Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The end.

I don't exactly know when it all began, all this mess. I don't think I can pin point the exact moment when everything was set into motion. It started after a series of so-called "accidents" that catalyzed a series of much more devastating events, happenings that were worse than any of us could have ever imagined. Before all of these occurrences, there had, of course, been happier times, when we all were still young. Young and naïve, that is. Things had been simpler for all of us, the whole family, back then. We only had to deal with a few minor crises, but nothing that could even compare to the calamities thereafter. And, whatever we might have had, came to a screeching halt, the curtains had fallen on our play.

I lied.

Although, previously I had stated there wasn't an exact moment when things started heading South, I lied. In truth it all started the moment I decided to go to that godforsaken party.

Sometimes I think this disaster was all my fault. I was, after all, the one who left everything so broken between us. If I had just forgiven him, swallowed my pride for once, had given him the second chance he had pleaded for, had given him the chance to explain, if I hadn't been so stubborn, then maybe, just maybe, all our issues could have been resolved.

Other times, I pin the blame on him. He committed that act of treachery, the one who tore us in two because of a mere fanciful whim. He is the one who set all the events, I am about to share, in motion.

I have hashed out the situation a million and three times over. I've assessed objectively and subjectively. I have surveyed the possibilities of motives and analyzed it all to the point where my head is overwhelmed with these dizzying thoughts: all this thinking has done, is send me around in circles, dishing blame to those who don't deserve it. These thoughts are the cause of my insomnia. I haven't had a good night's sleep in nine years. In the end three facts will always remain:

One - I haven't seen my stepbrother in over nine years, and there's a good chance I played a pivotal role in scaring him away. What's worse, he's probably never coming back.

Two - With my stepbrother's disappearance, our family has been torn apart, maybe for good. Little does my family know, I am most likely to blame for this havoc.

Three - I am hopelessly in love with the one person I never should have fallen for, my stepbrother.

Author's note: Just call me cryptic. Casey's POV, by the way. I hoped I have tickled your fancy. I have the plot all written up on paper. I just need to type it up in chapter formats =) Reviews are good for the soul.