A/N Thanks to Kaitlyn and Ripley for editing
Sang POV
I feel the air shift when the stairwell door opens. I was afraid it was my dream coming to life. I wait, still and quiet. Whoever is coming is almost completely silent, but I smell soft spring soap that doesn't belong to the boys sleeping beside me.
A man walks into the room. He's tall with short, dark brown hair. He wears a grey suit and a red tie. I wonder if the boys have plans to do something important later today. He has glasses with black rims just like Kota's. He looks severe as he glances around the room with his steel colored eyes.
He finally glances at me and sees that I am awake and staring at him. I blush a bit at being caught.
He takes a step toward me and pulls his hands behind his back, straightening his shoulders as he looks down at me.
"Miss Sorenson, I believe?" he states quietly
I sit up and Kota's arm slides across my body and down my side in his sleep. I wince and look back at Mr. Perfect. I nod at his question. Here I am sleeping in a bed with people I don't know, in clothes that aren't mine. I can't imagine what he is thinking of me right now.
He continues to stare into my eyes, asking questions with his gaze that I can't answer.
I blush but try and keep eye contact. His eyes roam my face, hair, and body now. Suddenly he stiffens and calls out, "Mr. Lee! Dr. Green! Report!"
He is so loud and abrupt after our silent conversation that I make an undignified squeak and flinch away from him.
Kota has the reverse reaction. He flies out of bed and stands at attention, ready to do whatever is asked of him. It's kind of cute the way his hair is standing up and his pant leg is sticking around his knee.
Then there is Sean. He barely moves at all, just enough to grumble, "Shove it where the sun don't shine, OWEN! Come here Pookie... I need some snuggling after being so rudely awakened." Sean reaches his hand out to me and pouts.
I look up to Mr. Perfect to see what I should do. If he needs me for something. What is happening? He grants me a tiny smile and a flick of a nod. So I scramble over to Sean and curl into his side.
I hear Mr. Perfect say, "Please do sit, Mr. Lee." Then he pulls a chair over toward the bed so we all can see and hear him better.
I stare at him in fascination.
"Miss Sorenson. I am Mr. Blackbourne," he states.
"Also known as Owen," Sean murmurs in my ear.
I look as Sean quickly, but his eyes are only half open, so I look back at Mr. Owen Blackbourne.
"I prefer Mr. Blackbourne," he clarifies.
I can respect that. He seems to be the authority figure for this group even if he only appears a few years older than me.
Suddenly Sean grabs me and pulls me back. "Don't listen to him Pookie! Rebel with me against the man!... He's the man!" he whispers the last part. Then he starts to tickle me. I laugh and giggle but the pressure from the bandages is making it hard to get a full breath. Suddenly he stops tickling. "Sorry, Pookie, that must be hard on your chest with it all wrapped up"
I shoot a look over at Mr. Blackbourne and see that he shows no surprise. He must already know. That makes my face redden again.
Kota puts a hand on my shoulder while Sean runs a hand down my back. "It's okay Sang. Mr. Blackbourne knows what happened to you and is here to help you.
****
Mr. Blackbourne
I look at Dr. Green to try and get him out of bed and help with this discussion. Mr. Lee at least is a little more alert when starting the day.
"Hey, Doc! Sang is going to need another pill soon right?"
"Yeah, we should eat something with this one," Dr. Green replies.
I clear my throat. I am not sure how this will go. "If we could get the preliminary conversation with Miss Sorenson over with, there are six other people anxious to find out what is going on. Since Mrs. Lee is not here to cater to your whims, Dr. Green, we should head over to Mr. Griffin's home to eat."
"Erica isn't here? She makes the best pancakes!" he whines. "Wait. You told them about Sang? She is in a delicate position right now, Owen!"
"I might understand that better than you do at the moment Dr. Green. I had Mr. Morgan do a background check on her family last night and there are some things we need to discuss; like how to get Miss Sorenson out of her home as soon as possible." I let out a sigh. "But it would be better if we had the whole team here to help figure it out. Some of our choices will take multiple favors from all of us and that will need to be voted on. Mr. Morgan called this morning to tell me what he found and he is picking up Mr. Coleman. Misters Taylor are retrieving Mr. Korba and we will all meet at Mr. Griffin's house as soon as we have talked it through here."
