Lost Inside

Chris and Taylor

Chris looked angry while Taylor looked excited.

Both of them looked up. Chris frowned, seeing who walked in.

"Lauren? What are you doing here?" He stood up and walked towards them.

Lauren looked at his face before letting go of Dinah's hand and wrapped her arms around the boy.

"B'oder," Lauren muttered.

Normani stared at the boy and saw the conflicting battle within him. She wondered what he was thinking about.

Mrs. Diaz signaled for everyone to sit down, and they did.

Lauren sat down across from Taylor, who smiled at her. Lauren waved back.

"Who are you guys?" Chris asked, frowning as he looked at the women surrounding Lauren.

"We're Lauren's mothers."

"But our birth parents kept her. They wanted her, not us."

Lauren flinched. She shook her head.

"Your birth parents, they weren't good parents. They aren't good people. You guys got off lucky. You probably notice Lauren's delayed speech, her childish nature. Her parents caused that. They made sure Lauren was stunted," Dinah said in a soft voice.

"They did that?" Taylor asked, looking at Lauren.

"Lauren is older, she's seventeen. She was in the house with you guys."

"I don't remember another child," Chris said, a thoughtful look on his face.

"No, she was locked up in the attic."

"How did she get away?"

"She ran away a few months ago. We found her."

Chris turned to Lauren. "I'm sorry."

"No faul, i' okay."

Chris's eyes filled with tears. "When I was younger, I wanted to know about where I came from. Maybe if I tried, I could have saved you earlier."

Lauren reached for his hand. "I 'afe now. I 'appy now."

Chris let out a small laugh. "I may be younger, but I'll be your big brother from now on, okay?"

Lauren grinned. "Yes."

Taylor looked at the four mothers. "You've protected her?"

"Since she came to our lives," Camila told them with a nod.

"Thank you for protecting our sister," she said, giving them a smile.

"You don't have to thank us, we love taking care of Lauren," Dinah responded with a smile.

"You, uh, you family," Lauren said, "O'ana."

Taylor jumped up. "Lilo and Stitch!"

"Yes!"

-

"Baseball?"

"No."

"Call of Duty?"

"No."

"Monopoly?"

"No."

"Checkers?"

"No."

"What do you know?"

Lauren shrugged. "No know."

"What's 3 times 3?"

Lauren shook her head.

"Oh," Chris said, frowning a bit. "Well, um."

"We'll teach you," Taylor chipped in.

Lauren smiled, but it wasn't as big anymore. "'ow, uh, 'ow 'ife?"

Chris shrugged. "Can't complain. Mom and Dad love us. I work, saving up for college. I play baseball. Life has been really good. Tay?"

"I'm going to graduate middle school next year. I'm in the honors program."

"You 'mawt?"

Taylor shrugged, a small blush on her face. "Yeah, I guess so."

Lauren nodded. "'ood. I, uh, I 'appy."

"I'm happy too. We get a sister."

Chris wrapped his arms around Lauren. "You have us to protect you now, okay?"

"Okay," Lauren whispered.

"Do you want candy? I'm sure Mom and Dad wouldn't mind letting you have some," Chris offered.

"No!" All four of Lauren's mothers exclaimed.

"We do not giving Lauren candy. We do not need to take a hyper girl home," Ally said, shaking her head.

Chris laughed. His father placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't trust this kid. He used to sneak his sister candy before his baseball practice and left us to handle her."

"Hey, I sell, you guys deal with the aftermath."

-

Lauren watched as Chris and Taylor laughed and joked around. She watched as they were able to get their points across with no problem. She watched as they understood what was going on. She watched as they acted normal.

They were normal, while she wasn't. She wasn't normal. She wasn't stable. She was damaged. She was messed up. She knew that.

But she could try harder. She could try so much harder.

She could be normal.

-

This was just the first meeting.

Shit will sort of hit the fan now. Not as much as last time. But you can probably tell from that last line.

More debuts will be coming. One character next and another after and another. Demi and Selena will be returning soon with debuts then. So much to come.

I didn't want Taylor and Chris's adoptive parents to be famous people, because they won't be appearing soon. They aren't really important.

Before you ask, yes, Chris and Taylor will meet Hailee and Lucy. The chapter is called "The In-Laws." I haven't decided if as littles or bigs.

Question of the Day: Who is your favorite superhero and why?

My Answer: Supergirl. I love her story. It's similar to Superman's, but sadder. He came to Earth as a baby, Supergirl had lived on Krypton for years. Her whole life was shattered, and then she couldn't grieve for her planet until 24 years later when she arrived on Earth and had to adapt to a planet where it's technology was years behind. I just love her story. She's been my favorite since I was 13.

-Drunk Breadstick signing out, PEACE!