Memories danced through Jane's mind as she sat on the floor, with her back against the door. An empty syringe sat a few feet from her. It appeared to leer up at the young woman - snickering at the memories of Jane's childhood it brought. 

Vivid images of the trap house she had once called home beckoned her back within its walls. She remembered her strung-out parents lying over each other on the couch. How Jane was often left alone; hungry and afraid. Strangers would come and go as they wished. Each of them overlooked the child in need. 

Her blood relatives weren't any better.

Jane's relatives had abandoned the Blairs. Her aunts and uncles had nothing to do with them. Jane understood why they gave up on her parents: they never changed. Even at the end of their lives, they choose the drugs. So Jane couldn't blame her relatives for giving up on their siblings but did they have to give up on Jane as well?

'Of course, they had to.' Jane tilted her head back, letting the coolness of the wooden frame ease the tension in her neck. 'Because I'm not Aubrey...'  She stared at the food that now covered her floors and kitchen island. She would need to clean that up soon. 

Aubrey Blair, Jane's older sister, was taken out of that trap house by their relatives while Jane was left to rot. Aubrey Blair was the 'blessed' child: the one loved by all. She was a beauty in her days with big gorgeous blue eyes and a lovely figure. Aubrey was bright and hard-working - the one people had hoped would make it big in this world. The one who wouldn't turn out like her family...the street rats.

'How ironic life is.' Jane mused, remembering that once upon a time, she looked up to her big sister as well. Jane could say she had somewhat envied Aubrey back then. However, the present was a different story.

To everybody's disappointment; Aubrey Blair didn't meet her relative's standards for a 'better' life. She ended up going down the same path as her and Jane's parents. It started with chronic migraines that needed some relief. Unfortunately, Aubrey turned to their junkie mother for remedies. The need for pain 'relief' advanced from there. Aubrey hid it for a while but eventually, what's in the dark will come to the light. Now, it was painfully obvious what Jane's sister was.

Which brought Jane's mind to just an hour ago. She had returned home from work and found her sister sitting on her front steps, dozing off. Jane's once beautiful sister was now queasily rail-thin. Those radiant blue eyes were now dull and sunken; her face was now marred with sores and self-inflicted wounds.

If Jane could, she would distance herself from anything that remotely reminded her of her childhood, but she knew that was impossible. Aubrey was her sister and Jane couldn't bring herself to fully turn her away. That's how Jane ended up sitting at her island table, watching her older sister devour the food Jane ordered for her.

Watching her sister eat, Jane couldn't help but see Aubrey more as an animal than a human. Her older sister was merely surviving now. Now she lived solely to seek out her next fix. The only time she came around was for food, and to Jane's dismay, steal her valuables again. 'Same with the parents.' Jane thought bitterly. 'They would steal my stuff too and pawn them...I could never have nice things with them around.'

Last time, her sister stole her jewelry. She had some rings her grandfather gave her before his death. They were heirlooms Jane had managed to hide from her parents. Aubrey, however, found them during her last visit and took them. 

Jane wasn't able to track them. "Make sure you take some food when you leave," Jane spoke, getting her sister's attention. "Take enough for your breakfast tomorrow, ok?"

Aubrey tilted her head, confused. "I'm not staying here for the night?"

"No." Jane shook her head. She had learned the hard way that extending Aubrey's stay would lead to her clothes and anything else missing. She didn't have the finances to buy new clothes if Aubrey aimed to steal them. 

"But...I'm your sister." Aubrey stated incredulously. 

'Here we go with the guilt trip.' Jane had also learned over the years that it was wise to harden her heart in this kind of situation. 'Don't enable her behavior.' She reminded herself. Jane would not let herself be manipulated again - never again. "You have a drug problem, Aubrey, and you refuse to get help." And Jane was worn out, trying to help her sister get help.

"Don't turn this on me," Aubrey growled with food still in her mouth. Jane winced, disgusted by the sight. "I know I have a problem but isn't that enough reason to let me crash here? I need your help, Jane." She smirked when Jane didn't respond. Pushing a bit further, she mocked, "You'll turn your back on your sister?"

"Like you turned your back on your son?" Jane had tried keeping it civil, but hearing Aubrey throw the abandonment card struck a nerve. It effectively wiped that smirk off Aubrey's face. "Funny how you gingerly forgot about Lyon."

