chapter ten
-Sincerity-

The room was silent and still for a long while after Taylor had rushed upstairs after Molly had returned. Zac dropped a drumstick on the ground, and we all jumped. "Sorry." he whispered. "Um...Do you think she's okay?"

"She'll be okay, given some time. Will probably won't be, though." I couldn't suppress a smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Isaac asked me, a smile starting to break out on his face as well.

"Because now I get to beat the shit out of him. I've always wanted to do that." I grinned.

"That is, if Taylor doesn't get to him first. Will hasn't gotten back yet." Zac noted. He got up and went to the window, peering outside. "I don't see him anywhere. Probably a good thing. Even if Taylor beat him up, I know you'd kick his ass again, Sin." The three of us were finally able to laugh. Our laughter quickly subsided after we thought of the situation at hand.

"I should go check on her...Being her sister and all." I set my guitar down on its stand and headed towards the stairwell. Isaac grabbed my hand as I passed by him. "What?"

"Well...Maybe you, you know...Shouldn't. Check on her, that is. Taylor's up there." I sighed as Isaac pulled me down onto the couch with him. He put an arm around my shoulder and I rested me head on his shoulder. "What do you think happened, anyway? Obviously it was something bad. Did Molly tell you?"

I hesitated. I looked at both Isaac and Zac, who were looking at me with curious, waiting expressions on their eager faces. "Molly slept with Will." There was a collective gasp from the other two men. "I mean, they've always had this flirtatious relationship, so I was just wondering when it would happen. But I didn't think Will would be this much of an ass. I thought he actually liked Molly...I didn't think he'd just use her like he does with all the other girls."

Both Isaac and Zac looked furious at my last words. "He uses girls? What a dick. I'll beat him up now, too. You can hold him down, I'll throw the punches." Zac said to me.

"Um, no, I want to throw the punches. You can hold him down." I protested.

"Children? Maybe we should be more concerned with Molly's condition rather than who's going to beat up Will?" Isaac pointed out. Zac and I stopped arguing, like children who had just been scolded by their father. "Better. She doesn't seem to be taking this too well. I understand that she's heartbroken and all, but this seems like more emotional scarring or something than just heartbreak." he reasoned.

I thought for the first time about our uncle. Molly's biological uncle, my adopted uncle. I had been adopted when I was ten years old - an age far past the age of usual adoption. Molly's parents hadn't wanted to deal with another baby, so they adopted someone who would give them more trouble, which I certainly did. I had residual anger and frustration at my parents, who had abandoned me when I was six. I bounced from foster home to foster home for two years, until Molly's parents finally adopted me. I was ten years old, already accustomed to life on the streets for those times between families, between the time of running away and getting caught and sent to an orphanage. Molly's parents had been kind and patient, however, and Molly quickly became my new best friend. We both got along insanely well, and we shared all of our secrets - except for our uncle. I still didn't know whether or not the same thing had happened to Molly that had happened to me, but judging by her rather harsh reaction to Will, and her emotional breakdown, I assumed it had.

"Sincerity?" Isaac's gentle voice prodded me out of my thoughts. Tears were starting to form in my eyes, and I could feel myself shaking. "Are you okay?" he asked me softly, putting two fingers below my chin and lifting my head to face him. I could feel Zac's concerned eyes on me, and as my breathing slowed, he knelt in front of me and placed his hands on my knees.

I closed my eyes for a minute. "I think I know...But I'm not sure."

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to." Zac whispered to me. "I don't want you to have to think of bad memories or anything."

"If it's okay...I'd rather not." I said shakily. Isaac kissed my forehead before getting up and heading to the kitchen. Zac took my hands, standing me up and pulling me close to him. "It's...It's pretty bad, Zac. And if it is what I think it is..." My voice drifted off shakily.

"Shh, shh." Zac whispered to me, stroking my hair. "It's okay." I grasped his shirt and buried my face in his shoulder, my tears wetting his shirt. Isaac came back to the room with a tray holding three cups and a kettle of steaming water. Zac sat me back down on the couch, sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of me. He and Isaac shared the duties of placing teabags in the cups and pouring water in them. We sat in silence, sipping our tea, until the sun began to set and we had to light the candles.

"Will's still not back yet...Unless he snuck in or something." I commented.

"Wouldn't put it past him. He knows we'll beat him up." Zac half-joked.

"At any rate, I think we should go to bed...It's been a really rough day. Not so much for us, but..." I suggested, getting up and stretching. Zac nodded his agreement and took the tray of empty cups and cold water to the kitchen. Isaac took my hand and walked me up to my bedroom, stopping at the doorway. He turned me towards him and gave me a sweet kiss.

"Sleep well. Things will get sorted out in the morning." he assured me.

"I hope so." I pulled him in for a longer kiss before heading into my room and immediately falling asleep.

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