“Aha! Aaron! That tickles!” Leona’s voice rang out, as she squirmed in her brother’s arms. She’d dropped an ice cube down the back of his shirt, and he was now currently seeking revenge. It had been two months since Leona had been ‘jumped’ and the Carters’ were in the midst of having a massive pool party.

“Serves you right for dropping that ice cube down my shirt!” Aaron exclaimed, laughing. “It was frigin’ cold, Leo-Lee!”

“That was the whole point, Air-Head!” Leona laughed, still trying to escape her brother’s tickling fingers. “Besides, I had to prank somebody!”

“Well, next time ask me to help you with a prank, instead of playing one on me!” Aaron smirked, finally releasing her from his grasp. “We could totally come up with a good one to play on Nick.”

Leona giggled some more, as she kissed his cheek. “Next time, Dude.”

“Good,” Aaron stated. “Because we haven’t pulled one over on him in months!”

“Yeah….” Leona nodded, though silently thinking she’d pulled the wool over Nick’s eyes quite nicely, seeing as he still didn’t know about her rape two months previous. “It’s been a while….”

“Ooh! Food’s here!” Aaron cheered. “Catch yah later, Sis!”

Leona watched as her brother hurried off to the pizza that had just arrived for their party. Leave it to her brothers and their friends to just have some greasy pizza at a party, instead of hiring someone to cater or something expensive and lavish like that – though, fifty boxes of pizza were pretty expensive.

“Lost in thought, are we?” A voice rasped behind her then, causing her to jump about three feet and whirl about in surprise.

“A.J.!” Leona gasped, her right hand pressed to her chest as she tried to calm herself – he’d scared her half to death!

“Whoa there, Kitten,” A.J. replied, giving her an odd look. “Where’s the jumping marathon at?”

“You’d jump too if someone snuck up on you like that!” Leona snapped, as she slowly got her breathing under control. “Damn!”

“I called out your name while I was coming over,” A.J. stated. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“Obviously not!” Leona exclaimed. “Who can hear anything over all this music?”

“Your just made your brother wouldn’t let you blast our albums through the speakers,” A.J. commented with a smirk. “And that he told you no way in Hell were you playing Alvin and the Chipmunks.”

“Screw you,” Leona growled, suddenly very moody – she’d been getting in moods off and on ever since the rape.

“Oh, you wish,” A.J. laughed, teasing her like he usually did.

“I do not!” Leona glared at him, as she stomped her one foot.

A.J. rolled his eyes. “Kitten, if you’re going to act like you’re five, then I’d suggest you go hide out in your room, until you’re ready to act your age.”

“You are not my boss!” Leona shouted, causing a few people close enough to hear look their way. “And how would you know how fifteen-year-old girls act, huh? Why? Have you been one before or something?”

A.J. narrowed his eyes, as he eyed her suspiciously. “You know, I’d ask what the Hell has gotten into you these last couple months, if I thought I wouldn’t get my frigin’ head chewed off. So, go and enjoy yourself and be a Brat all you want, because I’m here to have fun and not deal with your stupid little tantrums.”

Leona’s eyes filled with tears, as she figured him to be calling her stupid. “Go fuck a tree, A.J.”

“If it’s nice tits and legs, fine,” A.J. shot-back, moving away from the moody teenager.

Leona watched him walk away, and immediately felt bad. She couldn’t help how she was now – it wasn’t entirely her fault she’d been raped – or was it? She didn’t know anymore. She heaved a sigh, as she blinked back her unwanted tears.

“You alright, Baby?” A gentle voice asked, causing her to jump once more.

“What is with people sneaking up on me today?” Leona snapped somewhat. “And I’m fine, Tess.”

“Well, you don’t seem fine to me,” Tess replied. She had come to stay with the Carters as their therapist, as Nick thought them all to still have deep issues with their parents’ departure two years beforehand. She offered to move in and observe them all, so she could get a feel of just what was wrong – though, she stayed out in the guest house as to give the family some privacy. If only they knew just who she really was. She knew things – more than the Carters knew she did – but she had to act as though she didn’t. So even though she knew what Leona’s problem was, now was still not the time for her to come out and let that fact be known.

