ANASTASIA'S POV:
Conversation.
A talk or exchange of words between two or more people, generally in a friendly manner.
<><><><>
I was going to be having a conversation with six teenagers (three being girls, three being boys) and four adults (three being males, one being female). According to one of the teenage girls, Layla, it seemed that their parents were all best friends, and used to be best friends with my parents when our parents were in high school.
I don't exactly believe the teenagers and their words, considering there's no proof, but maybe if they're correct then I won't be murdered by the group of ten people who's home I'll be going into.
We were walking back to their Aunt Alex and Uncle Miles' house. They only lived a few blocks away from the bridge I had been sleeping under. Tonight I'd have the conversation with Alex and Miles, before we'd decide if we believe each others own truths.
Maybe it was the idea that I would be okay with dying if anything went wrong, that made me agree to do something totally out of character, but I know I'm getting the familiar feeling of my anxiety creeping up on me. The clammy hands, sweaty palms, stomach churning, headache forming, feelings I always get when I'm anxious and ready to have an anxiety attack.
No matter the outcome of this situation, I really won't be at terrible odds. If they murder me I can no longer feel pain and I'll no longer worry about having to potentially go back to the hell house. If they do turn out to know my parents from when they were younger, that means these people were trustworthy, so I'd be safe and my life would hopefully start looking upwards.
<><><><>
It took us thirty minutes to walk the six blocks in order to get to their Aunt and Uncle's house, but we were here.
My eyes were burning from the tears I had shed earlier, my face was puffy and swollen, my hands were shaky, legs were aching, and my stomach was churning.
I watched as one of the three teenage boys in front of me, Luke, I think his name was, pulled out a set of keys and began to unlock the door to the large house (practically mansion) in front of us.
After unlocking the four locks on the door, he pushed the door open and walked through, leaving everyone else to follow behind. I was one of the last two to enter the house, the last one being the boy who held me while I sobbed earlier. I'm pretty sure someone called him by the name Wyatt.
"Come on." Jamie smiled at me, grabbing my arm lightly after she had grabbed my attention, "I'll take you to their office."
With a nervous look on my face, I let Jamie guide me away to what could potentially be my doom.
"Good Luck."
<><><><>
Jamie led me up two flights of stairs, making my aching legs burn even more than they had been. Once up the stairs, Jamie and I walked down a hallway that only had a few different doors leading to rooms.
We stopped in front of the last door on the right side of the hallway, Jamie knocked gently before speaking towards the door, "Uncle Miles, Aunt Alex, it's me Jamie. All of us found someone we think you'd want to meet. We're coming in, alright?"
It was quiet for a second before I heard a feminine voice speak in a quiet tone, "Come in, Jamie."
Jamie pulled the door open and walked in confidently, with me following behind timidly, as I took everything in.
This room was an office, probably Alex or Miles' office. The room had a brown wooden theme. Most everything in the room was a red oak color, with the walls and all fabricated materials being brown.
It was calming and peaceful. The room had two large bookcases on the backwall with each shelf filled to the brim with books, and some pictures evenly spaced on the different shelves. The desk, which sat in front of the bookcases, was made out of a dark oak wood. It was pretty basic, having a computer on the top of desk, along with a few picture frames and stray papers spread out across the desk.
"Who's this Jam?" the woman in the room asked.
"This is Anastasia Smith, the group and I have reason to believe she's Auntie Courtney and Uncle Dylan's daughter." Jamie replied, a smile stretching across her face.
"W-what?" the woman questioned with a startled expression, the man standing behind her had a stern glare resting on his face with his arms crossed over his chest.
He looked intimidating and like he could possibly break me in half, yet there was something inside of my mind saying he wouldn't hurt me, that he wouldn't dare to touch me in a bad way.
"And where did you find this girl?" he questioned, his tone harsh like acid.
"We've been trying to find her for years. We've never had any leads until a few weeks ago when an Anastasia Smith boarded a plane unattended, and with a little more digging we were able to find who her parents were and get pictures of them. We're ninety-five percent sure this is Ana." Jamie responded, barely batting an eyelash at the tone Miles had used with her.
"Alright you found a girl, who may or may not be my dead best friend's daughter." Miles spoke, "But does she even know why she's here in my house?"
"No, we're waiting for the DNA results." Jamie started.
"DNA results? I never gave you any sample." I crossed my arms over my chest as I looked at the three people in this room, in disbelief.
"When you were crying earlier into Wyatt's chest, we grabbed a sample of your hair. We're running it through our system to see if you match for the same Courtney and Dylan we're talking about." Jamie informed me.
"And why was I not able to consent?" I glared at her, "That's my hair. You can't just steal it."
