A/N: This is my sequel/not so sequel to Flowers In The Attic. It's starting from the beginning so you DO NOT have to read it to understand this. For those of you that already know how I write sequels, this follows the same pattern. Totally new story that starts right after another.

HOWEVER, I will warn you that Callie and Jude may appear out of character and that is being done INTENTIONALLY. They are going to be acting strange and that's because they were in a completely different circumstance before this, which has changed them dramatically. If you want to understand more, please read the prequel (Flowers In The Attic). If not, then don't worry about it. I will brush some info into this story to help you understand.

Another difference: Callie is 14 and Jude is 9.

Chapter 1: New Beginning

Callie watches as Stef unlocks the front door of her house and holds it open for the two of them for the first time. And it was like stepping into Foxworth Hall all over again.

A new home.

A new beginning.

But this time she was prepared.

This time, she knew better than to let herself get too comfortable.

Their grandmother's mansion looked absolutely beautiful from the downstairs but they never saw it from where they were kept.

"Come on in," Stef smiles as she stares carefully at both kids, who were still in hospital sweats because they didn't have their own clothes.

Callie appears wary at first glance and Jude quickly looks to his sister for her approval.

"I'm not going to bite," Stef jokes but neither child bothers to laugh. In fact, Callie glances around her surroundings at the sight outside. There were so many houses nearby that could hear them yell, if it ever became necessary. Not like Foxworth Hall where there wasn't another building for miles.

The teen grabs onto her brother's shoulder and pushes him forward reluctantly. It was either that or stand outside with Stef watching them all day. And by the way she'd stuck by them at the hospital, they knew she would've.

Chapter 2: Locked In

Callie watches carefully as the blonde locks the door behind them. Stef hadn't realized that something she always did out of habit, would make the girl's heart begin to race so drastically.

"Alright," Stef smiles casually. "So why don't we head to the kitchen first and meet Lena and the kids, huh?"

Both siblings stare at her strangely as if they were just waiting for her to erupt.

People weren't this nice. And if they were, there was always a hidden agenda behind it.

Their trust?

She wouldn't get it.

That Callie already knew.

FLASHBACK

Colleen and their grandmother walk her brothers and Callie up into the attic for the first time.

"This is where you'll all be staying," their grandmother informs them in an almost robotic yet angry voice. "Now you won't make any loud noises and you won't scream or run around or do anything that you have done before in the past while you were living in utter sin with your parents. No one, and I repeat, no one can know you're here, not even the rest of the help. Now that means: these windows aren't to be touched and your voices aren't to be heard beyond this room... Any attempts to break any of these rules will cause for great punishment."

"Mom, what is she talking about?" Chris asks as he stands in front of Callie and Jude.

Colleen walks over to him and puts her hands on both of his cheeks, "My dolls, please just listen to your grandmother. Don't ever give her any reason to punish you," she says through tears in her eyes.

Callie turns her gaze toward her grandmother and holds onto her youngest brother tightly. The older woman stares right back at her in complete disgust. The teen places her attention back on her mother, "Mom, for how long?"

"Not long at all, baby girl," Colleen responds. "Just until I figure something out."

"In the meantime, Colleen," the oldest woman interrupts. "Why don't you show them what happens when they disobey me?"

"Mom, don't," Colleen shakes her head with resistance.

"SHOW THEM!" the woman yells back.

Their mother takes in a deep breath as she stares at her own mother pleadingly. But it's obvious that she doesn't have a choice in the matter. She slowly turns around and unbuttons her white blouse. And when she finishes removing it, all three children are forced to look at the multiple slashes on her back.

"Seventeen slashes," the elderly woman informs them. "One for each year she lived in sin with your father."

"You bitch!" Chris yells as he tries to approach her but Colleen immediately steps in front of him so that he wouldn't.

"Colleen, control your wicked children! Or I will!"

"Chris, please?" Colleen begged.

Their grandmother stares back at Chris, "Now I am allowing you three to stay in my home," she continues as if it were a luxury. "And I will give you food and shelter but that is all. Not love or attention because those days are long gone now. You three are nothing but the devil's spawn. Evil from the moment of conception. What else would you call children reproduced by my daughter and her own uncle!"

"What?" Chris questions.

"Stupid children don't even know what they are, Colleen!"

"My children are not the devil's spawn!" their mother yells back. "Now, you can treat me however you want, but my children—"

"YOUR CHILDREN WHAT!" Olivia shouts, and their mother closes her mouth. "Your children are to be treated like the sinners they are by birth! And nothing more!"

"I will take my children out of here. We will leave and never look back," Colleen threatens.

"TAKE THEM!" their grandmother responds. "…DO YOU THINK THAT I CARE?"

END OF FLASHBACK

The flashback repeated in Callie's mind over and over again for the four years that they suffered in that attic. It was the first sign that their mother was transforming into someone else.

"Callie, Jude, are you coming?" Stef asks again. And that's when Callie realizes that the woman is already halfway into the kitchen.

The teen takes a deep breath before she starts to follow the woman. And the sudden pain from her own healing wounds on her back become apparent again.

Chapter 3: Sin

"Hi, you must be Callie and Jude," a woman with an apparent darker complexion begins to walk toward them. "I'm Lena," she says as she holds out her hand for Callie to shake.

The girl doesn't, but Jude does.

"This is my wife" Stef tries to introduce and both kids' faces immediately fall flat. Everyone in the room notices, including the three other teens.

"Is that a problem?" Jesus asks out of pure annoyance. All of their children hated more than anything when others made it seem like his parents were less than or strange, but Jesus was always the one who'd speak up about it.

Callie wrapped her arm around her brother protectively as she stared back at him. "Homosexuality is a sin," she recited in an almost robotic-like voice, causing for everyone's jaws to drop open.

It was like she had no control over her own mouth, and she was still being lectured by her grandmother.

But this time, the accusations were coming from her.

Lena stared at Stef and waited for the blonde to say something to Callie in response, but her wife simply pressed her lips together nervously and stared back at her.

After a short while Stef finally finds her voice to speak, "Callie, Jude, the food's on the table. Help yourselves. Lena and I are going to have a quick chat, so have a seat please?" She gestured toward the two empty seats next to Brandon and watched as they sat down before she walked back out.