“Hey ladies,” Nick smiled as he came over to join them. “Enjoying the party?”

“Well, I would be if people quit sneaking up on me!” Leona growled angrily, then continued before her brother could speak. “It’s not my fault I am such an easy target!”

Nick eyed his youngest sister a moment, sensing there to be much more behind her last statement than there appeared to be. “Well, why don’t you hang out with me for a bit then, and I can scare all those people off?”

Leona looked up at him, feeling emotional once more. “You’d do that for me, Nicky?”

“Of course, Leo-Lee!” Nick exclaimed, looking shocked she even had to ask him that. “Haven’t I always?”

“Yeah…” Leona trailed off, as she thought to herself, “Just not when it really mattered most.”

“C’mon,” Nick said, draping his one arm over her shoulder, not noticing her flinch slightly from contact. “You look like you could use some food, so let’s grab some pizza before it’s all gone.”

“You know, for the amount you spend on pizza, you could’ve just hired a caterer,” Leona pointed out. “Then you might’ve gotten more food.”

“Oh, we’ve hot dogs and hamburgers for later on, if we need a snack – no worries,” Nick winked. “It’s a barbecue Leo-Lee, not Oprah’s book club gathering.”

Leona shrugged, as her brother led her off to where the pizza was at – she was hungry, but that was beside the point. He’d wasted a whole load of money on pizza – though, it was his money to spend however he saw fit. And it wasn’t like he was going to be poor anytime soon either, so really she’d nothing to worry about.

Tess watched them go, shaking her head. “That child is going to have to learn how to deal with her problems soon, rather than trying to keep them buried within. Especially the new one I know she is keeping now.”

“Why won’t she tell her family, Tess?” Monica, Tess’ secretary, asked as she came to stand next to her. “Wouldn’t they help her out?”

“She doesn’t want to let them down. She’s scared if she tells them, she won’t be treated like the same as she is now anymore,” Tess explained. “She’s also scared of them being angry with her for keeping secrets and not telling them in the first place. But, the child doesn’t realize, no matter when or how she tells them, someone is still going to be hurt and angry. There’s just no avoiding it.”

“The poor dear,” Monica sympathized. “She’s been through so much, and has been dealing with it all alone.”

“She’s not all alone, she still has someone looking out for her,” Tess replied, casting Monica a look.

“Yes, but to her Tess, she is all alone in this,” Monica pointed out, as she nodded towards where Leona was standing with her eldest brother. “She seems to think that unless her family is the one by her side, that she is alone. Without her siblings, I believe her to be lost in the mess that has befallen her.”

“That may be so, but one of these days, she is going to have to wake up and realize if she wants their help, she has to be able to confide in them,” Tess argued. “And until she’s able to do that, I don’t think she will ever feel safe again.”

“Why doesn’t she trust them enough to confide in?” Monica wanted to know. “She seems to trust them enough with her life, but not enough to share her darkest secrets with.”

“Their parents did a lot of damage, before giving the younger ones to Nick. They did and said things, that Nick isn’t even aware of,” Tess replied. “All he knew was that he had to get his siblings out of the house full of lies, and it ended up working out for him, as his parents just dropped his siblings off one day and never came back. Turned out, they’d signed their rights to the younger ones away, leaving their brother with sole custody.”

Monica nodded, letting all of what she’d just been told sink in. It was a little strange to be working with a famous family, though not uncommon in their line of work. But she knew they needed their help – especially with what was to come.

Leona looked around, as she stood next to Nick, munching on a slice of extra cheese pizza. She had to admit, she did feel much safer when with her eldest brother – but how safe would she feel if he were to ever find out about the two huge secrets she’d been keeping from him? He hadn’t spanked her since she was nine, and that was only because she’d scared him half to death by disappearing on him when she really shouldn’t have. Would he dare strike her bottom now? She sure as hell hoped not!