"You didn't even know it was gone until I said something." Jamie argued back.
"Because I was too busy crying my eyes out. That's an invasion on so many levels." I rolled my eyes as she scoffed.
"Whatever, I'm not arguing with you. Can we just get back to the topic at hand, please?"
"Of course, darling." the older woman spoke up for the first time in this conversation, "It's a pleasure to see you, Anastasia. May I call you that?"
"Uh-Call me Ana."
"Alright, Ana." she smiled at me, "Are you hungry? We can get something in that belly of yours while we wait for the results of the DNA test."
"I could eat, but I don't want you to feel obligated." I spoke sheepishly as a blush rose to my face.
"Oh it's not an obligation. I love to cook for people, sweetheart. We'll go down to the kitchen, I'll cook for you, and we can get to know each other." she smiled at me.
"Okay. I'd like that."
<><><><>
We had been in the kitchen for about an hour and a half, the nice lady, Alexandria or Alex, had decided to make some homemade pasta. It took her a little while longer, but it was one of the best meals I've had in years. It's the best meal I've had since my parents died.
As she cooked and I eventually ate, we talked the entire time. There wasn't a moment where we weren't learning something new about the other person.
Alex had explained that Miles was her husband, whom she had been with for twenty-six years. Alex explained that they lived in this house with two of their closest friends, Jake and Javier, plus each of their own children.
Jake and Javier both had three children each, Jake having two boys (Luke and Wyatt) and one girl (Layla), Javier as the opposite, one boy (Max) and two girls (Jamie and Kayla). Jake and Javier's wives both died a few years back in a tragic accident, though Alex never said what the accident was.
Alex also told me that she and Miles had been trying for a baby for years now, and they were finally gifted with the opportunity of having a biological child together.
Then it was my turn to talk about things with Alex. I told her about my parents, how they died, how much they loved their children, how after they died my brothers and I separated from each others lives despite living together. I told Alex about the verbal and emotional abuse my brothers put me through. I had never been so comfortable talking with someone before.
I watched as every word I spoke, her frown seemed to deepen. It was hard to tell people the truth without them pitying you, which is why I mostly keep things to myself. I don't get pitied and no one gets hurt feelings when they realize a child of my age has gone through hell. It's the best case scenario for everybody.
"Hey." Luke walked into the kitchen, "The results are in. Uncle Miles wants us all in the living room."
"Alright, we'll be there in a second, Lu." Alex smiled softly at him.
<><><><>
Everyone was in the large living room. Miles, Jake, and Javier were at the front of the room. Max, Luke, and Wyatt were all hanging off of the couch, looking extremely comfortable, and Layla, Jamie, and Kayla were all sitting on the floor, leaning against the edge of the couch behind them.
Alex and I walked into the room, everyone's conversations stopped, everyone's eyes locked on me. Alex walked towards where Miles was standing, and as soon as she was close enough he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight, keeping his hands wrapped around her still small stomach. She wasn't showing that she was pregnant yet.
I, on the other hand, decided to sit down on the only single arm chair in the room. It was away from everybody else in the room. I kept my eyes trained on the ground, not bothering to speak. This was it, if I was who they hoped I was, I'd possibly get to stay here, but if I wasn't I'd be back on the streets.
"I've called you all in here right now, because the results are in." Miles' loud voice boomed across the room.
He opened the envelope the results were in and began reading it silently to himself, when he finished he had what looked to be tears in his eyes, and his eyes locked onto my face.
"Y-your Court and Dyl's daughter. Our Courtney and Dylan."
<><><><>
It was later that same night, Miles and Alex had told me that I was welcome to stay here for as long as I need, and considering the fact that I was a minor they were going to try becoming my legal guardians. They said they'd speak to their lawyer tomorrow considering it was late, and that they'd begin the process as soon as they could.
I was currently dressed in a pair of Jamie's pajama's that no longer fit her. I'm a lot smaller than her, so I was able to borrow her clothes until I got some of my own that were fit for California weather. I was headed back towards Miles' office from the guest room that would hopefully become my own room in the near future.
I knocked on the door softly before entering. I closed the door behind me, and moved to sit down in the chair across from him.
"Hello darling." Miles smiled at me, "I hope you know my tone earlier had nothing to do with you as a person, moreover the fact that people have pretended to be you, and I didn't want to get my hopes up again. But I need you to know that because you're the daughter of people who were at one time my closest family, I do want to begin forming a parental or uncle type relationship with you."
"Thank you for that, I suppose." I laughed awkwardly.
"But uh- what did you need me for?" I asked.
