"how stupid can you be!!!!" rory barked at his daughter who was feeling completely hungover the next morning, her dad was yelling so loud causing her ears and head to ring

she covered both her ears hoping to tune him out, but it didn't work which irritated her. her dad's loud voice felt like an old cd scratching against a record player. "yeah, yeah. okay dad whatever." rowyn groaned

rory started getting more angry suddenly charging over at his child snatching her blanket off the bed but she didn't budge or even flinch. it made him angry seeing that he is losing complete control over his youngest child, she was coming to terms about how harsh her parents are earlier than ever.

it took bree going to college to realize how truly evil her parents are. taryn is too in her own world to notice the two devils lurking around. rory could feel his knuckles turning white due to how hard he was clenching his fists. he doesn't like when he loses control over his kids, them going against him and his beliefs was like a punch to the gut

"you know we expect NOTHING but the best from you!! you will get yourself together—-" his loud voice began to echo through the house, anna barged in placing her index finger and thumb in between her lips whistling loudly causing rory to cover his ears in pain. rowyn groaned also covering her ears upsettingly

anna always does that when she wants her family to be quiet, throughout all these years... it still shuts them up, "gosh i hate it when you do that!" rowyn growled

her mom ignored her snotty attitude totally understanding where rowyn was coming from, those hangovers can be a pain in the ass especially for first time drinkers. anna sat at the edge of her bed with a glass cup placed in her hands. "honey let us talk please." anna begged

"fine! but she still is going to school tomorrow!! i don't care if her head spins off her body!!! SHE KNOWS BETTER!!" he snarled pointing at their child

anna motioned her hand at the door, "rory babe. calm down, let me talk to her." she insisted, rory unballed his fist walking out of the room only to come back in looking over at his wife with annoyance

"you babying her is only going to make her into a brat even more!!!" he snapped, anna swished the dark colored drink waiting for her husband to exit, "i'm not babying her, just calm down."

rory flicked his hand into the air, "don't tell me to calm down." he finalized storming out of the room, stomping his boots down the stairs. the door was heard slamming loudly which made rowyn's head start to throb. she muffled something into her pillow, her mom looking at her feeling sorry.

anna tapped rowyn's foot, wanting her to sit up. "rowyn, here." she aggressively moved her feet far away groaning. anna didn't stop continuing to bother her, "hey, you need to drink this if you want to feel better."

the words made rowyn look at her mom, her eyes scanned down to the drink in her hand. she questionably looked at the drink not knowing what the hell it was or what it consisted of, "homemade beet juice, best remedy for a hangover." anna insisted

rowyn twisted her lips in disgust. she absolutely hates beets and has since she was a child. but she would drink anything if it helps with the killer headache she is currently enduring. when she lifted her body up, the throbbing coming from her head became violent. she winced rubbing her temple on each side of her head in circular motions

anna could feel her pain remembering her first hangover. she was too young to be drinking alcohol at the age she did.... just like rowyn. seeing her kid in pain hurt her heart, but hopefully it is a lesson learned to never drink again. anna leaned the glass near rowyn who didn't hesitate to take it. knowing it was made out of beets, she put that thought it the back of her head chugging the drink down like it was actually enjoyable.

when she was done, she sat the glass down on her nightstand sighing laying back down shutting her eyes. anna kept replaying last night in her head, the words her daughter said struck her hard. it kept her up majority of the night, rory was passed out beside her. anna found herself looking up at the ceiling trying to wonder where they went wrong

anna rubbed her hands against rowyn's soft floral quilt, "rowyn.... did you mean what you said last night?" she asked scared to hear what her answer would be

"i really don't want to have this conversation with you." rowyn kept her eyes shut, rolling over to face away from her mother. confirmation was confirmed with her answer, anna now knowing she meant what she said

she felt sick, "you really hate me and your dad rowyn?" she asked with her voice starting to crack, rowyn didn't answer the question staying silent. everything that occurred from almost
years ago appeared in her head too often during this month of october. it started consuming rowyn on a daily basis which explained her erratic behaviors displayed towards her friends and associates

everyone within town especially students who attended bardstown high school know this is a rough time for both taryn and rowyn. her behavior didn't offend anyone, they could understand where she was coming from.

