It was a late night in August. Most children were asleep in their bed by now, most teenagers were out for the night. And most adults were in for the night, having their tea and sugar before bed. You'd say that's a normal person's life. But not everyone can live that life...

Wendy Darling sat up with a book tucked under her nose. She sat up waiting for her parents to get home from their dinner party. She pushed her dark brown hair behind her ear and turned the page. Her dog, Nana, let out a soft growl, dreaming of the chase. Her paws started moving and she was off. Wendy's green eyes strayed from the pages of her book, and watched in amusement, "you get that squirrel, get 'em girl."
"Wendy...?"
Wendy's smile wavered and reformed. It was her brother Michael. She didn't hate her brothers, but she did resent them. While all her friends were out she had to stay home and care for John, Michael, though they were of age to stay home alone, and her Grandmother June.
"Wendy, can you come read with Me and John?"
"John and I."
"Can you come read with John and I?"
"What book are we reading tonight?" she moved the pit-bull that slept on her feet.
"Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean. John just got it from the library today." She started making her way up the stairs, messing with Michael's dirty blond hair as she passed.
"Okay, and who's turn is it to read tonight?"
"Could you read tonight?" Wendy's other brother had appeared from the door to the boy's room.
She sighed, taking the book that was handed to her, "Fine..."
Her bothers jumped onto their beds, and she pulled her hair back into a messy bun. "Get under the covers you little goof's after this you're going to sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow. John you are not sleeping in your glasses tonight, take them off now or you'll forget."
"Yes, Wendy," The boy's monotonous voice echoed through the room.
"Good. Now let's begin."

As the first crack of thunder broke over Crescent Moon Bay, Grace Tempest opened her eyes. A flash of sheet lightning broke behind the curtain. Shivering she threw back the bedclothes and walked over to the bedroom window. It had broken free and was wide open, beating in the gale like a glass wing.

She had only read the first few pages before her brothers passed from exhaustion. She put the book down and sat there in the quiet for a few minutes thinking.
She stared at her brothers and felt like a teen-aged mother, though she was only four and eight years older than them, she had raised them. Her parents were never home, and her Grandmother was too ill to do anything but sit in her room with her Nurse. Wendy didn't even know her Grandmother's nurses name! She got up and mumbled, "Silly boys," John had forgotten to take of his glasses, yet again. they were already broken from this type of immaturity. And Michael wasn't even under his covers all the way, Wendy knew that if she didn't fix it, she'd wake up with a little boy hidden under her bed in the morning. He was nine, and he could never figure out how to fix his own bed yet.
There was a noise from down stairs, and Nana had woken up to start barking at the noise. Wendy sighed, her parent's were finally home. Her mother's laugh rang through the house as she walked in the front door.
"Wendy, John, Michel, we're home!" Her mother called in her drunken slur.
Wendy was at the top of the stairs making her way down, "Will you be quiet."
"There's my baby," Her mother smiled.
"Where are you're brothers?" Her dad questioned.
"John and Michel just went to bed."
"I'll go wake them," Her mother tried to get up the stairs.
"No." Wendy stepped in her way
"What?"
"I said no. They're exhausted."
"Oh, no, no, no they're not!" Her mother tried again. "I can hear them calling for me!" She laughed as she almost fell trying to take a step.
"Since when would they ever call for you? If anything they'd call for me, I've practically raised them, not you." Her mother stopped and stared up at Wendy. Her mother was open in shock.
"That is no way to talk to you're mother!" Her father raised his voice.
"She's no mother! I'm more a mother to those boys than her. Might as well be their father too."
"Excuse me?" Her mother had backed her way down the stairs and her father stood stern with his arms crossed.
"You're never home! And when you are you pay no attention to us! Either that or you're drunk. Where were you during John's birthday last month? Work. Where were you when I was learning to drive. Drunk half the time. My own boss taught me how to drive when she realized I could only get there by bus, and I'd still be late even when I caught the early bus!"
"You can drive?" Her mother questioned.
"I've been able to drive for the past year! How would you know though, you never pay attention..." She walked past her parents and into the kitchen. She needed chocolate before she exploded.
Her parents followed her into the kitchen, "But we do pay attention, Wendy, honey, we do."
"Oh really, how old am I?" Her face was in the fridge trying to spot her chocolate stash.
"Seventeen."
"No, Eighteen. Where will I be in September?" She found one of her bars and was getting ready to shove it into her mouth. But her parents just stared at her again, not having any clue where she would be other than at home. Wendy growled as she went to the pile of mail that was left unopened for her to go through the Bills to pay them off tomorrow. "I've been accepted. I'm going to school. In the city. I'll only be here on weekends."
"What?"
"School, Mother. School! I'm going to school! College! I'm trying to make a life for myself." Wendy then started laughing. "A life. A LIFE!" The first time in her eighteen years of life, she raised her voice at her parents. "WHAT LIFE DO I HAVE? None. I'VE BEEN AN ADULT FOR OVER TEN YEARS! Ten years. I've never had a childhood. I grew up fast." Wendy sat down at the breakfast nook and buried her face in her hands. She was ready to start crying, but she couldn't. She just couldn't. She took a deep breath before looking at her parents again, "If growing up means I might turn out like you... I don't want to grow up anymore. I want to be a child for once in my life. I want to have fun, live free, have no responsibilities..."
"Wendy..."
"Don't," And with that Wendy was past her parents and heading towards her room. As she was about to open her door, John poked his head out. " Go back to sleep John. It's okay. Go to sleep."
"You sure?"
"I'll be fine." She went into her room and he followed.
"This is the third time this week."
"I know, John."
"You raised your voice. You were yelling at them..."
"John, go back to bed, please... I'm tired and we have a busy day tomorrow."
John sighed, "Okay..." He wanted to stay with his sister, but he knew she'd sleep it off. So he left her there to go back and sleep.
She followed John to the door, to make sure he went back to his room and closed the door behind her. She pulled off her day clothes and changed into sweat pants and a tee-shirt for her sleep.

Climbing into her bed, she did't realize the shadow in the corner of her room, watching her as she climbed into her bed and cried herself to sleep for the third day in a row. The shadow knew it was time, and he went to fetch the boy who could help this family. He slipped through a crack between the wall and the window and flew just right of the moon...