Fooling Ourselves

How We Got Closer

"Does he always do this?" I frowned as I helped Dylan take off his shirt.

"Yes. Martha is legally adopting us but they only agreed on certain terms. Beating me up without me fighting back is one of them," he winced when I started applying hot water to his bruises.

"Why do they do this?" I almost cried at the pain Dylan was in.

"They hate me. I'm not the ideal son they wanted apparently. I don't want to take over the business, I want to study medicine so they punish me for it every chance they get. Then Daniel and Dana came by as a mistake and they hated them. Right after she gave birth and the doctor handed the babies to her, she pushed them at Martha and told her to tend to them. They hated me even more when they saw how much I loved the twins and how much they took to me. Then the school started calling about my fights and they hated me even more. They said I was an embarrassment to the Martin name. Then Martha asked if she could adopt us and they started dropping in every three months to hurt me in front of the twins to break both me and them. They told me if I ever fought back they would take the twins, cut me off and fire Martha," he replied. Tears were streaming down my cheek but he gently brushed them away.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Martha's adopting us because we came up with a plan," he smiled lightly obviously happy about the plan, "I have a trust fund which was enough to cover my university fees. The twins didn't get one because they didn't even give them a chance like they did me to disappoint them. But anyways, I'm trying to get a full scholarship so I can use the money and buy a house near the college I attend so that Martha and the twins can leave when I do. I've been taking money from their account and moving it to Martha's also because I still have access to their funds. They don't realize because they think its just money that's being used to maintain the house and for food but I take more. I just need enough money until I can start working full time to take care of them. Martha's looking for a job also."

"That's brilliant," I mirrored his smile.

"I know. Soon everything will be perfect," he grinned like an idiot but he looked truly happy.

"I hope so," I uttered the words as he pulled me to him and pressed his lips to mine in a gentle kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. His bare skin was hot against mine as he devoured my lips.

"Skylar?" there was a knock on the door and I recognized the voice as Martha's.

"Go ahead. I'll finish cleaning up myself," Dylan told me and I pulled away from him reluctantly.

"I'll be back soon," I promised and went to the door pulling it open and stepping out into the hallway before closing it again.

"The twins wanted you to tuck them in," she smiled gently at me and carried me to their room. She turned to me when she stopped at their door, "It's amazing how they take to you so easily. If it's anything I've learnt from taking care of the Martin kids, it's that they love hard. Don't break their hearts."

"How could I?" I asked rhetorically and slipped through the doors past her. The twins looked to me as soon as I entered. They were lying in their bed, "Hey guys."

"Is Dylan okay?" Dana asked.

"He's great. Your brother is strong and he needs you to be strong for him too. Can you do that?" I replied and they nodded.

"One day I'm going to beat up dad for Dylan," Daniel said quietly.

"Me too and my dolls will help," Dana agreed holding her doll up in the air.