AU. Amanda, Jess, Charlie, and Willa are all sisters. Living alone. Amanda is 18, Charlie is 16, Jess is 11 and Willa is 7.

May or may not make a multichip out of this at a later date. Yes? No? This would be chapter one.

This would be the next REWIND, after I close up Rewind. AND REWIND WILL BE CLOSING SOON. Know what I mean? Next not-so-serious happy-ish fic. That's going to attempt to rip your heart out.

Will eventually be Famanda.

Amanda

The door slammed behind me.

"Jeez, Amanda. Bad night?" Jess laughed from the couch.

"Hey, Jessie." I muttered. I gave her a kiss on the forehead, dumping my jacket on her head so it covered her head. She giggled and threw it back, and I smiled. "Yeah, a bit of a bad night. Lots of weird people in the restaurant tonight."

"Ooh! Got any good stories!?"

"Hmmm…." I sat on the couch next to her. She sat cross-legged to face me. "Well there was this one guy, who walked in and tripped. And he fell right on Jeannie!"

"Jeannie is the mean one. Right?" Jess said eagerly. "Grumpy Jeannie!?"

"Grumpy Jeannie." I nodded. "And then, she spilled all of her food on her. She looked like a spaghetti monster."

Jess laughed, probably picturing Jeannie covered in red sauce and spaghetti with vampire fangs and hulk muscles. I smiled.

"Hm. Shouldn't you be asleep?" I said, suddenly remembering.

She squinted, like she was trying to remember something.

"Charlie said she'd put you to bed."

"Oh… Charlie just got home little while ago." She said, "Like ten minutes."

I closed my eyes, and sighed.

"Where is Charlie?"

"In her room. I wanted her to make me some cake but when I asked she wouldn't open the door and she said no. She said her head hurt. Charlie's gonna get in trou-ble…" She laughed.

I sighed. "Why don't you head on up to bed? I'll tuck you in in a minute."

"If Charlie made me cake, she wouldn't be in trouble, right?" She jumped off the couch, and ran up to her room.

I sighed.

"Charlie!" I yelled up the stairs.

Eventually, I heard the thudding of her feet on the ground.

"What? I've got a splitting headache."

"Why ever do you have a headache?" I muttered.

She hesitated. "Why do you think? Been taking care of the little rats for the past eight hours."

"It's only been seven, because Willa's school called and told me you were there an hour late. And Jess tells me you just got home."

"She's lying-"

"You smell like a highschool party."

She sighed in defeat.

"Everyone's alive! I was only there for like an hour anyway. They're fine. And I didn't do anything!"

"Charlie!"

"What! No harm no foul!"

"Charlie, you left our little sisters home to go to some dumb party! You smell like alcohol!"

"I didn't drink that much!"

"And you drove right home?"

"Yeah."

"Charlie!"

"What!? I came right home!"

"Do you not remember a drunk driver is what killed mom and dad!?"

This shut her up for a second.

"Be-…Because some stupid idiot made terrible choices, our parents are dead! Because of his bad choices, we're now living off of the minimum wage paycheck of an eighteen-year-old girl, and the money from the will! Charlie, it's pretty damn hard right now. And I can't lose anyone else!"

Charlie looked at me, tears in her eyes.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Char. It's just… Charlie, you're sixteen. I need you to make better choices. I love you, okay? I don't want you hurt. And, what if the house caught fire? Do you think Jess would be able to concentrate long enough to tell the firemen Willa's in here? Or even, if the social workers find out we left an eleven-year-old and a seven-year-old in the house alone, they'd take all three of you from me for sure."

"I'm sorry."

I sighed.

"It's… It's alright, Char. Just, please don't do this again. This is becoming a weekly thing."

She bit her lip.

"Go get some sleep, Char." I whispered. She nodded, and got up to leave. I stood, to go find Jess. But suddenly, Charlie turned around and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry I make things difficult." She whispered.

I kissed her cheek; she was getting way too tall for me to reach her forehead.

"I know you don't mean it. You just want to have fun. But can't, like,… physics club, or something, be fun?"