"I needed you here for two things. One was that I need to tell you what I, and the rest of us do for a living. It's extremely important that you know and we begin your training immediately." he told me.
"Uh-alright. What do you do for a living?" I asked.
"I own a bunch of different legal businesses, such as hotel chains and a few restaurants. But in addition to that, Jake, Javier, and I, along with both your parents are from families who lived in the illegal business world, such as gangs, mafias, murders. That kind of thing."
"W-what?" I asked, my anxiety spiked higher at his words.
"Let me finish please, Ana." he told me softly, "Your parents were able to get out of that world, leaving before they had your oldest brother, James. The rest of us weren't so lucky. When we discovered that Alex and I had a hard time conceiving, your father's parents forged your parents signature to force them into making at least one of their children stay in the illegal business, that one child is you, Ana."
He paused for a second before continuing, "If you don't want to take over, Alex and I are okay with that, we will never force you. But I wanted you to know the truth. Your parents tried fighting it, but couldn't win. In the end though, Alex and I will make it your choice."
"I-uh-wow. That's a lot. Uh, do I have to make a decision about that right now?"
"No, of course not. Just know that training in guns, fighting, and knives are not optional. You will be learning how to defend yourself because living here with us, is placing a target on your back."
"Okay." I sighed.
"Any questions so far?"
"Just one, did you know where I was at the entire time?"
"I did, in some aspects. Not where you lived, but your parents installed cameras that I've had access to watching. The quality of the cameras, however, was not very good and did not aid us in finding out what you looked like."
"Did you know what I was going through?" I asked, pain in my voice.
"I did." he nodded, a solemn expression was across his face.
"If you knew what I was g-oing through, why didn't you try to find or sa-ve me?" I asked, my voice cracking as I spoke.
He replied, "It's no excuse, though you would have been in more danger with us, than you were in without us. I know it's hard to believe, and knowing what we know now we would have tried so much harder to protect you. Your parents were extremely advanced in coding and hacking as well, and thus were able to block out your location from the cameras we had access to. We've been trying to crack the coding for years, since a year before they died, actually."
"Thank you. I appreciate that." I smiled sadly, "There was something else you had to tell me?"
"Well, you're a teenager, Anastasia, and like the other teenagers who live in this house, if you'll be living here you're going to be needing rules. So I wanted to come up with a set of rules with you. They won't be anything too extreme, but rules do need to be set in place."
"Like what kind of rules?" I questioned.
"You're fourteen, so you need rules like being home by five-thirty, so you can be back for dinner. No smoking, drinking, or driving yet. Possibly keeping your location on your phone shared, or let us know where you're going. Rules like that." Miles replied.
"Oh-okay. I like those rules." I smiled gently.
Someone finally cared about my well-being.
<><><><>
It was an hour later, Miles and I had finished the rules I'd be following. They consisted of rules that kept me safe. No drinking until I'm a couple of years older, no driving until I get my permit, no doing drugs, no smoking, tell someone if my mental health gets bad. Though, my mental health is already bad, I've decided to let them know if it gets worse. More of the rules consist of telling someone where I'm going before I leave, coming home for dinner (or telling them I won't be there). I had to have decent grades once I started school, and I was to start training as soon as possible. These rules were basic rules everyone in the house followed, including the other six teenagers I'd be living with.
Tomorrow I'll be going with Alex to get some clothes for the warmer weather, and they'd be getting me a phone that way I had a way to contact anyone I might need to. Then Alex would be signing me up for school with "the group", as they liked to be called. The group consists of Wyatt, Max, Luke, Jamie, Kayla, and Layla.
Miles and I were still talking when he asked me one of the few questions I despise being asked.
"How are you feeling about everything, sweetheart?"
"You want the truth?" I raised my eyebrows, watching as he nodded his head.
"All I really want to do right now is scream and cry and let it all out because it's killing me from the inside out." I spoke the truth.
I was tired of lying. I was tired of pretending that I was fine, when I knew I wasn't.
"Everything's just getting to be too much, and I don't know how to deal with it."
"Do it then."
And for the third time in the same day, I did something very out of character, yet again-
I screamed, I cried, I let every emotion I was feeling out of my body, and then I felt arms wrap around my body as it went limp. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him for dear life, and then when the silence took over, I whispered-
"Thank you for making me less alone."
<><><><>
Author's Note -
Here's the fifth chapter of "Run-Away Little Sister: Hurting". We're a little bit behind from the original version of this story, but we'll catch up. Let me know what you think about this chapter. And make sure you all comment, vote (by clicking the star), and share this story with those who might like it.
Thanks for reading!
-michaelaloveswriting
Original Version Published: April 6th. 2019
Edited Version Published: June 25th. 2022