Status: This is no longer being updated because I am doing a complete rewrite. Read A/N at the bottom of chapter 20 to find out a little more.

Lost & Found Book 1

Chapter 18 Flashbacks

A/N----

So I just gotta ask - on a scale of one to ten - Whadya think of me story? Just thought I'd ask... hope you like this chap... now read! O and I figured I'd do this chappy of two flashbacks... going between Carmen and Colin... :D

Boń Apetiť(I think that's how that's done)

---Unknown PoV---

-Ten years ago-

"Mommy mommy!" cried a little girl of six years, wearing a light blue dress that had a little bit of sand and dirt on it, running towards a woman sitting under a tree at the park. She looked up at the child with sadness in her brown eyes. The child tripped and placed her hands in front of her, landing in her mother's lap. Looking up the child saw that her mother was crying, she brought her tiny hand up and wiped away the tear streaks on her mother's face before asking what was wrong. She shook her head and picked the child up. The child squealed in surprise as her mother sat her in her lap. Both had curly brownish-auburn hair and warm brown eyes. The child smiled and watched as all the other children played with each other, ignoring the little girl and her mother who were sitting under a nice and shady tree. The little girl hear her mother sigh and twisted around so she could see her mother, who had her eyes closed and brows pulled together in concentration, "Mommy? What's wrong? Why are you sad?" The child asked innocently and curiously. Her mother, Sophia, shook her head, making her curls bounce around.

"Carmen, dear," her mother started before pausing. She took a deep breath and looked at the child, whose brown eyes matched her own, and smiled a little. "I know you may or may not remember this when you're older, but I have to tell you."

Carmen frowned a little before she started to reach for a dandelion. Her mother smiled and plucked the flower from the ground and placed it in her daughter's hair.

"You have an older identical twin brother, his name's Colin." Sophia paused, looking up at the cardinal that had landed on the branches above them. "He was taken, shortly after the two of you were born."

Carmen looked at her mother, her brown eyes wide with surprise. "Who took him?" The child asked, her voice barely a few notches above a whisper. Sophia looked down at her daughter and smiled sadly before saying, "My younger twin sister." Carmen nodded and laid against her mother, starting to feel sleepy.

"She sounds like a meanie, keeping me away from him." Sophia laughed loudly at Carmen's statement and rocked her daughter to sleep. Just as the child had fallen asleep her mother whispered, "You have no idea how right you are dear child."

---Colin's PoV---

-Several days before his rescue-

"Colin! Get your useless ass over here and clean this mess up!" I jumped at hearing my so called aunt shout for me, I quickly made my way to her only to see the mess that she was talking about was the mud that was on her boots that was dirtying the floor. I nodded my head and quickly cleaned the mess, she looked down at me with disgust evident on her features. I gulped knowing she was watching my every move. As I finished I got up but kept my head bowed down. I soon heard a hmph and she started down the hall making even more of a mess, I rolled my eyes and cleaned the mess she was making quickly before she found another reason to hit me, my ribs were still sore from when I questioned her orders last week. I shuddered at the memory of each hit. I ended up nearly blacking out several times, but forced myself to stay awake else I might have gotten beaten that was worse than what I had gotten. I watched as Jade kicked off her boots before she entered her office leaving me to pick them up, clean the mud off of them then place them next to her door as quickly as possible. I finished cleaning the trail of mud and looked at the clock, I quickly stood and knocked on the office door.

"Enter!" was the sharp order that came through, I hurried inside and kept my head down waiting for her to acknowledge my presence. I waited for a few minutes, keeping my gaze to the hardwood floors, before hearing the familiar creek of the the chair leaning back. "What do you want," Jade sneered.

I felt her harsh glare and refused to look up before stuttering, "I-I need to get started on dinner, is there anything you'd prefer?"

I continued to stand still, not once raising my head or even moving in the slightest, no matter how uncomfortable I was.

"The others are ordering out tonight, I shall eat with them, so you are spared from cooking dinner. But you still have chores that need done and dishes cleaned when we are done eating," Jade spat out before dismissing me from her 'oh so holy presence'. I got to work doing laundry, and then cleaning the play room. by the time I had finished cleaning up the play-dough covered carpet and crayon marked walls, I was exhausted. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I finished the dishes, so I crept through he halls quickly, making my way down to the kitchen. Letting out a breath of relief when I saw no one was in there I walked over to the sink and started scrubbing the dishes, putting them on the dish rack to air dry briefly while I wiped down the counters and swept the floors. I put the cleaning items away and put the dishes away. I made my way out the back door and to the ratty old shed in the backyard. I stepped inside and almost passed out when the scent of rot reached my nose, I turned on the light and found the source to be a decaying raccoon body on my pillow. Scowling I picked my pillow up and took it to the garbage bagging it and leaving it in the can. Then headed back to my shed and allowed myself to pass out on the bed after shutting the light out.