A/n: So, it was requested that I write a third-person, one PoV story, so this whole story will be from the PoV of Harper Annesley (header picture). I'm not very good at third person, so I hope I do ok! I'll try to keep the amount of A/n updates to a minimum, since I did a lot in my other fanfic and I know how annoying they can be. Anyways, hope you enjoy! Feel free to ask me any questions!

The mirror fell to the floor with a crash, pieces of its glass flying around the floor. Harper laid her head on the wall where it once hung and started hitting it against the light blue sheetrock.

"It's not your fault," she murmured, "It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault... " she trailed off before bursting into tears. Tears she would never let anyone see. She was supposed to be the tough one. The strong one. And crying definitely didn't come across as "strong" .

Suddenly someone started pounding on the door, causing Harper to jump, luckily without her bare feet touching the shattered pieces of what used to be a mirror. "Harper!" Harper's older sister called , still hammering on the door, "Harper, what did you do?! Mom's gonna be so mad if you don't clean up whatever you broke this time!"

" You're gonna break my door if you keep knocking like that, Bailey! " Harper yelled back as she quickly wiped the tears off her face, resulting in the pounding to stop.

"Well, you'd better hurry! Mom called and said she'll be home in 5 to 10 minutes, and she also said today is Room Check."

" Every day is Room Check, " Harper muttered under her breath as Bailey's footsteps retreated down the hall, most likely to the boys' room. Thomas and Hayden, Harper's 9 year old twin brothers had to share a room, since their mom used the last bedroom as an "office", which only made sense when you took into consideration that the room that was supposed to be an office was being used as a closet. Luckily, the boys were okay with its setup, for now.

We really need to do something about mom, Harper thought as she knelt down to pick up the shards, scattered throughout the soft carpet, She's getting out of control! Why can't she just stop worrying about it?

Quickly and carefully, Harper scooped the sharp piece into her hand before dumping them into a bag. She'd broken many things before in anger, and now was very skilled at cleaning up almost anything she'd destroyed. Once every piece was off the floor, she knotted the bag shut and slid open her bedroom window. Skillfully, she hopped out into the roof and walked across it until she was above the trash can.

When Thomas opened the door to bring the trash out, he looked up and saw Harper kneeling there. He knew the drill, and didn't make a sound as he opened the canister. He held it open for a few seconds longer than he needed to, so Harper could drop her bag inside. She gave a smile of thanks before heading back to her window. Their mother had set up security lasers in front of the door that could scan your DNA and get your ID which it sent to their mom's phone. She didn't allow anyone to go outside except for whoever was taking out the trash, and she always made sure they were out for a decent amount of time. That's why Harper often used the window. It was a trick her father had taught her.

Harper sat on her windowsill, the thought of her father bringing back sad memories. Mom, why can't you do ONE THING to help us be normal kids?! We used to be such a happy family! What happened to you?

Harper looked down the street and quickly hopped back into her room when she saw the cloud of dust only a car can cause coming closer. She slid her window shut and grabbed what remained of the mirror, sticking it nearly under her bed, where everything else she's broken hid. Their mother never thought to look under the bed, since she'd put sensors there too, but they were easy to remove and Harper had put hers as high as she could reach in one corner so it would never go off, allowing her to hide whatever she wanted below it.

There was a knock at the door, which was strange, since mom always used the doorbell, and even then she usually expected someone to already have opened the door to let her in. Harper gave the blankets on the side of her bed one last tug to hide what she'd done before, before hustling down the stairs. Surprisingly,she was the first one down, so she pulled the door open before gasping.

The person at the door wasn't Harper's mom. No, it was a tan skinned man dressed in a white and grey uniform. His brown, curly hair blew gently in the soft wind, and his his hope filled, ice blue eyes sparkled as he grinned.

Harper took a small step back before running up to the man at the door and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Dad!" She exclaimed with a gasp, causing the man to chuckle .

"Ha! I'm guessing you missed me, Starshine? "

Harper was to happy to care about the nickname. When she was younger, She's been annoyed that he didn't call her "Sunshine" or "Moonlight" like he'd called the others, but now she was happy for her own name, "Oh, no! I didn't miss you one bit!" She replied sarcastically, "You can leave now!"

Her father laughed again, and Harper was so happy to hear his laugh again. The house hadn't had much happiness after their dad had gone on a really long business trip, and the stress had been killing Harper for the past two weeks, actually resulting in a few days sick from school, which their mom didn't like, if course.

Bailey must've recognized his laugh too, because she ran down the stairs so fast it looked like she was jumping. She ran into his arms as her father put Harper down.

"Where have you been?!" She cried as he hugged her.

" I told you! I went on a business trip! "

"You've been gone for 3 years! "

The memories of those three lonely years hit Harper like a tidal wave, many of them full of questions. "Um, dad," Harper started, "What job are you doing that caused you to be gone for THREE WHOLE YEARS!?! "

Harper's dad put his hands up in defence, "Woah, look who's gotten angry!"

" Well, that's probably because I had to fill your shoes after you left us! " Harper pointed out.

He sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry, really! It's just, my job is part of the government, and it's really classified!"

It was Harper's turn to sigh, " Well, can you at least do something to make it up to me? "

"Anything."

" How about you resolve that argument you had with mom all those years ago? You know, the one you got into right before you left? "

"How do you know about that?" Her asked, curiously.

" We all heard it. You know, for someone as secretive as you, you're pretty loud when you talk to mom. "

"That's because she doesn't listen."

" And I won't listen to you until you promise. "

Her father sighed again, "I promise. Come on, let's go talk to your brothers! I haven't seen them since they were six!"

" Or I was 10, " Harper pointed out.

"Or I was 12," Bailey added.

" Okay! I know I have some catching up to do,and I know you're mad at me, Harper. But, I just wanted to see you guys again. So please, can we move on? "

Even though Harper nodded, her heart betrayed her. What are you really up to, dad? Where exactly have you been? And why is your job so "classified", you can't even tell your family? She sighed, I will figure it out. If it's the last thing I do.

How did you like Chapter 1? What do you think of Harper? Bailey? Their mom and dad? I just want to know how you feel about each character so far. I'll try to update later today or tomorrow, depending on how busy I am. See you next chapter!