taryn is a strong soilder, she barley shows any emotions in general. even around this time of the year, she acts like everything is okay. it comes off like she is heartless, but many feel it is just an act. they know somewhere down in her heart.. that she is hurting too. ronan was her fraternal twin brother, there is no way she didn't feel some type of pain during this specific month.

ronan was the sweetest boy in the world, a pure gentleman at the age of fifteen. was very smart and articulate. he was one of the top students within his class, definitely would have graduated as valedictorian or salutatorian. he was one of the most popular boys in school, could have had the crown placed on his head if he wanted it. but ronan wasn't that type of guy.

he didn't care about the status. all he wanted was genuine people around him, he felt blessed to have a great group of friends surrounding him. him, rowyn, luke and scarlett were four peas in a pod. they all did everything together. studied with each other, did fun activities with one another and told each other everything

ronan was close with each of his sisters, they all loved and adored him so much. what they adored about him.... was how good of a person he was. he could be having the worst day but still would remain kind hearted. he was one of those popular kids who didn't discriminate, he was nice to everyone.

he was an absolute beast in rugby and soccer. for the sake of his father, he also played football which was yet another thing we was amazing at. he was a starter for each sport he played and was the best in all three sports. it seemed like anything ronan did, he was immensely good at.

he was the perfect son.

"rowyn—-"

"i hate the way you guys treated my brother in his final few months of life." rowyn answered harshly

anna chuckled, "honey he was b—" rowyn felt her hangover disappear into the wind hearing her mother attempt to come up with an excuse for her and rory's repulsive behavior

sitting up, she faced her mother with disgust showered on her face. "don't you dare try to sit here and excuse the way you two treated him, don't you dare!!!—-" her voiced cracked, she could feel her eyes getting watery

anna grew irritated, "don't start crying rowyn....." she got up heading towards her closet, this conversation needed to come to a stopping point, she thought

her mom made the decision to follow her, standing in the doorway. rowyn was aggressively rummaging through her clothes trying to find an outfit to wear after she gets done showering, she knew she couldn't stay here with her parents all day. they would drive her even more crazy

"you know crying is——-" anna said

rowyn lost all control, "A SIGN OF WEAKNESS!!! I KNOW!!!" she screamed startling her mother, who placed her head onto her heart. gazing at rowyn wondering if she forgot who she was talking too

anna started walking over to rowyn who was angry, "don't come near me. just being around you disgusts me." she revealed making the wound even deeper. anna didn't move any closer

"rowyn how could you talk to me like this? i'm your mother, i brought you into this world and i can bring you out of it." she threatened

"because this is one of the toughest months out of the year for me!! you plus dad just act like everything is perfect!!" anna rearranged her facial expression looking crushed

rowyn kept going, "everything is fine right? we all are doing great to the outside world but i'm not okay! i'm not! i miss my brother and nobody cares. his name is forbidden in this house, he is a ghost!! it's not right." she retorted yanking a pair of jeans off her clothes hanger

"your brother was wrong for—-"

rowyn argued in an instant, "no he wasn't! you and dad are wrong, face it. you two are monsters. you poisoned ellie. you poisoned ronan, now you're trying to poison me and taryn....." she called out grabbing herself a sweater

"i'm not going to let you." she concluded walking past her mother who kept a straight face, rowyn threw the clothes onto her bed about to take her shirt off until she noticed her mom wasn't out of her room

anna chuckled, "you are so ungrateful, after everything we have done for you?" rowyn laughed showing her bright white teeth

her mother started getting upset charging at rowyn who wasn't fearful, she pointed her hand in her face. rowyn was nonchalant keeping a hardened gaze upon her mom, "we have you in the nicest clothes from the best brands! keep a roof over your head!! feed you and your sister—"

"you have too or they'll put you in jail—-" anna's palm slapped rowyn across the cheek, so aggressively that rowyn lost her balance falling to the floor, making a loud thud

rowyn rubbed her cheek that felt like it was on fire, she stood up then just laughed at her mother walking into the bathroom slamming the door shut locking it. anna ran to the door banging on it, "YOU KNOW THIS DOOR IS SUPPOSED TO BE LEFT OPEN HALFWAY!!" she roared but rowyn just laughed

"well that rule is stupid and the ship has sailed."

the five walsh siblings

what do you guys think went wrong with ronan and his family? where do you guys think ellie is? what do you think will happen with the rest of this book? comment below and thank you for 9k reads!!❤️