"Are you sure you want to do this?" Aubree asked as she crossed her arms and sighed heavily, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem like a bad person," I answered with a shrug. "Maybe you don't know who he really is."

"He's also bad news, T," Aubree replied, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths.

I shrugged nonchalantly.

It was a Saturday morning and I had agreed to hang out with Derek for the day. Crazy, right? But for the past few days of talking to each other on Facebook, he actually seemed like a really nice person and so he had the nerve to ask me if we could hang out on Saturday. I had to list the pros and cons of hanging out with Derek yet nothing showed up on my con list so I had accepted his offer within minutes. I also haven't heard from Xavier at all which for the first time, I didn't mind. My conversations with Derek actually made me smile and it felt as if a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It really did.

So now, I was in my room standing in front of the full-length mirror and staring back at my reflection. I decided to go with a black singlet with a white jacket on top, rolled up to my elbows with faded, ripped blue jeans. I matched the outfit with nude pink stilettos which actually looked really good. Aubree had offered to take me to the mall where Derek and I planned to meet.

"Wait," Aubree said, quickly getting off the bed and made sure my straight hair was untangled. "We're good to go."

I smiled at Aubree and quickly grabbed a black Michael Kors handbag that Anastasia had left on my bed the previous night as a gift. I placed my wallet and my phone inside before looking in the mirror once more then followed Aubree out of the room. We both walked downstairs as we were met by my dad and Anastasia, on the sofa in the living room and watching some romantic movie which had me smiling in awe.

"Thea and I are heading out!" Aubree exclaimed standing by the front door as both Anastasia and my dad's head whipped around in our direction, paused the movie then scrambled off the couch and into our direction. "Oh well, you didn't have to see us head out the door."

My dad shook his head and took out his wallet, taking out a hundred-dollar bill for Aubree and I both. I accepted the money and looked at it, shocked that my dad will give me this much. Anastasia grabbed her purse from the counter, took out her pink wallet and also handed Aubree and I both hundred-dollar bills that had me widen my eyes even more.

I was about to give them both back their money but Anastasia stopped me from doing so. "Treat yourselves, you deserve it."

I haven't been treating Anastasia like she was my mom yet but I threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly. "Thank you."

I moved on towards my dad and kissed his cheek before taking a few steps back. "Thank you, I'll spend it wisely."

My dad and Anastasia both chuckled as they watched Aubree and I walk out the door and towards Aubree's red Porsche parked on the side of the street, wondering what had happened to her Mercedes. White clouds were hogging the blue sky and birds were chirping on the trees as if telling me today was going to be a good day.

~

~

It took us fifteen minutes to reach the mall since Aubree had to fill up her petrol tank. Once Aubree found a parking space, she clicked a button and the car started parking itself automatically whilst Aubree grabbed her handbag and started checking if everything she needed was inside. Once the car was done parking, she took out her keys from the ignition and started getting out of the car, which I had done the same as she quickly locked her car.

"Now, if you need me, just call me," Aubree said sternly, pointing a finger at me. "I'm going on a shopping spree for myself."

I gave her a grateful smile before we kissed each other on both cheeks before parting ways to our destination. I walked towards Starbucks as my instructions were to wait in front of the store for him. Once I spotted no one, I sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for Derek as I took out my phone and started scrolling through Instagram since Aubree had kidnapped my phone and installed many social media apps on it.

After a few minutes, I felt a hot breath tickle my neck as I whipped my head around and accidentally slammed my head against a hard one as we both said 'ouch' at the same time. I backed away a few steps before placing my phone back inside my bag whilst rubbing the side of my head as a smile quickly formed on my lips at the sight of Derek, rubbing his forehead.

Surprisingly, Derek wasn't wearing any dark clothes. He was wearing a denim button up t-shirt tucked inside his denim jeans as a brown belt was holding it up. He was also wearing blue vans and to my absolute surprise, he was wearing glasses that I did not know he even needed. He looked attractive, I'd admit that.

"Oops?" I questioned more than I said as he rolled his eyes and shot me a smile.

"Normal people would say," he paused, clearing his throat as it got a bit more pitch in his tone. "I'm so sorry, Derek."

I rolled my eyes and slapped his arm gently. I observed the mall and quickly realized his friends weren't in view. I looked at him with confusion as he rolled his at me once more before placing an arm around my shoulder and to my surprise, I didn't shrug it off. "I asked them to back off."

"You're so kind to them," I pointed out as a joke which had Derek chuckle. "So, what do you have planned for today?"

Derek scratched the back of his neck nervously, making eye contact with me as he sighed. "Movies?"

"Typical boys," I answered, rolling my eyes as I grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him to the cinemas that weren't too far ahead.

Ten minutes of fighting each other on what to watch, I decided to give him the meanest glare I could have ever given as he sighed dramatically. "Fine, we'll watch Alvin and the Chipmunks road chip."

I clapped my hands happily before skipping towards the counter and asked for two tickets. Just as I was about to take out my wallet, the person behind had already slid two tickets in front of me as I looked up to see Derek counting his change. I rolled my eyes and said thank you to the person before taking two tickets into my hands. I looked down at the ticket then at the clock at the wall and realized we had only ten minutes to spare.

"Do you want to get popcorn or?" I asked as he looked at me confused. "We have ten minutes till the movie starts."

"We can get popcorn then go back before advertisements start because I want to get comfortable before watching," Derek answered with a smile as I nodded in agreement.

After a few minutes of getting popcorn, we headed towards our cinema room where the movie was going to be shown. We looked for our seats and quickly sat down just as the lights dimmed down to pure blackness then a bright light of the huge screen illuminated the enormous room.

"Are you comfortable yet?" I asked after a few minutes into the advertisement.

