Q U E R E N C I A.

TWO

TUGGING AT HER BOTTOM lip furiously, Sage awaited the arrival of her brother. She was nervous. The anxiety was creeping up her body like venom in a vein.

What would he say? Would he be happy for her? He had to be - right? This was what he'd wanted her to do. He'd made that crystal clear. As clear as the droplets of water that flowed down a waterfall. Very clear. So clear in fact, that they put a Cinderella's glass slippers to sha-

She had to stop that. Rambling inside her head was something other people had found quite annoying as she tended to drift away from the conversation. She hated being annoying. It made her feel so stupid and idiotic.

She was idiotic though. She would always be idiotic. Even if other people told her she wasn't, she'd remain stubborn. Naturally, people had given up trying to convince Sage. They'd agreed with her, letting out sighs of frustration and multiple eye rolls. Sometimes though, on the rare occasion, she'd hesitate. She would hesitate because she knew her brother would be upset at her thinking so lowly of herself.

But then again, he didn't have to find out.

Her leg bounced up and down on the ground, her knuckles turning a sickly white as she clenched her hands into fists.

Flickering her eyes down to her jean clad lap, she released her hands immediately. It reminded her of him too much. Flashes of past memories whizzed through her brain. She sat rigid, frozen.

His hand was clenched around the wheel, knuckles turning whiter as his anger built up at a rapid pace. He struggled to keep it in. It didn't exactly help that they were stuck behind a lorry. He inhaled heavily, lips clamped shut in fear that he wouldn't stop shouting if he opened them. Beside him sat his wife. She was gripping the edge of her seat. She was afraid of him and what he would do next. Pressed up against the cool window, she glanced back to see her youngest child sleeping peacefully. The other gazed out of his window, mindlessly drawing patterns on the steamed up glass. Her eyes then drifted over to the lorry in front of them to see the wheels moving forward bit by bit.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she had no idea that the smallest of sounds would trigger her husband to let out the raging beast that was encaged.

It all happened so suddenly. One minute he was shouting profanities, hands flying everywhere, and the next they were swerving off the road. Rolling, screaming.

Silence.

The tears were falling uncontrollably now and no amount of tissues would be able to soak them up. She'd curled up in a ball, knees tugged up to meet her chest. The rapid beats of her heart clogging up her throat.

She couldn't breathe.

She should've died with them. She didn't deserve to be alive.

A strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her, as if protecting her from everything. Calming words were whispered into her ear, her heartbeat slowing down as they hushed her desperate sobs. She was lifted into somebody's lap, their arms pulling her to their chest. She felt safe.

Loved.

Sniffing, she mumbled a small thank you and they kissed her forehead. She fell asleep with a smile on her face that night.

When he was sure that Sage had fallen asleep completely, he removed her from his lap and placed a blanket over her petite form. He smiled sadly. It was heartbreaking to see her like this. He wished he could take all the negativity away from her. She didn't deserve any of it.

He knew she would never be fully over what had happened and it pained him to know she would forever be scared of everything around her.

He hated the fact that he couldn't do anything but watch her relive moments of her life she'd so carefully kept hidden.

He rubbed his tired eyes, and found himself gazing over at the small coffee table in the centre of the room. A discarded envelope lay beneath two pieces of parchment. Curiously, he made his way over to the table and picked the first one up.

Eyes wide and heart thumping furiously against his ribcage, he made sure he wasn't seeing things and scanned over the letter once again.

Jacob Fox's sister was going to Hogwarts.

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Young Johnny Depp as Jacob Fox.