Third POV.
Roman woke up early the next morning and headed to the kitchen. When he passed the living room door though, he saw light coming from under the door.
Opening the door a bit, he saw the TV was turned on and a little person was laying on the couch. Her one leg and an arm on the back of the couch while the other leg and arm hung down and a blanket on the floor.
A big smile made its way to his lips as he saw her sleeping peacefully.
"What are you doing?"
Roman turned around sharply, shushing the person, who turned out to be Lorenzo.
He got out of the way and pointed his thumb inside. Lorenzo furrowed his eyebrows before peeking in.
His eyebrows raised in surprise.
'Cute.' He thought.
"Of course she is." Roman whispered, a large smile playing on his lips.
Correction: 'Cute.' He said out loud.
"Put a blanket on her. I'm going to prepare breakfast." Roman said patting Lorenzo's back and heading to the kitchen.
Lorenzo stepped into the room and quietly got closer to the little girl. He picked up the remote that was on her stomach and put it on the table. Gently lifting her arms and legs back onto the couch, he lowered the other arm and leg too. He picked up the blanket and put it over her, before turning the TV off.
Quietly getting out of the room, he walked into the kitchen and sat down, watching Roman cook.
"Don't you think she's too skinny? I'm not judging or something. But its not the healthy skinny." Roman said.
Lorenzo nodded.
"Make sure she eats something. She's probably still weak from yesterday."
Roman just nodded in response.
Ava's POV.
I woke up to find myself on the couch with a blanket tightly wrapped around me. Getting up, I made my way to the door and opened it. I stepped out of the room only to bump into someone.
"Good morning." Mason sang.
Who's this cheerful in the morning?
"Did my stuff arrive yet?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
"Don't do that." He said grabbing my hand. I quickly pulled my hand out of his grasp.
"Yeah. The stuff arrived. We put it in Lorenzo's room. Your room is getting ready for you to move in. Lorenzo said you could use his bathroom." He told me. I nodded and started walking to the room.
Opening the door, I saw Grayson still sleeping. I saw some bags in the corner. I rummaged through the bags to get my clothes out. Finding the clothes, I went to the bathroom to take a shower.
I pushed the door open to find myself in a bathroom bigger than my old room. I gaped at the shower and the huge jacuzzi in there. Not to mention the sink, having so many products there, placed neatly.
I was already planning to take a long long shower.
"Hello, Ava." Grayson grinned at me as I stepped out of the bathroom.
I nodded as he got up to go to his room.
"I'm so happy we have you back." He said as he looked back at me over his shoulder.
I stayed silent. He just sighed and left the room.
I don't want them to get too close to me. I don't want them to be friendly. Besides, I'm gonna run away soon.
"Roman's calling you for breakfast." Jace stood in the doorway his arms crossed at his chest.
"I don't feel like eating." I responded.
"He said you need to eat." Jace said.
"Did he say that with the last statement or are you making things up?" I asked, annoyed a little.
"You need to eat." He insisted, ignoring my question.
"Why do you even care?" I yelled angrily. "I didn't ask you to, did I? So, stop freaking acting like you care, because you do not. No one does."
"Fine. I'm not going to insist then. Your room is set up completely. You can move in there if you want." He yelled back and left angrily.
I slowly made my way to the old room. Gathering up courage, I turned the knob and opened the door.
Yesterday, the room had light blue walls with butterflies and glowing toys stuck everywhere. Their were countless pictures of the family and drawings. There was this grizzly bear beanbag, which looked so cute and mushy.
Now, the room had plain white walls and furniture changed. Instead of the small regular sized bed which could fit a teenager perfectly, it now had a big king sized bed with a desk against the wall. The beanbag was taken out and replaced by plain blue one. The white paint was fresh as I could smell it.
The room looked like it was transformed in a rush. I was still confused why it hurt when I saw it the way it was. Why it hurts when I look into their eyes?
I started taking my stuff out of Lorenzo's room and dragging to mine, then locking the room.
I sighed and flopped down on the bed. They shouldn't be caring this much. Its getting on my nerves now.
I just stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before getting up and unpacking my stuff. Putting the clothes in the closet, other decorations on the shelves. Aunt Bianca also sent my paint and brushes. I looked at the plain walls, then at the brushes in my hand.
Time to have a break, I guess.
I started painting on the wall beside the door.
A knock was heard.
"Hey, honey. Can you come down for dinner, please? You haven't left your room for the whole day. We can talk about it. Please." I heard Roman say.
Its dinner time already?
I've ignored them all day. I didn't respond to whatever they were saying. I felt a little bad. All they want me to do is eat. But I can't do that.
"Okay." I said softly, getting up and going to wash my hands.
