"We can't wait for them to open up it will take too long." Daniel said.
"But if we force it out of them then they may never trust us again or even hate us." Gracen argued his eyes holding the worry he refused to show in his expression.
"It's normal for kids to hate their guardians at times. It'll be fine once they realize that we were doing what is the best for them." Daniel retorted
"They can't realize it's best for them if it isn't. Face it Daniel we are out of our depth with them. We need to do more research on other abuse cases, anxiety attacks and other situations that may occur. We should have done that earlier, but a part of me hoped that they hadn't been hurt that bad. And then once I realized how severe the situation was I thought that it would be better to pass the buck to the psychiatrist. However we all know how well that conversation went." Gracen's expression turned guilty while he was talking. He was the one how put them in this situation and he wasn't being responsible older brother. Remaining silent Daniel contemplated Gracen's word. He admitted that he had most of the responsibility for the situation going south so quickly and letting his pride convince him that he knew how to deal with the situation.
"I agree with you we are out of our depth we need to do some research and maybe we could consult a psychiatrist about what we observe. They should be able to give us a more thorough plan to help them recover. But I'm not ruling out confrontation if this doesn't work or not knowing puts them in danger we are going through with the interrogation regardless if they hate our guts afterwards." Daniel stated
Both of the seemed to relax once they had some sort of plan.
"Hunter is observant we should hand that reporting to him I'll do some research about the abuse cases and what to expect, I can then compile a summary for you and Hunter. You can get ahold of a psychiatrist who can work with us like this and can report what Hunter finds out." Gracen said
Daniel nodded it may seem that he had the least amount to do and he did, but he was in charge of a company. Besides Hunter and Gracen were perfect for the jobs they were assigned.
"Let's go. I'll make the popcorn and meet you on the game room." Gracen informed Daniel. Daniel began to protest, but a pointed look from Gracen had him nodding and placing the loose papers on his desk in their appropriate folders.
Even before Daniel opened the door he was informed of the progress inside. Excited voices shouted instructions rapidly and the background music was blasting. Opening the door he glanced in and couldn't help but smile. Hunter had a control and seemed to be winning, Drew also having his own control noticed and proceeded to try and sabotage, but in the process his on cart fell of the map. Artie was trying to help Delia figure out the controls, but his competitive spirit was making it hard for him to give clear instructions, and his lack of experience wasn't helping. Delia looked the most relaxed out of all of them although she was intently staring at the screen and attempting to follow the instructions her younger brother issued.
The first person to notice he was there was Drew. Drew frustrated gaze at his failed attempt to disturb Hunter dissolved to one of panic and worry. Daniel frowned sure he hadn't spent a lot of time with them but he didn't know they were scared of him. Drew said a word it sounded like "abalabert" which didn't make any sense. However it got Delia and Artie's attention. They both turned and saw him Artie had look of indifference but the look of panic in his blue eyes matched Drew's. Delia looked at him her gaze was indifferent too, but it a different sort of indifference it was cautious, but she didn't show any particular interest in his existence. She even turned around and continued to play.
"Why are you here? We're we too loud? We can turn it down" Artie spewed his panic obvious.
"No, nothing is wrong I just thought I would watch. Gracen will be here soon too and he is bringing some popcorn." Daniel said his voice softening from its usual monotone.
Delia's head turned slightly at the mention of popcorn. Quickly she signed something to the twins it most have been something good because the twins eyes took on an excited glint.
"What did she say Arthur?" Daniel asked
"She was reminding of us a book she read to us as kids about someone accidentally making a ton of popcorn. It was one of our favorites and always made us wonder about what popcorn tasted like." Artie responded quickly the hours they had spent asking questions earlier today helping him answer smoothly. His words weren't as calculated as they usually were and he had a relaxed tone as he talked.
Drew nodded frantically agreeing with his brother.
"You've never had popcorn?" Hunter asked
"Are choices were very limited." Drew answered quietly.
"Did you know that you can add flavoring to popcorn to make it taste differently and you can even add Carmel to it?" Hunter asked skillfully changing the subject.
Delia, Drew and Artie shook their heads negatively. Their view of the world was somewhat limited most of the information was gathered from books the managed to read and what they could learn from school. They knew plenty about history, art forms and math. But modern society was not something they knew much about.
Gracen walked in carrying several bowls filled with popcorn and some melted butter and salt as well as cheddar seasoning he always used. The Drew and Hunter shared a bowl of plain butter and salt. Artie decided to share a bowl with Gracen and try the cheddar flavoring. Delia tried a bit of both bowls and couldn't make up her mind so ended up sitting in between the two groups to snack on both. Daniel didn't care for popcorn much and only grabbed a handful of plain popcorn before his siblings added anything to the bowls. The Wii was ignored in favor of the popped kernels. After they finished the popcorn, Gracen sent all of them to bed as he brought the bowls to the kitchen.
Delia followed behind him. Noticing her Gracen asked "Do you need something? Some water? I should have grabbed some water bottles earlier but I forgot."
Delia shook her head before pulling out the board from her back.
Thank you, for taking care of us and spending time with us today the twins enjoyed it a lot.
"No problem, little sis I'm glad I got to know you all a little better." Gracen said a smile on his face. Delia nodded and headed upstairs for what Gracen assumed was a restful slumber. He was right about the slumber part unfortunately he was horribly wrong about the other part.
YOU ARE READING
I Am Here (UNEDITED)
General Fiction*Completed, but unedited* Delia, a 13-year-old girl lives with her abusive parents and her eight-year-old twin brothers. She shields them from the cruelties of their parents as much as she can. The twins try to provide her with support but they are...