"I think we both know the answer to that." She laughed.

"Mh. I tried."

"Besides, Manda, Pat Marrow is in physics club."

"Oh no, not Pat Marrow." I laughed.

She sighed.

"If you knew Pat Marrow," She muttered, walking away. "You wouldn't have even thought Physics club."

I laughed.

"Night, Char."

"Night, Manda."

I sighed, getting off the couch. I pulled some pajamas out of the laundry bin and changed in the kitchen, because really. Who wants to walk all the way to the bathroom.

I crept into Jessie's room, as she was already asleep on top of the bed, sideways. I lifted her up, with some difficulty, and slid her under the covers, pulling the blankets up to her chin. I kissed her forehead, and crept out.

I opened the door to my room and flicked on the lights, not at all surprised to see the small frame of a seven-year-old under the blankets.

"Manda?"

"Hey, Wills."

"I waited up for you, Manda. I wanted to see you today…"

That almost broke my heart. Today was one of the not-so-uncommon days that I had started work before she got out of school and ended after her bedtime.

"Well, I'm here now, hun. It's way past your bedtime."

"I know…" She muttered. I sighed, picking her up, a hand under her butt, one on her back, and carrying her back to Charlie's room (the two shared the room; I used to share with Charlie, and she used to share with Jess, but Jess wanted her own room and I now slept in our parent's bed. Charlie didn't mind. Most of the time.)

"Hey, little girl." Charlie whispered when I carried Willa in.

"Charlie, where were you?" Willa whined. "Th-there was a thunderstorm, Charlie… I was scared…"

I looked at Charlie, whose face was drowning in guilt.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Charlie whispered.

"That's okay, Charlie." She whispered. Charlie looked down at her lap.

I lay Willa down on her bed- really, my own bed. Something crinkled, like she had lay on a piece of paper.

"Manda!" She screeched, now wide awake and jumping off the bed.

"What!?" I nearly yelled. Charlie had come running over, as well.

She pulled back the covers, revealing a photo on her bed. She snatched it up.

"Y-you wrinkled it! You broke it, Manda!" she yelled. Tears began to leak out of her eyes.

"Willa!" I crouched in front of her. "What? What did I break?"

I slowly took the photo out of her hand and stood, so Charlie could see it, too. It was a picture of our family- parents and all- in front of the Disney World castle.

I bit my lip.

"Wills…" I whispered. Charlie gingerly took the photo. Her hands were shaking. "Willa, it's… It's just a photo."

"I-It's the last photo! The l-last one we all took! When everybody was happy!" She sobbed.

I pulled her into a hug, and she buried her face in my stomach, since that's as tall as she was. I picked her up.

"Willa, everyone will be happy again soon. Are you sad?" I whispered.

She nodded, bursting into a second round of tears. I pulled her into a tight hug.

"Man-Manda… C-Can I sl-sleep wi-with you please?" she managed to get out between sobs.

"Of course, hun."

"A-And… And.. Charlie?"

"Yeah, I'll come sleep in the big bed with you two." She whispered, kissing Willa's forehead. She stood behind me, and let her head rest on my shoulder, so she was now eye-level with Willa.

"You will?"

"Yeah, I will."

"You promise not to leave again?"

"I promise, Wills." Charlie muttered, a bit choked up.

Willa lay in between us. She insisted we left the light on, because the thunder was scaring her. So, I couldn't sleep. Charlie's eyes were closed, her arm draped around the tiny Willa (also asleep).

The door slowly opened. Jess wandered in, and closed the door behind her. She looked up, seeing all of us in the same bed.

"Havin' a party without me." She shook her head. "I'll remember this one."

I laughed. "Come here, ya weirdo." I lifted the blanket up. She slid onto the bed, and curled into me.

"Night Manda."

"Goodnight."

I closed my eyes.

"I love you, Manda." She whispered.

"I love you too, Jessie."

…

Sooo yeah, read the author's note at the beginning. This is probably going to be my new story. Rewind's closing.

Yup.

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It's Alternate Universe.

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Really, I think that was adorable.

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