Familial relations; Or, how calling your brother can potentially start a completely different timeline

Part 1

Lucy caught her breath with a long gasp. She felt a bit of bile drip down her chin and into the trash bin she had just emptied her stomach into. Her vision was hazy for a few moments. She waited for her head to stop spinning as she glanced around Mike's room. She knew she'd probably never see it again. Her eyes rested on the bed. His iPhone was sitting there. Oh so innocently,

Within it held the number of the girl that had taken her happiness and ruined it. She knew Sandy hadn't known the whole story, and Mike was obviously keeping things from her. So it wasn't her fault. And all the things Mike said to her. They were just true. She didn't like hearing them, and it really hurt to hear them from the one person she used to think would always be there. Nevertheless she knew it was all true.

She was alone.

She wanted to go home.

She looked over to the phone again and reached for it. It would be so easy. Just a text pretending to be him and she could ruin their relationship. Or she could tell Sandy everything Mike may have left out.

It would be so easy.

She dialed her brother's number on the touchpad and sighed in relief when his voice greeted her.

"Hey Sam, I'm at Mike's house can you please pick me up?"

"Eh? Er... Sure Lucy... When? Immediately?"

"Immediately would be nice."

0000

Haley sighed in annoyance. She'd heard shouting earlier, and she knew they weren't from a game. And for that matter, they weren't Lucy's normal shouts of annoyance. Haley had seen Mike at what she thought was his worst, but that didn't compare to what she'd heard earlier.

"Hey Mike, Isn't there a cute white-fured cat upstairs?" Haley really just wanted him out of her fur. Chris was being fussy and Mom was now in another room. Mike stiffened as if just remembering something.

"MY CELLPHONE!" he dashed right past Haley and raced up the stairs.

0000

"Okay sis I'll leave right now okay?"

"Thank you Sam. But this time, actually obey the traffic laws. It's storming pretty badly out here."

"Fine. See you soon."

"See you s-"

"LUCY!" Lucy snapped her head to the door to see Mike staring at her with disgust written all across his features.

"...This is low...Even for you."

"Mike I was just calling Sam."

Crack!

"Shut up! Just shut up! I don't want to hear you try and weasel your way out of this!" Lucy reached a hand up to feel her stinging cheek and looked to Mike tears pricking her eyes once again.

"I just wanted him to pick me up. It's storming and I don't wanna walk home in this."

"Liar! You were calling Sandy right? Trying to pretend to be me, or trying to pretend you were the justified one... I knew you'd do bad things to get your way but this..." Reeling back a leg he swiftly extended it, sharply kicking Lucy square in the ribs. She let out a yelp of pain as her body impacted on the floor.

"This is the cruelest, lowest, most coldhearted thing you've ever done, Lucy." His voice had remained a low tone, so deep with still pent fury Lucy was surprised he didn't start yelling again.

"You'd think You'd give up when you figured out how hopeless it was, but no, you's just have to keep pushing it!" He reeled back his other leg and let another kick fall, this time hitting her gut. Lucy clenched her teeth and let out a small squeak, she wouldn't let him hear her scream.

"Jesus Lucy you will never learn that what you do will do nothing but kill any relationships you still even have!" with every emphasis he reeled back and fired another kick. Meeting her shin, shoulder, and another strike to her ribs. She only let out tiny yelps of pain. Never letting on how badly this hurt her. Both emotionally and physically.

"Mike You idiot! Knock it off!" feeling a body ram into him, Mike tumbled to the ground with Haley struggling to pin him down.

"Lucy! Go downstairs and find my Mom! He won't try anything with her in the room!" Haley gripped both of Mike's wrists and pulled them over his head, pinning his hands to the floor. More or less sitting on his legs to keep them in place. Lucy nodded and took off for downstairs, her shoulder, leg, chest, and stomach throbbing horribly.

Just making it to the top of the staircase she saw her brother at the door. He looked over to her, relief flooded his features.

"Lucy! Thank god!" taking quick but careful steps Lucy raced down the stairs and into her brothers open arms. She felt him shiver over her and realized he was holding back sobs.

"Sam? What's wrong?"

"I heard everything. If you wanted to keep that secret you should have hung up first." His grip on her strengthened and she could only rub his back a little and assure him that she was okay.

'Why does he even care?' a hissing voice buzzed in her ear. It sounded allot like Mike.

"Michael! You get yourself down here this instant young man! Haley! you too!" She jumped and whipped her head around to see Mike's mother call up the stairs.

"What?"

"Your boy toy was trying to beat the holy hell outta you, you'd think I'd just keep that to myself?" Mike's mother turned and gave an uneasy smile to Lucy and Sam.

"You two might want to leave." Lucy nodded and Sam opened the door to let Lucy out first. Glancing behind her to get one last look at the house she caught glimpse of Mike making his way down the stairs. Haley closely following him. His eyes widened as he say Sam by the doorframe. He froze when Sam shot him the dirtiest look a nerd like him could manage. Haley pushed him a little further down the stairs to keep him moving. Sam stiffened up before opening the umbrella he'd brought for himself and Lucy. It almost looked like Sam was going to jump Mike right then and there.

"Michael. Lucy had called her brother to come and pick her up, and her brother said it sounded like she'd dropped the phone and heard yelling and kicking on the other line." Sam closed the door on Mike looking to his mother with a gaze of donning horror upon his features. Haley waved goodbye with a sad smile on her face. Sam lifted Lucy up and carried her to the car.