I look again at Dr. Green. He is alert this time and paying close attention to me. I try and tell him how special this girl is. But from the way he is stroking her back I think he already knows.
"Miss Sorenson would you come and sit here please?" I stand and hold out my hand to her.
She grasps my hand with her tiny, soft fingers and rises from the trundle next to Dr. Green. I guide her to the desk chair and hold onto her hand as she sits. She takes a deep breath as she comes close to me. I feel like I need to keep touching her. That is absurd. I shake my head and pull my hand away.
"Dr. Green?"
He gets up and sits on the other edge of the bed leaving a space for me so that the three of us can all sit facing Miss Sorenson.
She flushes and starts to wring her hands.
"Miss Sorenson," I begin. Dr. Green clears his throat and elbows me in the ribs. "Sang. We belong to a school of sorts that helps people like you. All of us, and our brothers, who you will hopefully meet later, come from some kind of broken home. My first impulse is to try and get your mother to sign over custody of you to the school until you are eighteen. That way you are out of that house and somewhere safe."
I saw hope flare in Miss Sorenson's eyes, then dim as she started to shake her head. "She, my mother, will never go for that. I know she won't let me leave."
So she is not unwilling to leave, she just doesn't think it is possible. Some people in abusive positions don't want to leave for the unknown, but Miss Sorenson seems amenable.
"If we had to, we could just remove you from your home. There are extenuating circumstances that makes this possible, but it's dangerous, especially if your mother were to decide to call the police on us."
"What circumstances?" she asked in a small voice. She sounded like she didn't really expect an answer. I wanted to be upfront about this. I needed her to trust us from the beginning if we had any hope of her staying with us long term.
I clear my throat and straighten my tie trying to buy time. I can see both Dr. Green and Mr. Lee looking at me out of the corner of my eye. They are surely wondering what these circumstances are as well. "While we were checking into your family we were unable to find any records for you. Do you remember going to the doctor as a child?"
She thought for a moment and then shook her head. "No, I remember my sister going, and waiting in the waiting room, but no, I never went myself."
I nodded, that is what I thought but it was good to have some confirmation.
"You, Miss Sorenson, are what we call a ghost bird. You have no medical records, no history on paper not even a valid birth certificate."
"Shit" Mr. Lee whispered.
****
Sang POV
I'm still wearing North's shirt, but I change back into my jeans which are mercifully dry thanks to Kota. The guys tell me I'm fine to wear Kota's pants over to the other house. Sean even mutters about getting a makeover either way. But I want to be wearing something I don't feel will fall off at any second.
We drive over, which feels a little silly, but Mr. Blackbourne thinks if anyone is paying attention they will be less likely to notice me going from car to house rather than walking all the way down the block with three guys in tow.
I'm nervous about meeting all of these people in 24 hours, let alone another six more in the next two minutes. I take a deep breath to gain a little courage from the air. Kota reaches out when I get to the door and clutches my hand. I smile back at him and take my courage from him.
Sean and Mr. Blackbourne go into the house first. I've seen this house before, but never really paid attention to it. It is a single-story ranch style house. That is about all I notice before I hear the sounds of people yelling inside.
I shrink back into Kota's chest and he wraps a hand protectively around my waist, enveloping me in his spicy scent. Then I notice that the yelling is more like cheering in encouragement. I hear cars racing in the background just as Kota whispers in my ear, "They are playing video games. Sorry they are so exuberant."
Mr. Blackbourne walks ahead down the hallway while Sean stays back and turns toward us, waiting at the mouth of the hallway.
Ahead the noise quiets a bit. I reach out for Sean and hold both of their hands as I walk forward.
When we turn the corner into the living room, the people are silent and staring at us. I feel my face flush painfully. I look around the room and notice that all of the boys are my age and remarkably good looking.
The boy in the chair nearest me is huge. He is wearing all black and has gruff whiskers across his face, as if he hasn't shaved in a day or two, along with a frown and a considering look. He's tall and muscled with dark hair and deep brown eyes. He scares me a little the way he stares, but they told me these are friends. I try and give him a small smile. His mouth opens and he starts ,"Hey, isn't that my..."
