"Maggie, please adopt me," I say it and she laughs.
"You've said that scentence for fourteen years, you'll live for a few months. And besides, you're already adopted. By your brother," she says. I roll my eyes and flop on the chair on my balcony. That feels so insane to even think. But there was a dark green chair, with a small table beside it. There was also a white bench, which resembles the one at the end of my bed. Sorry, I know I forgot to mention that.
"But, can't I say like two words and go to you?" I ask. She chuckles.
"Not unless you want them to get arrested."
"Well, I haven't even met my gaurdian yet, so I don't have a reason to feel anything towards him!"
"One, he's your brother! And two, how come you haven't met him yet?" She asks. I shrug, even though I know she can't see me.
"I don't know. Maybe he's at work or something. But, you were right about the Abel one. I haven't actually met him, but he's already bad. He came home hammered a few minutes ago."
I glance through the doors to look into my room, to make sure no one is listening.
"Oh, he's just a teenager, I'm sure that won't happen all the time," she says.
"Apparently not, according to none other than his twin," I say.
"Yes! Axel, he was the one that helped me the most when organizing your room," she tells me. I chuckle and nod.
"Why am I not surprised?" I ask.
"Alright, enough. Give them a chance. Have you had dinner yet?" She asks, changing the subject. I roll my eyes.
"Not yet. It's probably done by now though," I tell her.
"Alright, I'll let you go. Go eat, alright?" She says. I sigh.
"Yes, I'll go."
"Alright, good. Talk to you tomorrow, honey."
"Okay, goodnight," I say.
"Goodnight, love you, Addie," she says.
"Love you too," I say and hangup. I sigh and look out at the trees. Honestly, I could fall asleep out here. The fresh air, the trees, the comfortable chair. Yes, the chair was comfortable. More comfortable than the cot, obviously.
I sigh and push myself up, putting my phone in my pocket. I reach my hand up to fidget with my necklace. It was a simple gold moon. One with a smiling face, like you see in children's books. It was smaller than my thumbprint. It was on a thin gold chain, with a matching gold clasp. I walk out of my room and walk down the stairs, and find myself in the kitchen way to quickly.
"Good timing, dinners ready," Alec says. I press my lips together and nod. I look over at Axel who glanced at me, but continued eating his food.
While Alec was finishing up whatever he was doing, I sit on the stool next to Axel, who again glances at me. I sigh and nudge him with my elbow. Try. Try for Maggie.
"I'm sorry. I'm just... not used to people wanting me," I whisper so only he can hear. He gives me a smile and slings an arm around my shoulder. I flinch, but he doesn't seem to notice.
I try to keep my back as straight as possible, even though a wave of pain was radiating through my body.
I look at Axel's plate and see steak with mashed potatoes. It smelled good, and looked good but I didn't know how much my stomach could handle.
"It's alright. And, you'll get used to it," he says. I give a tight smile, as Alec presents me with a plate. I stare at it in shock. There was alot of food. Maybe not for a boy, or even the average teenager, but for me that was alot of food.
"Do you not like meat or something?" Alec asks. I look up at him and shake my head quickly.
"No, I do. It's nothing," I say it and shrug Axel's arm off me. He goes back to stuffing his face like a pig and I take a bite of steak. It was honestly delicious. When I tried the potatoes, I found they were fresh. Not box potatoes. They were salted and had a bit of pepper, too. They were just creamy enough and, again, delicious. I was surprised by Alec's ability to cook.
Pleasantly surprised.
"Do you like it?" Alec asks. I look up at him and realize I haven't eaten that much.
"Yeah, it's good," I tell them. They nod and and go back to eating. By the time they're done, I've eaten half of my food and was stuffed. It felt like the one Thanksgiving I was with Maggie. I needed to be reassigned to a home, but they needed time. So, while I was staying at a girls home, she took me to her apartment for dinner on Thanksgiving.
The house I was previously in kicked me out. And, they didn't have an immediate house lined up for me. I was kicked out because a friend from school took me to a party my sophmore year. I came home after about three drinks, tripped over their cat on accident, and almost threw up on their actual kid. So, the one decent house I had I fucked up. Shocker.
I push my plate forward, and give Alec a small smile that disappears quickly.
"You're done?" He asks. I nod. "No way, that can't be enough. You haven't eaten all day." I was confused. I was genuinely stuffed.
"I ate," I say. He raises an eyebrow.
"You said you didn't eat at school," he says. I nod.
"I didn't. I went to a girl's house after school and she gave me a granola bar there, so yes. I ate," I say matter of factly. He rolls his eyes.
"Great, you had an after school snack. That's still not enough," he says. I shrug.
"Maybe for you, but I'm full," I say. He looks astounded.
Axel lightly lifts my arm up and makes his thumb and pointer finger into a circle around my wrist. He looks shocked when he sees both my wrists could probably fit in that small circle.
"Holy shit!"
"That seems to be your favorite phrase," I say and pull my hand away from him. He rolls his eyes, then looks at Alec.
"It's like she's a skeleton!" He says. I started to fidget with the necklace again, which got their attention. "Is that-"
"That's mom's," Alec cuts him off and I look up at him. I study his sad expression for a moment before standing up, and quickly leaving the kitchen. On my way towards the stairs the doors open. And I see a man. He had short, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and he was tall. Alec and Axel were tall, but he was the tallest. Probably 6'1 or 6'2. Leaving the others at 6'0 or 5'11. I, on the other hand, am 5'3. Short. I know that a bunch of other people are shorter than me, but I'm short. Especially in this house.
He looks at me, with a serious expression on his face, that melts quickly. It was almost more frightening to see him with a kind smile.