I opened the door where Roman stood smiling at me. He walked beside me to the kitchen. I entered only to find all of my brothers in there. I avoided eye contact with any of them.
It wasn't anyone's fault exactly. I just don't want them to care. I was always like that, thinking that people were just acting but the incident with Chris and Maria has caused me to push them away and make them hate me on purpose so they don't break my heart later.
I could feel Lorenzo's burning gaze on me as I moved to sit at the only empty seat. Lorenzo was at the head of the table while I was at his right and Roman to his left.
"What happened?" He asked me. I looked up into his eyes, feeling pain in my head.
"Nothing." I lied.
"Then why didn't you eat since you came?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
I just shrugged. "I'm not hungry."
"What happened with Jace?" He asked,coming straight to point.
"It wasn't his fault. I just don't like you all acting like you care so much." I muttered, not giving away any expression.
"We are not acting. We do care." I cut him off.
"Its hard for me to believe."
The room fell silent again.
"Do you prefer to be called by Ava or Amelia? Its your choice." Roman asked, changing the topic.
"Don't call me Ava." I gritted.
I want to give up the name, let go of everything associated with it. I need a new start, I think.
"Okay. Amelia Costello then." Roman clapped his hands once.
"Let's eat, now." Lorenzo said as the tension still hung around in the room.
All that could be heard was the clinking sounds as everyone started eating, except me.
"You haven't eaten since you came. Just eat a little." Lorenzo said as I just sat there stubbornly.
"No." I said looking at him, dead in the eyes. I could feel everyone's gaze on me.
I saw Lorenzo's jaw clench as he matched my stare with his own.
"Repeat that." He ordered.
"I won't." I said, trying to disobey him again.
"I'm just worried about you, you need to eat and you're not leaving without eating something." He said, leaving no room for argument.
"You're nobody to me. You shouldn't be worried about me in the first place. You all are just jerks who kidnapped me. How do I even know we are related? Its not like you gave me a DNA test as proof. And you think I'll obey everything you say? Watch me." I said angrily, now full-on glaring at him.
I got up from my chair and started walking to the door.
I was about to grab the knob when someone grabbed my arm, pulled me to them and picked me up.
I struggled to get out of Roman's hold as he easily picked me up, even though I was struggling so much.
He sat down and pinned my arms to my back as I struggled to get off his lap.
"You're making me uncomfortable. I don't like someone touching me." I gritted and tried to get up, but to no use.
"I don't care. You haven't eaten for more than twenty four hours and you're not leaving without eating something. You're not going to skip meals just because you're angry." He said. "About being uncomfortable, eat some then you can leave I won't stop you."
I was sat facing Lorenzo, who was staring at me intently. I stared back.
I couldn't help but feel warm inside. Someone to take care of you, check on you if you're eating or not and forcing you to eat, not forcing you to starve. Maybe this is what having your family's attention felt like. This is the attention I was craving for.
"You have a beautiful smile." Roman whispered.
I didn't realise I was staring at Lorenzo and smiling like an idiot. Looking at Lorenzo, all I saw was Love and admiration as Roman filled up the spoon and raised it towards me.
"How about five bites?" He asked, as I took the bite, hesitantly.
I refrained from arguing, not wanting to be here any longer.
After eating the five bites, I practically ran to my room, locked it and slid against the door.
I'm such a fool. I can't just go and get so comfortable with them.
Its all an act. Don't let them in. Don't trust them. They do not care. Its all an act.
That's what I kept repeating in my mind to convince myself.
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Three days.
Its been three days since the dinner situation. I've locked myself in my room, refusing to come out even for meals.
Surprisingly, they have left me alone. From what I heard, they think I need time to adjust. That is one of the reasons.
But they really insist on sitting with me while I ate. That's annoying. But I eat a little, more than the last time, then throw up. They didn't even get suspicious.
Either I'm really good at it or they are really easy to fool.
I watched as Grayson walked in with the tray of lunch. Putting the tray on the desk, he turned to me and sighed.
"How long are you keeping this up?" He asked. I just shrugged in response.
"When was the last time you showed any emotion?" He asked as we both sat down on chairs near my desk.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused why he was asking this all of a sudden and why he thought I'd answer.
"Like crying. Not out of pain, but crying your heart out. When was the last time you did that?" He asked.
The day he left.
"I don't know." I said looking at him and shrugging.
After eating the lunch, I watched him go, before locking the door and running to the bathroom to throw up.
Coming out of the bathroom, I was lost in thought. It was impossible for me to forget him. But I could push the memory aside, which had now resurfaced.
I started painting again to relieve some stress. Memories swirled in my head as my chest tightened and my heart hurt.
Need to tie my leg today, I think I will sleepwalk again.
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Hey people. So how was it?
Who do you think 'he' is?
Stay safe and happy.
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Keep smiling.
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