Kota jumps in and interrupts, "Everyone, this is Sang"
"Sang that is North, Luke, Gabriel, Victor, Nathan, and Silas." He points them out as he goes around the circle of boys seated around the television.
North is the big guy in all black. I look down and realize that I must be wearing his shirt. It WAS too big for Kota. It probably belonged to this man who liked black so much. I blush more and stutter out, "I... I'm sorry about your shirt!"
He just shrugs.
Next is Luke. He is beaming at me and I can't help but smile back. He is beautiful. He has bottomless chocolate colored eyes and long blond hair that is tucked behind his ears. He has a baby blue shirt on that only has two buttons buttoned at the moment so I can see most of his lean muscled chest. His eyes have a dreamy look to them like he is lost in a fantasy.
Gabriel is sitting next to him and he has a calculating look on his face. When he notices I am looking at him, his face brightens into a genuine, dazzling smile. His eyes are a crystal blue like summer skies. They also have that calculating look in them, though. He has russet colored hair that brushes his collar and two blond streaks that tuck behind his ears. There are orange crystal studs in each ear and three black hoops cresting his right ear. He is wearing a bright orange button up with a green tank underneath and dark wash jeans.
Victor looks the most polished of all of the guys other than Mr. Blackbourne. He is wearing black slacks and a crisp, white, button-up shirt. He could be a business man if he was over seventeen. His brown hair waves over his ears and he tucks it back as I look at him. His eyes are amazing. They are a deep brown but look like flames of fire. I can't help but stare into them until a small cough brings me back to reality.
Nathan sits on the floor by Victor's feet. He is wide and muscled like North. You can see the muscles flex in his chest under his tight red t-shirt. He has deep blue eyes and red brown hair that glistens in the shaft of sunlight that hits him. His eyes sparkle at me as he flashes me a white smile.
Last, in the other chair, sits Silas. Silas is the biggest of all the boys. He is at least a head and a half taller than me. He has shiny black hair and boundless brown eyes that I could get lost in. He too is heavily muscled and I think I would easily get lost in his chest if I were to hug him.
All of the boys nod and smile at me and say a quick hello. Then all eyes turn to Mr. Blackbourne. I hang my head a little and look up at him out of the corner of my eye. This meeting was called because of me. I am the trouble maker that brought them all here so early to try and figure out what to do.
Sean and Kota both squeeze my hands and Mr. Blackbourne reaches over and rubs a hand quickly across my shoulder and lets it drop. I have a feeling that he is not one for touching from the surprised looks on everyone's faces.
He clears his throat and I squeeze my eyes shut. "Miss Sorenson is being abused at home. We need to decide how we will deal with it. Kota and I have a few ideas. We would like to discuss them with you all and decide what to do from there. It would be better for Miss Sorenson not to return home. At the very least not while her mother still resides there."
I was waiting for the inevitable questions about what happened to me, what kind of abuse. But they didn't come. When I opened my eyes Sean is removing a steady glare from the boys and shoots me one of his beautiful smiles that make me want to melt into his chest. Maybe I won't have to go through it all again.
Sean pipes up, "Okay! Let's talk strategy!"
"Well she's not fucking going back there until we figure out what we are doing. She is staying here or with Kota. Shit, she can stay with me, I don't give a fuck! But that is first on the agenda. Yes?" Gabriel glares around the room in question and then answers himself. "Yes... and we are going shopping. Vic clear your schedule." No one disputes him so I just look on with wide eyes.
"Food. We need food. I can't think on an empty stomach," Luke clutches at his stomach and grimaces, making me laugh. Everyone looks to me and I feel my face flush. I try to rub at my cheek to hide it but I don't think I fooled anyone.
"Yes! Pookie needs her medication anyway, so breakfast is a good idea! We'll talk seriously after food." Sean rubs his hands together and pokes at my nose.
Nathan gets up from the couch restlessly and announces, "I'll be back in ten. I need a quick run." He takes off toward the front of the house and Kota looks after him worriedly.
Mr. Blackbourne goes over to Victor and starts talking to him while Luke jumps up and goes to the kitchen. North and Silas follow and start taking dishes to the dining room. Kota sits on the other side of Victor. I look to Sean. He pulls me into a hug, surrounding me in the smell of citrus and ginger then rummages in his bag and gets out his pills, pulling me toward the kitchen.