises his eyebrow in confusion, while Xandro -who's sitting besides him- appears to be both confused and infuriated. His face is turning red.
"Younger brother?? How is that even possible?" The two of them shout in disbelief, making me shrink.
"Both of you were still too young to remember, but mother was pregnant before she ran away." Our oldest counters.
'Wait, what? Ran away? Ma ran away...? Why would she do that...' Yet my curiosity gets shaken away by the sudden arguing.
"How can you still think of her as your mother? She LEFT US!" I start to tremble. "Watch your tone Alexandro." Miguel says, with an unsettling calmness. "Why is he even here? After so many years." My other brother continues, slightly lowering his voice. "And where's your fucking mommy, huh?" He spits at me, causing me to flinch from his question.