"You won't let me see him." Aubrey defended.

"When?" Jane countered. "I never stopped you from seeing your son." Jane exerted herself over the years to help Aubrey get clean. She set her sister up in rehab: she tried coaxing her sister to get clean with invites to Lyon's birthday parties and school functions. Though Jane indeed shared custody of her nephew wither her brother-in-law, she had never tried to keep her nephew from his mother. "You blew off every opportunity Hal and I gave you to see him. If anything, you forfeited your right as his mother."

"He's mine!" Aubrey chucked mashed potatoes at her sister's face. "I birthed him - you didn't! I loved him, Jane, and you stole him!" She leaned in so close to her sister, that Jane could see how rotten Aubrey's teeth were now. Aubrey continued yelling. "It was jealousy, wasn't it? You were nothing but a street rat before you got this secretary job. You were trash before and you just waited to steal everything from me - didn't you? Jokes on you, Jane. You're still nothing but a street rat. You'll never be nothing more than that."

This wasn't her sister. Jane refused to believe this thing barking at her was once her older sister who used to grace her with a smile. Wiping the potatoes off her face, Jane informed her, "It's late and I need to get up for work early. It's time you leave."

"How can you treat me like this?!" Aubrey backed off, appalled by Jane's indifference.

"Because you're not my sister." Jane shot back, albeit calmly. "You're sick, Aubrey, and you need professional help. Now, please leave."

"I - I need to use the bathroom first."

"Make it fast." Jane knew it was a lie, but allowed her sister to walk down her hall to the bathroom. Sure enough, five minutes later, she could hear Aubrey rummaging around in her room.

Coming to the door, Jane found her sister in her closet with boxes on the floor. "I don't have any more valuables, Aubrey." She informed, startling her sister. "Now if you're done with the 'bathroom', leave while I'm still being civilized." When all her sister did was stare, she softly pleaded, "Don't make me use force."

Her sister admitted defeat. As plain as Jane seemed, she wasn't weak. Jane could easily overpower her older sister. "You're horrible, Jane. I hope you remember that." Aubrey stormed out. Jane followed, making sure her sister didn't try anything else.

Closing the door behind Aubrey, Jane sighed, and now here she was; drained and saddened. Aubrey didn't realize her syringe fell out of her pocket, and now it stared up at Jane.

'At least Lyon will never have to endure what I had...ever again.' Jane's heart broke remembering the day she learned the truth about her sister. She had gone to see her at her apartment. It had been a year after Lyon was born and Jane hadn't seen him yet. Aubrey had forbidden Jane from seeing the newborn because her husband couldn't stand Jane. After, Aubrey and Hal divorced: her sister gained custody and Jane figured she could come around now.

Jane regretted that she hadn't visited sooner. Her sister was strung out on the couch while baby Lyon cried in his crib. He was too thin: his little ribs jutted through his skin. There were needles and dirty diapers everywhere. When Jane brought him to the hospital, she learned he was malnourished and neglected.

The doctors told her it was a miracle her baby nephew was even alive. That day, Jane knew she had to get involved. She reported her sister for drug use and child endangerment. From then on, Jane promised to look after her nephew. She would be there for Lyon, unlike her aunts and uncles. She would not leave her precious blood to fend for himself.

Her ringtone brought her mind back to the present. Checking the caller ID, she saw it was Hal. "Hey." She gathered herself. "What's up?"

"Hey, Jane." Lyon's father answered, flustered. "I have a favor to ask. I know you're pretty busy but I have a meeting tomorrow around 3 that I can't dip out of. Would you mind picking up Lyon?"

"I don't mind at all." Jane's voice softened. "For Lyon, I can put off work."

Hal sighed, relieved. "I do appreciate it, Jane. Thank you so much. I'm so blessed to have your help."

"I'm the one that's blessed." Jane smiled, picturing her little nephew. She could use one of his hugs right now. "I'll pick him up tomorrow and bring him to my job, ok?"

"Yes, thanks again. Goodbye."

"Bye." After hanging up, Jane pushed herself off the floor. She had a long day tomorrow, and the faster she cleaned up the mess - the faster she could go to bed.