"Adeline. It's great to have you back," he says. Back? As in... I lived here at some point before? No way. If I lived here before then what the hell happened?
"Uh, yeah, sure," I say breifly before continuing my walk to the stairs. He takes a step forward, making my gaze snap to him and me stumble slightly while taking a step away from him. He seems genuinely concerned. Sorry, I don't buy it.
"Well," he clears his throat, "I'm Aiden, your gaudian."
"I figured as much," I say. He straightens himself out, even though I don't think he looked improper before.
"Can you come into my office with me?" He asks. I hesitate before nodding. I guess I'll have to talk to him eventually. But with tangled wet hair and pajamas, that wasn't my original idea. I follow him into the office and sit in the chair next to him. This will be fun.
I sit in the chair across from Aiden, with a desk inbetween us. He studies me for a moment.
"Sorry if I don't look like I just came from a buisness meeting at the moment," I say sarcastically. He meets my eyes and stares into them for a second.
"Let me lay out a few rules," he says, getting straight to the point. I nod and wave as if telling him to continue. "First off, no boys. Secondly, no parties. You may have friends and hangout but you must get your homework done first. Three, you will pass all of your classes and do all your work, no questions asked. Based on your history, I see that isn't a problem for you. Any questions?" I stare at him for a moment, thinking.
"I'm seventeen, and I've never had a boyfriend, that should speak for itself. But, even though I doubt anyone would take any interest in me, you can't tell me what I can and cannot do with my body. And, also, I might be attracted to females! You never know! I'm not, but I could have been, and I respect those who are attracted to the same sex as themselves. And if you don't, I have no respect for you. Two, I don't do friends. And also, another boy living under this roof who I happen to know is under age came stumbling into this house slurring not even an hour ago. So, I don't think I'm the one you have to being laying the rules out to. Three, you're right, that's not a problem for me. School has always come naturally to me, and I have nothing better to do than read textbooks half the time, so that part won't be a problem." I smirk slightly as his slightly baffled expression. "Any questions?"
He fixes his expression to become serious again. "Fine. But I expect you to not make the same mistakes as Abel. As for the boys situation, fine. You're almost eighteen. But, while under this roof you will not do anything-"
"Okay! Something about getting that conversation everywhere I go is starting to get old, I'm sure you can figure out why, you seem like a smart person. I mean, you're in a suit so you must be," I say the last part sarcastically. He doesn't seem very amused.
"As long as you understand. As for the friends, I encourage you to make them when you start school in a week."
"Oh joy," I say sarcastically. "Your encouragement means everything to me." I roll my eyes.
"I expect you to respect me and Alec." I raise an eyebrow.
"First question, I mentioned respect before, have you earned the slightest bit from me?"
"Yes."
"How?" I ask and raise an eyebrow. He blinks at me. "I believe respect is earned not just handed out."
"Well, let's start here, then. You already mentioned something that you respect, and you can now say you respect me for sharing your opinion." I roll my eyes and sit back in the seat.
"Uh huh, 1%. Okay, anyways, second question. All of you are older than me. Why not mention Axel and Able?" I question. He scoffs and stands up.
"Abel, deserves respect at times. Axel, on the other hand." He opens the door and Axel falls into the room. "Is below you when it comes to respect." Axel glares up at him.
"I needed to press against the door, I wasn't eavesdropping," Axel tries to say.
"Oh? And what were you doing?" Aiden asks. I look over at Axel who opens his mouth to say something, but has to think for a second.
"I was... listening for termites," he says. Aiden nods and pushes him out of the office.
He walks back over to me and sits in the seat next to me. I barely blink.
"Alec and the boys will take you shopping one of these days, for school supplies and clothes," he says. I shake my head.
"I don't need anything from you. Especially if it comes from pity," I say.
"This isn't pity. This is our gift to you," he says. I scoff and roll my eyes.
"I don't need it," I say. He shrugs.
"You may not need it, but it's happening. No questions asked," he says and stands again. He holds the door open for me.
"We've come to an agreement?" He asks. I stand up and walk past him.
"An agreement where I changed two thirds of the rules you had? Yes. We have," I say and walk up the stairs.
I see Abel. Or who I assume is Abel, because I don't recognize him. He had shorter hair, like Aiden, and was pale like Axel. He didn't have Axel's freckles and had dark eyes like the rest of us. I wondered how Axel was the lucky one to get blue eyes.
"So, you're Adeline," he says, studying me. I keep a stone cold face as he studies me. "You look weak." I clench my jaw.
"Your opinion means the world," I say sarcastically. He doesn't look the slightest bit amused. He just rolls his eyes and pushes himself off the wall. When he steps closer to me, I can still smell the alchohol on him.
"I don't remember you either, just so you know. Aiden and Alec are the only ones that do. I don't know why Axel care so much when he doesn't even know you."
"Beats me," I say, with a slight shrug. He glares at me.
"You're not my family. I couldn't care less about you," he tells me. A burst of laughter escapes me.
"I think it's funny that you thought I'd care. See, I share the same feelings except they aren't just reserved for you. So, if that was meant to be an insult, or if you wanted to hurt me, I haven't broken yet, and someone telling me just how unwanted I am isn't exactly new. So, sorry, but try again next time." I say it without stuttering, and without missing a beat. I walk past him and into my room, which apparently is beside his, with Axel's across the hall.
Alec and Aiden's rooms are in the other direction. When I walk into my room and look around I realize I just lied to Abel. I have broken. I broke a long time ago. But, I refuse to let anyone see it. See the truth. The truth being he's right. I'm as weak as I look.