Freedom.

Prologue.

"Happy seventeenth birthday darling!" My father wished me, giving me bear hug.

I watched around me, all my friends and my parents were enjoying this little get together on my birthday. Gifts were covering the table and my younger sister was busy stealing the cake, thinking nobody's noticing her.

However, my elder brother seemed grumpy on this party, more so than the usual days. He was looking at the candle which read seventeen as if it were a snake.

"You can atleast pretend to be happy on my birthday. It comes once a year you know." I told him, walking over to the corner he was sulking in.

"I hate birthdays." He simply said.

"I know Jason." It was his birthday his friends got him high on stupid shit which ruined his life. If only he'd let us help.

We had tried everything to get him to quit but nothing worked. At this point I was the only one who talked to him, my parents said they were too angry to bother with him but in reality I guess they were just sad.

Till he was under their wing, he was fine. After turning eighteen he left for college but they guy who returned was not my brother. And from there it went from bad to worse.

My best friend, Lily, called me over and when I went to her, she gave me a disappointed look.

"I don't see why you keep bothering with him. Don't you remember what happened last year?"

"It was my mistake. I thought maybe if we tried hard enough he'd recover." I said softly.

"You were stupid Kate. If it weren't for that guy you would've gotten yourself raped. Jason was too out of his mind to defend his little sister bringing him cake on his birthday."

"Birthdays are quite a disaster in my house, aren't they?" I tried to joke but no laugh came out from either her on my mouth.

Then I sighed and said, "Let's just eat cake and forget about it."