"Sam put me down I can walk."

"Not chancing it little sis. You could have broken a few ribs."

"Sam Put me down." Lucy pushed a hand to his chin to try and pry herself off him. She immediately regretted it as her shoulder throbbed in pain again. She winced and put her hand down. Sam sighed and opened the car door.

"let's get some ice on those when we get home eh sis?" Lucy sighed and obediently sat in the passenger seat as Sam reached over to buckle her up.

"Sure bro." Sam smiled and started the car. Driving purposefully slowly and carefully as to not jostle his precious cargo. Lucy sighed and looked out of the window as she allowed her mind to wander.

'I hate you!'

'I'm leaving the table in January'

'Who says they won't join me?'

'Your dumb rebound doesn't even love you. noone does.'

'Your a parasite'

'Selfish'

'transparent'

'clinging'

'pushing away'

'Nobody could love you for who you are.'

Every last word. It was all true, she knew it was. For so long she knew it was. There is a difference between being called horrible things, it's another thing all together to know they were right.

For so long she'd known how horrible she was. It didn't make sense for anyone to care about her, she'd determined years ago, it was just for how she looked. Mike was the only one that had been there from the start though, she was the only one who she could determine as trustworthy, even though he'd done nothing but pretend she was someone else for awhile.

And now that he can't stand her anymore, he'll leave, and everyone would come with him.

Zachary was right in the worst way possible.

"Sis? We're home." Glancing to the passenger seat, Sam sighed sadly as he saw his little sister curled up on herself twitching in a fretful sleep.

0000

When Lucy woke up she smiled at Yashi sleeping on her chest, and Chirpy curled up on her pillow. Lily opened the door with an icepack in her hand and smiled.

"Good to see you awake Lucy." Lucy smiled uncertainly as she tried to sit, which her chest punished her for, by not only putting her in pain, but also stirring Yashi. Yashi reached up and rubbed the sleep out of a tiny blue eye before smiling sleepily.

"Hey Mom. Good to see you up and stuff!" she was still groggy. Lucy smiled and put a hand on Yashi's back.

"Go back to sleep Yashi." Yashi yawned and nodded before snuggling down into her mothers chest again. Lily sighed and smiled. The hedgehog climbed up onto Lucy's bed and placed the icepack onto her shoulder. Lucy hissed in pain. The ice stung a little at the contact, but it was helping dull the actual pain of the wound.

"Thanks Lily...How long was I out?" Lily sighed and hopped down from Lucy's bed.

"Just a few hours. It's almost dinner time." Lucy sighed and rested her head back onto the pillow once again.

"What happened? Sam just told us you'd gotten the heck beaten out of you."

"Mike said somethings, and I didn't want to stay at his place any longer. I wasn't thinking about trying to go downstairs and using the landline, I was kind of out of it, so I used his cellphone to call Sam. He thought I was calling Sandy to say things to her and he started doing this. Haley pulled him off. It's alright though. I deserved it." Lucy's voice started to fade as sleep claimed her mind once again. Lily looked to Lucy and left.

0000

"Hello Maishul~ " Sandy happily answered the phone. It was another long day of model work up in Rickter. It was nice to see her cellphone ringing when she got home.

"Hello Sandy?" Sandy paused, that wasn't her Maishul's voice. It was younger and feminine.

"Yes, who is this?"

"Haley, Mike's little sister. Listen ,Mike just got his butt busted for something big, and he's grounded for Winter Break. You're still free to come to Roseville, but don't expect to see much of him, if anything at all. Mom confiscated his phone, so I had to go all ninja blood to give you this heads up okay? I guess I'll see you when you come."

"Alright. Thank you for telling me Haley."

Sandy sighed and crashed onto her bed. Now what was she supposed to do for all that time back in Roseville?

0000

Lucy kept her head down on Friday. Daisy and Abbey would both shoot her troubled looks at every shared period. If Lucy could see him from her vantage point she would see that Paulo wouldn't stop staring at her, except to throw Mike dirty looks every so often. She was wearing some of the clothes she kept in her closet for when her 'time' came, to hide the bandages along her shoulder, chest, stomach and leg. It still hurt to breathe too deeply, but nothing she didn't deserve.

Tess glanced over to Lucy when she saw her sit on the floor, against a wall, a ways away from their table.

"Lucy has some of the worst cramps on these days, it's smart to just leave her alone." Daisy smiled nervously as she sat down.

0000

The 21st of December was her first day back in Roseville. Sandy sighed and decided to take a trip down memory lane to wander through the town. Who would she talk to now that she couldn't talk to her Maishul?

Wandering into the park, Sandy smiled when she caught sight of the tree She and her Maishul had sat, talking to eachother. Walking up to the tree she noticed a splotch of pink around the corner of the tree.

Turning the corner she saw a cat with fur as white as her own, a bright pink bow tied around her neck. Bandages covering her leg and midsection. Her ears were drooped in distress and she looked about Sandy's age.

"Hello. Erm..." Sandy sat next to her. The Cat's eyes widened and Sandy noted the bright blue of them, Sandy hoped she didn't accidentally sit on the cat's deaf side.

"I couldn't help but notice, you seem kind of lonely, I'm Sandy."

Posted! Due to positive feedback from when I proposed this alternate timeline from 'December', here it is! My sister helped me with the title. She's clever like that.