"Liv. Liv. Livvy. Liv. Olivia, wake up."

I groaned, rolling over to slap my hand against Abel as if he had a snooze button. I heard more then one laugh at my reaction, causing my eyes to flutter open and face the two boys hovering over me. I reached up to touch my face automatically, not sure whether I should trust the mischievous smiles on their faces or not.

"Morning, Sunshine." Abel said with a smile while Oliver only smirked.

"What did you two do?" I sat up, glancing around me to make sure I was still in my bedroom.

"Oh, nothing. Just gave you a little taste of what we'll be getting." I frowned at his words, going over the list in my head. I gasped when I realized getting a tattoo was on the list. I slipped out of my bed and darted toward my heart shaped mirror hanging over my dresser, letting out a cry.

ABEL'S GIRL was written in big, black bold letters across my forehead. I whirled around and glared at Oliver, not even ready to snap at Abel yet.

"How could you let him do this? I thought you didn't like the idea-"

"You're my sister, Liv. I had to do it, you looked so peaceful sleeping and I thought we'd have a big surprise waiting for you when you woke up." I grabbed an empty bottle of lotion from my dresser behind me and chucked it across the room at my twin brother.

"You." I pointed at Abel, trying to look as intimating as possible, "You are dead." I walked back across the room and grabbed Abel's custom made Converse from the ground and dangled them in the air.

"Maybe I should give these boys a surprise to wake up too." I said, pretending to think about it, "They would look gorgeous with pink glitter, don't you think?" Abel reached out to swipe them from me but I waved my finger.

"Nope. You need to get this off my forehead or I'm going to glitter your shoes." He narrowed his eyes, as if he were making sure I was serious, before looking over at Oliver.

"Go get the rag from your bathroom." Oliver yawned as he walked out of the room, shaking his head.

"Livvy, baby. Just hand the shoes back over and-"

"Why would you write that on my head?" I cut him off, "You could have said nerd or loser." His hands dropped to his sides as he cocked his head to the side.

"Is that what you think you are? Don't feed me that crap, you know you're not a loser." I shrugged, stepping back so he couldn't take the shoes from me.

"Sometimes it feels like I am, especially around Oli and you. You guys live on such a high that I feel like I'm nothing but just another person out there." He shook his head, touching my cheek gently.

"No, Olivia. That's what I love about you, you live." He stopped and cracked a smile. "Everyone is always so busy pretending to be something they're not that they forget to live." I could hear the pain lacing it's way into his voice as he stared at me, his eyes holding a vulnerability in them I'd never seen.

"Make lovey dovey eyes at each other in private." Oliver groaned as he walked back in, "I haven't even eaten and I'm sick to my stomach." I smiled but Abel pulled his hand back and turned away, watching as Oliver swiped the rag against my forehead and patted the top of my head like a dog.

"We wouldn't use Sharpie, sis. We wouldn't want that to be permanent, right?" I nodded, sending one last glance in Abel's direction before setting his shoes back on the ground and walking out of the room before he could see just how nervous I was.

*

Lunch was surprisingly quiet. Other then my parents throwing questions at Abel, no one really seemed to want to talk all that much. I was so obsessed with the fact that Abel hadn't touched his food, that I didn't even hear him when he spoke directly to me.

"Huh?" I said, earning a laugh out of the rest of my family.

"The next thing on the list, Liv. It's road trip time." I frowned, starting to shake my head.

"I don't remember anything about a road trip." I replied. He grinned, pushing his untouched food away and handing me his copy of the list, pointing directly at it.

Throw a dart at a map and travel to where it lands.

"See. Plus we also have to go to Vegas." He sounded happy about it, but I could feel my stomach churning as I turned back to my parents. They were both smiling, sharing a look that I couldn't quiet catch in time to decipher.

"There's only a month and a week left of summer break. How are we supposed to do that?" I replied, leaning back in my chair with my arms crossed over my chest.

"I guess," He paused, "that we pray the dart hits Vegas, right?"

*

Of course Abel was great at darts, of course the dart ended up hitting Vegas dead center of the sign on the map he had bought at Wal-Mart.

"Well, I'm definitely coming with you two." Oliver said, looking back and forth between us, "God only knows what you two would do if you were alone." I blushed and Abel laughed as he flopped down on my bed.

"You guys realize you can do most of the list in Vegas right? The Tattoo, the partying, pretending to be a celebrity for day." Oliver pointed out, looking down at the list.

"Yep. That was my plan, bro." Abel responded, winking. Oliver seemed to notice something because he set the list down and pulled Abel's shirt up to reveal a scar stretching from his side to the middle of his toned stomach.

"Abe. . ." Oliver started. Abel shut his eyes and gently pushed his best friend's hand away.

"I'm fine, Oli. You're scaring Liv." Oliver shook his head, his face twisting in anger.

"They're beating you again?" I whispered.

It was no secret that Abel had been beaten as a child. There was no other way to explain the bruises under his eyes or the scratches on his back, let alone the way he would wince whenever someone lifted their hand as if he were about to get smacked.

"Just leave it alone." Abel growled, shooting my brother and me a glare. Oliver held his hands up in surrender and turned to me.

"I'll go pack, I suggest you start to as well." He ruffled my hair, walking out a second later whistling quietly to himself. I turned back to Abel on my bed, hoping to find his expression had softened. He still looked as if someone had offended him, his eyebrows pulled together in anger, his lips set in a thin line.

"You sure you're okay?" He nodded, his expression slowly starting to soften as I sat at the end of my bed.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm fine." He mumbled, resting his head against my fluffy white pillow. I stared at him for a while, trying to find some sort of fracture in the exterior he had built years ago.

"Abe?" I pushed one of his arms up and slid into the small spot between him and the edge of the bed, laying his hand back against my shoulder and squeezing it.

"I'm here, you know. You don't have to keep any secrets from me, I won't tell." He rested his head against my shoulder, his other hand buried deep in my blonde hair as he ran his hands through it.

"I know, Liv." He said.

"I'll always be here for you." I rolled over so I was facing him, my eyes stinging with tears when I saw just how broken Abel Hendricks really was.

"You can't promise that." He said. I ran my hand along the stubble on his cheek.

"I can, Abel." I breathed out, barely hearing myself, "I promise I'll always be here for you." He shook his head, his eyes fluttering shut so his eyelashes were touching my fingertips.

"I wish I could believe that." He opened his eyes again, "But you'll never love me as much as you love him."

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed! 

How do you feel about Abel? And what about their trip to Vegas? What do you think is going to happen? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

~ChasingMadness24