For Lucian, his parent's deaths had been the best news he'd ever heard. Harsh, normally death was something he wouldn't wish on anybody and if any of his peers knew his thoughts he had no doubts he would be seen as callous, cold and cruel, but they didn't know. He wasn't close enough with anybody here, at least not close enough that he had told them of his past, of how his parents had been. Drug addicts and drunks, unable to hold down jobs and relying on the government to provide for them, and he suspected more than a few criminal activities...he'd definitely seen his father turn up with wads of cash some nights, and he'd seen so many different wallets that the only conclusion he'd ever been able to draw is that among other things hid dad had to be mugging people. They'd gotten by, but he'd always had the bare minimum...tinned food heated on the stove when they had paid for the gas, pop tarts...going to school in faded, second-hand clothing and being bullied for it...it had been difficult to endure, and when his little sister had been born it hadn't been just for him but it had been for her too. Their parents had rarely been in any state to look after a newborn child, it had been a miracle that they'd managed to take care of him so at only 8 years old he'd had to do a lot of it himself.
That had been his life, for so long. At least once a week he had tried to talk to them, tried to appeal to whatever humanity they had left in them and a few times he thought he'd seen something in his mother...he'd definitely seen tears, she'd hugged him and Lexi close and promised to do better and for a few days she had tried...she hadn't done well but she'd tried, and then she'd turn up stoned or drunk again and everything went back to normal, or normal for them at least. Those few moments had helped, he supposed, at least they had been times where their mother had gotten more shopping in. Lucian himself had turned to stealing at some point, nothing major just shoplifting to get food for them, stealing chocolate bars as treats as Lexi had grown older and when he'd finished school, then college had come. Despite his situation at home and the bullying at school his grades had always been good, he'd applied to a lot of different colleges too but of course, he'd never been able to afford any of them and he didn't want to leave Lexi behind so he'd gone to the local college instead, and worked a part time job to help pay for himself. With his wages he'd tried to buy her better clothes, some better food, he'd learned early how to live on a budget for himself so for the first couple of weeks most of the money he didn't need to buy his college supplies had gone to her...but then they had found out. He'd kept the job a secret, made excuses for where he was going but one of them must have seen one of his cheques because suddenly they were demanding a cut for rent.
For a while even that he'd managed to put up with, it was worth it because he could come home every night and spend time with his sister, he could save what he could to treat her even if he was now paying half his paycheque to them, he'd lasted two whole years funding their drug habits and his own education and was approaching his twenty-first birthday when he'd graduated with honours and he'd started to look for a proper job. He knew what he wanted to do...his teachers had made a huge impact on his life, the reason he'd done so well in school was because they'd always helped, one in particular had even brought him lunch multiple times a week. He'd never told them the exact situation at home but they seemed to know it was bad anyway...and he wanted to be a teacher too. He'd applied for several jobs, most of them in public schools but it had been Eden Academy that had accepted him. Impressed with his grades they'd offered a paid TA position, with the caveat that it was a boarding school and teachers were required to live on the property. He'd fought with his parents for weeks over it, he wanted to go but to leave Lexi with them...he'd asked if he could take her with him, they never paid much attention to her anyway, they were never interested in raising a child but to them that wasn't what she was...she was a government cheque in human form, just like he'd been before he finished school. He'd come to blows with his dad, beaten him near to death after a particularly bad argument and left to go cool off. When he'd tried to go home, they'd been waiting for him. Threats of calling the police if he didn't leave, saying he'd tried to kill his own father, and they'd wanted money too...no amount of arguing or begging had helped, they wouldn't let him stay, they wouldn't let him take Lexi or even see her anymore and the best he'd managed to get is that if he kept paying, they would spend some of the money on her.
For the past six years that was how it had been. He'd sent them a sum of money every month, and in addition he'd gone to her school and paid for her school meals to be provided, but there was no more he could do. He'd tried to see her but he'd been threatened, they had proof of him assaulting his dad and a criminal record would lose him the opportunity he had at Eden, they'd probably get a restraining order too and go back to mistreating Lexi even worse. He gave them letters to give to her every week, he tried sending some through the post, he tried sending gifts for her birthdays...it killed him not to see her but he never felt he had a choice until he'd gotten the phone call about their deaths. His colleagues had given him their condolences...he'd been here for six years now, he wasn't an assistant anymore but a respected teacher with his own private lodgings instead of the shared dormitory of the teacher's assistants and he'd stored up enough good will that when he'd gone to the board with the request that she be allowed into the academy they'd voted in his favour...narrowly, but it had been enough. The Principal hadn't liked it, but thankfully it wasn't her decision, all decisions like this went through all of the teachers.
He was in class when he was notified that she'd arrived. She'd be staying with him in his private cottage since there was no more room in the dorms and he was both excited and nervous...anxious even. He'd never even had the chance to say goodbye to her, she'd been eleven years old when he'd had to leave, was seventeen now...he knew what she must think of him, he had felt guilty every day, she had constantly been on his mind and he didn't know how many of his letters and gifts she'd received but he'd never gotten a response. When he'd asked if she'd written one or had anything to say, they'd told him she hated him for leaving them...words that had cut deep. Finally he was done with class and his heart was pounding as he approached his cottage...his home...he even fumbled with the key at the lock, he was more nervous than he had been in his entire life when he entered and saw her sitting there on the sofa. Six long years...she'd grown up, wasn't the child he remembered but he could still see those features, her fiery hair like his own though even longer...she was skinny too, he'd expected that, he knew she wouldn't have been eating as well as she could. He fought back the tears, standing there in silence wearing some smart jeans, a deep green shirt and a brown jacket over it. "A-Alexandria...Lexi..." He didn't know what else to say. How did he begin to talk with her? What was the standard for a situation like this? "I've missed you...I'm glad you're here, I...are you hungry? We can order some food, you must be hungry, you look hungry..." He was babbling, he knew, he still hadn't moved from the doorway and was already reaching for his phone to order.
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