I watched Derek give me a smile, guiding my head towards his shoulder as my eyes widened before popping some popcorn in his mouth. "Yup."

I shook my head amusedly as I could feel a smile spread across my lips.

~

~

"I gotta say, you're good with picking movies," Derek complimented just as we headed outside.

"Why thank you, sir," I replied in a British accent and with a short curtsey which made him chuckle.

"Where now?" Derek asked, looking around as he breathed in the fresh air.

I observed the area, trying to decide what to do when something caught my eye. I frowned, squinting at a far figure with brown long hair in a floral dress that was knee-length. I bit my lips, my heart increasing its beat as I took a few steps forward with Derek behind me, confused.

"Thea?" Derek asked with concern.

I lifted a finger in the air telling him to shut up as I took a few more steps further towards the figure until it was clear enough. My eyes were widening even more now, my heart now hammering against my chest as tears brimmed my eyes. I watched the female turn around with a large, genuine smile on her face, my heart catching up towards my lungs as my legs began to walk on their own towards the woman. I breathed in deeply then tapped her on the shoulder from behind as she quickly whipped her head around, bags visible under her eyes.

"Mom?" I whispered which had caught Derek's hand to squeeze my shoulder tightly.

My mom's brown eyes widened at the sight of me, quickly engulfing me into a hug as she started sniffing then stroking my hair softly before pulling away. "Thea, oh my goodness."

"I missed you so much," I whispered, blinking more than twice to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me.

"I missed you too, Thea," my mom replied softly. I watched her eyes make their way up towards Derek who had his mouth shut the whole entire time.

I watched Derek's eyes flash with recognition but then it suddenly disappeared. I tilted my head at him as he watched the woman standing in front of us with no facial expression. "Thea, who's this?"

I looked back to my mom and smiled. "Mom, meet Derek," I introduced. "Derek, meet my mom."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Derek said with a nod.

"You too, Derek," my mom replied with a warm smile. "You two are dating?"

"No," Derek and I both answered simultaneously.

My mom giggled like a child and nodded before turning her attention back on me. "What are you doing here?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Mom, I live here now. Derek invited me to hang out with him today. What about you?"

"The twins are here," my mom answered, ignoring my question as my eyes lit up then quickly searched for the twins.

"Where?"

And just as I was about to turn back to my mom, I caught the twins dressed similarly from head to toe. A smile spread across my face as I caught the twins wearing a pink polo shirt, black skinny jeans and black and white Nike Roshes making their way towards me as their hair was tousled. Couldn't wait any longer, I quickly ran towards one of them and jumped, instinctively wrapping my legs around his torso and nestled my head into his neck.

"Thea, oh my fucking god," one of the twins I was hugging, Kody, crushed me to his chest, giving me the tightest hug I haven't had in a long time.

The other twin, Keith, was waiting very impatiently for his turn whilst Kody placed me on the ground gently as I quickly threw my arms around Keith's waist since he was too tall. Many people asked me how I could tell which was which and all I said was that Keith has the cute dimples whereas Kody didn't.

"Thea, we missed you so fucking much," Keith whispered into my ear before pulling apart as I kissed both of their cheeks.

"I missed you both too," I replied.

Keith and Kody's smile faded before they both crossed their arms at the same. "You haven't been in contact with us."

My mouth fell apart and a guilt feeling settled in my stomach. "I know, I've been so busy with school and everything."

The twins both had smiled once again as they group hugged me. It's been ages since I was under the care of Keith and Kody. They looked after me during school and home, they were basically my babysitters. Kody and Keith outstretched their hands towards me as I nodded and grabbed each of their hands as we started making our way back towards my mom and Derek who was watching us with a smile on their face.

"It feels like old times, doesn't it?" Keith questioned with a sad smile.

"I'll visit you soon," I answered. "I promise."

The twins nodded before landing their eyes on Derek who scratched his neck nervously. The twins jaw dropped as Kody quickly shoved me behind him then started attacking Derek with questions along with Keith. "Who are you?"

Derek was about to answer until Keith asked a question. "How do you know Thea?"

"Do you both go to school together?"

Suddenly, they both paused and looked at each before shooting daggers at Derek. "Are you dating her?"

I rolled my eyes and squeezed myself in between the twins. "He's Derek and we're just friends."

The twins sighed in relief before flashing Derek a smile as they both introduced themselves simultaneously, "I'm Kody, this is Keith."

"I'm Keith, this is Kody."

Derek nodded and shook both of their hands.

"It's time to get going boys," my mom announced, finally joining the conversation as she smiled at me sadly.

I felt a lump in my throat rising, as I hugged my mom tightly then moved on towards the twins who crushed me against them as if I was their cuddly teddy bear. I backed away, standing next to Derek as we both watched the trio walk away whereas I watched the backs of my family, a tear sliding down my cheek.

After a few minutes, I took a deep breath and managed a smile. "Sorry about that."

Derek shook his head. "Don't worry about it. They seem to really love you."

I nodded. "I love them so much."

Derek gave me a smile before pulling me into a hug, which had me stunned as it lasted for a few seconds. He pulled away before his eyes were narrowing in behind me. I turned around to see Aubree watching us intently with a pair of binoculars, hiding in a bush as I chuckled and shook my head in amusement.

"I love her too," I said out of the blue which had Derek chuckle. "Well, thanks for today. I guess I have to go now."

"Anytime angel," Derek replied with a kiss on my cheek as a loud gasp erupted from behind, a gasp I knew all too well. Aubree. A smile had spread across my lips once more.

I turned around, leaving Derek to stand there as I made my way towards Aubree who quickly grabbed my hand as we both headed towards her red Porsche. I turned around to see if Derek was gone and sure enough, he was still standing there, watching the both of us walk away.