"I know it was you." I defiantly raised my head, staring at him.

The room we were in was dark and damp, typical of a basement. The triplets were at school, Hazel was in my arms. I'd seen my mothers mangled corpse, yet I'd put poor baby Hazel in danger by taking her with me to see the murderer.

"You're in no position to threaten me, dear," the man cooed, condescendingly, he smirked, "Do you know what they'll do once they find out your mother's dead?" He questioned, or threatened, it was hard to tell, "They'll separate you, you'll end up in countless homes of strangers, and," he grinned sadistically, smiling up at the drippy ceiling, "You'd never see your dear Hazel again."

I shuddered, his disgusting face illuminated by the single light hanging for the ceiling. I pulled her closer to me, a mama bear instinct. He smirked, knowing he had won.

"Alright," I said, "what do you want?"

"You'll hack into your mother's bank account and give me access, and then I will give you a house because you won't be able to afford your current one for long."

This isn't going too well.

"Oh, and sweetheart, you'll be needing a job."

:_:_:_:_:_:

"Guys, pick your two favorite toys and your favorite stuffed animal."

"But why?" The triplets groan in unison. I glanced around our house, it wasn't truly ours anymore, we were leaving the three-level estate for a one bedroom apartment.

Five of us, one bedroom, the math didn't add up.

"We're leaving."

My mother was what some called a whore. My siblings and I? The results of her drunken mistakes.

Sometimes I'd pretend my father was someone big and important, like Tony Stark. Now, I had to be the parent, no time for imagination anymore.

:_:_:_:_:_:

"Get to work. Now."

I hunched over the computer, hacking through firewall after firewall in hopes of keeping my family safe.

"What's taking you so long?"

I was near ready to rip that man's head off.

"I'm working on it!" My eyes widen as he steps closer to me, and tilts my chin upwards, "Now, sweetheart, I didn't want to do this," he begins, "but you seem to need a bit of a push." He pulled my baby sister out of my arms, "You'll get this thing back when you're done."

"NOO!" I yelled as he ripped her from my grasp.

He kicked the chair I was sitting in over and my body harshly collided with the concrete floor.

Then he kicked my stomach as hard as he could and I spit up blood as I whimpered in pain.

"Get to work, " He spat, his words dripped venom.

I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, I wanted to die, but most of all, I wanted to kill him.
:_:_:_:_:_:

"Here, your new home," he said, dropping the keys into my hands. I looked at one of the many dull doors in the apartment complex.

"Thank you," I whispered, as not to make him angry. He walked away.

I guided my siblings inside and glance into the bedroom. There was enough room for two beds, we needed to fit three and a crib.

Plus storage. I observed the apartment, looking for a room we could spare. Kitchen, we'll need that unless we want to order food all the time, which would put a dent in our account. Bathroom, for obvious reasons that are needed. Living room, well, no T.V. we could just put all storage in there, they would still be able to play.

"Guys, you can have a party and sleep together on the floor for tonight, is that okay?"

"Yay!"

I carried Hazel's sleeping form with me while I got to work. I needed to build a triple bunk bed. Easy.

I had actually made a ton of progress finding supplies while Hazel slept in my toolbox, I had modified it when she was two months old, modified it so that it could contain her comfortably.

I was used to that, considering I'd mothered her more than her mother.

I'd dived into the dumpster and found a few possible supplies. I created a small area, secluded to where hopefully no one would find it.

I groan at the strange smell emitting from my clothes, that's what I get for dumpster diving.

Eventually, we make our way back to the apartment and I tiptoe around the triplets. I set up the Pack-n-play in the Kitchen and lower Hazel into it cautiously.

That morning I rode with the triplets on their way to school.

"Shawn, James, Morris," I started, "good luck with your first day of this school.

The truth was I should be in school. I'm fifteen. I stopped going to school in seventh grade, last year, to take care of Hazel.

:_:_:_:_:_:

I biked my way to my job interview, Hazel in her sidecar.

When I arrived I took her inside with me and headed to the interview.

"Hello, my name is Electra Bay and I'm here for the job interview."

"Oh, Ms. Bay, come, sit."

We began to talk about my resume and she said she'd call me.

I biked my way to the triplets' school to pick them up.

:_:_:_:_:_:

I soon realized the salary I got from Lowe's wasn't going to support the five of us. I needed to find something else to do. I extended my hours, but I needed to keep Hazel with me, and I had to take care of the triplets when they got out of school.

I'd build them a makeshift 'bunk bed' and moved Hazel's Pack-N-Play into their bedroom. I needed to baby proof everything in the kitchen, because, despite being a year old, Hazel thought she was a first-class chef.

I was sitting in the living room, staring at the giant teddy bear everyone had insisted on keeping, brainstorming on how I was going to make this money.

I could always do it illegally. I couldn't do it through the bank, online, because I didn't have an account, things would be discovered if I had an account, which would not be good. I guess I needed to go old fashioned. I'd be a terrible pickpocket, so that leaves burglary. I'd need to do it somewhere they might not notice. I hummed thinking. A silly thought popped into my brain, what if I stole from Tony Stark?

Ha, yeah right, that's a death wish.

:_:_:_:_:_:

I can't believe I'm doing this. He has a security system, obviously. He knows I here, I'm going to be locked up for a long time. Then we'd get separated. I calmed myself, it was too late, i was already inside. I'd just have to hope he was sleeping.

Wow, this view is amazing. I sneak around, looking for a wallet. I spot something from across the room, Jackpot.

One hundred, two hundred, four hundred, seven hundred, two thousand. I take the cash and run, not ready to risk getting caught.

I came home to see my siblings sleeping peacefully, something I hadn't done at all this week. Well, whatever. I glance into Hazel's crib, happy to see her at peace.

:_:_:_:_:_:

The next day I got a call. It was from Edward.