Chapter One - By My Side

"El... Open your eyes. Look what brother has made for his El so painstakingly." Christan called out to his little sister who was sprawled like a bedsheet on her bed, holding a cake in his hands and smiling at her.

Elena unaware of her brother's hardwork, whined, refusing to even open her eyes. "Brother... Let me sleeeeeeeppppp."

Seeing, the disobedient behavior of his kitten, he couldn't help but frown as he placed the cake on the bed but thinking of her tiredness from yesterday because of her pushing his wheelchair around. He decided to call out to her more gently this time hoping she would wake up and give him some of her attention which he desired greatly at the moment.

"El, wake up now. Come on. Brother wants you to see what he has made for you."

"NO! I WANNA SLEEP!" Elena screamed as she raised her leg and thrashed it on the bed to show her anger. Fortunately, for Christan he removed the cake before she her leg came crashing down onto his cake destroying it completely but the unintentional action didn't go unrewarded as Christan screamed at Elena for the very first time.

"ELENA! GET UP NOW!"

"BROTHER HOW CAN YOU SHOUT AT ME!?" A startled Elena sat up on her and started throwing pillows to ease her frustration as began the series of Christan dodging them while protecting the cake and begging his little kitten to calm down.

"El... Calm down. Listen to brother. Okay?"

"NO! NO! NO! NO!" Elena screamed as she ran out of pillows but began throwing her stuff toys present on the bed at him. Christan who was expecting her to calm down didn't expect a stuffed bunny coming his way and by the time he could have reacted towards the toy it had already destroyed the cake he had made while thinking of his little one's happy face.

For a moment, the room got drenched in silence. The kind of silence which makes you want to dig a grave for yourself. But it didn't last long as a scream soon erupted in the room filled with warm sunlight.

"ELENA!" Christan's voice filled with anger as Elena squirmed under his scrutinizing gaze, finally realizing the trouble and pain she had caused her brother due to her stubbornness.

She didn't like it. She didn't like the way her brother was looking at her at all, right now. For Elena who loved her brother knew all too well that she would rather have her brother kill her than look at her with disappointment.

"Brother... I..."

"Look what have you done. Just look! All the handwork your brother put in baking the cake for you is now scattered across the floor." Christan shouted at the fragile little doll sitting on the bed, head hung low and tears threatening to rain down any moment from those heavily clouded eyes.

"I'm sor-" Elena attempted again at her chance for her brother's forgiveness but he wasn't having any of her bullshit anymore. He was done. Done, bored and tired of the childishness of his whimpering, frightened kitten.

"Don't you dare. Your words are nothing but empty apologizes. I'm tired of this. I don't want a sister like you. Criola is far much better than you."

"Brother, listen to me please." Elena begged her brother holding his hand as tears streamed down her eyes. Wishing, if only she could go back in time...

"No! From now onwards you are not my sister. Under any case, you wouldn't have been if your mother didn't marry my father." Christan spat the words which landed straight on Elena's heart shattering it into a million pieces. No! She never wanted this.

"Brother please, I am sorry. Please don't leave me."

"Let me go, Elena!" Christan said as he jerked off Elena's hand, leaving her in broken pieces on the ground as left the room slamming the door shut.

Her brother was gone. She wanted to run after him. Apologize over and over again until he forgave her but everything started turning black as she was frozen to ground. Not that she didn't want to move. She did. She did desperately want to move but she couldn't. She just couldn't.

"BROTHER!"

As the scream left her mouth her eyes shot open as she found herself in the same room , she turned her head as she saw the face of brother covered in worry rather than disappointed. There was no cake on the floor. The sun hasn't risen yet it was two in the morning.

Tears streamed down Elena's face as she realized everything she saw was a dream. A bad bad dream. Nothing has happened. Her brother was still beside her. Everything was fine. It was alright.

"Elena?" Christan, who had come into his little sister's room only to refill her water bottle but ended up seeing her in such a vulnerable state called out to his little sister in the most gentle manner, worried he could break her with a slight raise in his voice as he saw her face drenched in tears and her little body shivering. Seeing her like this made him want to kill the person who was the cause of it. But his rage came to a halt as his little kitten hugged him moving to the edge of the bed. In that moment, it was just him and her. Nothing else existed.

"Brother!"

"El... Shhhh... Don't cry. Brother is here, little one. It's all fine. Calm down, come on." Christan stroked the hair of his little kitten as he whispered sweet nothings in her ears, an attempt to calm her down but it only succeeded in making her cry harder and making him more miserable than he already was.

"Brother! Brother!"

"El, have some water. Brother is here." Christian said as he reached for the bottle he placed on her nightstand not too long ago, opened its cap and gently placed the mouth near his kitten's trembling lips. Once, his kitten has quenched her thirst and pushed the bottle away, sobbing quietly he probed further into her heart-wrenching situation. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"En." Elena replied with a slight not as she silently wiped her tears but her body was still trembling from fear making Christan's heart and stomach twist and turn in the most uncomfortable positions.

"Want to tell Brother what was it about?" He asked as he petted her long ebony black hair. As he got a shaken reply hearing which scattered his heart into a million pieces.

"Brother left me all alone."

"El, that's never ever going to happen. Brother is never going to leave El's side." Christan couldn't find any words other than this to comfort his little kitten shaking on the top of the while sheets.

"Promise, brother?" Elena questioned her brother with eyes as wide as the moon. At the moment, reminding Christan of the promise ring he never once took off his hand since yesterday.

"Did you forget the promise rings of yesterday, El? Look, brother is still wearing it. Does that make you feel any better?" Christan asked as he held out his hand for his little kitten to see as she clutched onto it as if it was her oxygen.

"Yea. I'm sorry brother, I should have never doubted you." Elena spoke in a shaken voice.

"No, sweetie. It's all right. Happens. Would El feel better if Brother slept beside her?" Christan asked looking as Elena with a look so gentle as if he was handling something even more fragile than glass at the moment.

"Yes!" Elena replied, excitedly as her grip tightened on his hand.

"Then, help brother get on the bed."

"Yes, brother." Elena instantly replied as she helped her brother on the bed, pulled the blanket over them and slid into her brother's embrace. Slowly fading into the darkness with the scent of spring trees lingering in her nose making her feel comfortable, peaceful and warm.

With a thought lingering in her mind, what if the sun never rose? Could they stay like this forever?