I hate school.

Luckily, this was my last day. I have to move in with my soon to be step-family and I had to go to their school. I am gonna make sure I lay low, not like it would be hard. Nobody hardly talks to me in this school but I'm not complaining.

When I got home I lay on my bed and thought about everything. Mom, Dad, Weston, and him. My eyes start to water at the thought of him.

I get up and start to pack. My bag didn't have much in it. Some clothes, mostly hoodies and jeans, undergarments, my pills, and most importantly, my necklace. I always wore it around my neck because I remember him giving it to me for Christmas.

Flashback (Third Person POV)

It's 6:00 on a Christmas morning and everyone is sleeping peacefully. Almost everybody.

"Ry, wake up. It's Christmas." 6-year Rayland whisper-yells in his ear.

Startled by the noise, Ryan rolls over and lands on the ground with a thud.

"Ow."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Ry, please forgive me. I'm sorry." Rayland pleads on the verge of tears.

"It's okay, mariposa. Please don't cry. I promise I'm okay." Ryan says as he wipes away a tear from her face. [Butterfly]

"I wanna go open presents. Please." Rayland begs.

"How about we watch some T.V. first and then wake up Mom."

"Can we watch Dora?"

"Yeah, come on."

.

.

.

"Do you see the yellow trail?"

"Look, it's right behind you."

The television cuts off and the lights turn on.

"What are you guys doing up so early? It's only... 6:45."

"We wanna open presents, Mommy."

"Okay, give me a second sweetheart."

A few seconds later she comes back with a pile of presents in her hands.

It's only the three of them this Christmas because their father went out on a 'business trip'.

By the time they finished most of the presents, there were only two left. Rayland had an oddly shaped gift that she tried the best to wrap by herself while Ryan had a box covered in red wrapping paper with a gold bow.

They exchanged their gifts and slowly unwrapped each other's gifts.

Rayland got a gold necklace that said 'Olivia' in cursive with a butterfly charm attached. It had a matching ring that was too big and it had 'RR' in cursive engraved into it.

Ryan got a green, stuffed dinosaur and a drawing of him and Rayland.

"Thank you, Ollie."

"Thank you, Livvy"

They shouted and hugged each other at the same time.

Flashback Over

The ring finally fits even though it took years.

"RAYLAND, DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE." Linda yells.

I grab my things and don't look back.

I wake up and the car slows down pulling up to a mansion. This place is huge, so that explains the restaurant and the limo. The house looked like it was built decades ago but the outdoor decor gave it a newer feeling.

When I walked in I was greeted by the same man at the restaurant. He smiled at me while I hesitantly returned it.

"Boys, come down here." He yelled. I flinched but luckily he didn't notice.

A stampede of footsteps come barreling down the stairs. There was an unfamiliar face with them, his eyes widened and mouth dropped open but soon hid his reaction.

"Oh, this is Blake. He couldn't come to dinner because he was with his GIRLFRIEND." Jaylen cooed, receiving him a smack in the back of the head by Blake.

"Ow, that hurt." Jaylen said as he's rubbing the back of his head.

"Anyways, Blake can you show to her room?" The man yelled.

"Yeah, sure." He motioned for me to follow him.

I quickly followed him up the stairs. He kept looking back at me like he wanted to ask me something but was scared to.

"Yes?" I said to him. He gave me a confused look. "You look like you wanted to say something so, shoot."

"Oh, what's your name?"

"Rayland." He stopped in his tracks and looked at me with a face of recognition but replaced with a face of disgust. He started walking and continued to follow him. Weird.

He stopped in front of a big, plain room that had gray sheets and bedding. I didn't realize that I zoned out until a voice talked behind.

"Are you gonna go in? I don't have all day." Blake growled from behind me.

"Why the hell are you growling, are you a fucking dog?" I slapped my hand over my mouth realizing what I said.

He rolled his eyes and walked to what I assumed was his room. He walked in and slammed the door closed. I couldn't help but hear a small sob escaping his lips.

What's his problem?

After that awkward chat, I flopped down on my bed and was immediately surrounded by darkness. I was awoken from my slumber by a voice downstairs.

"Dinner's ready." It sounded like Liam's voice.

I went downstairs only to get lost by how many hallways and staircases there were. I kept walking with my head down until running into a wall and falling on my ass.

Hold up-

Nobody puts a wall in the middle of the hallway. I look up from the ground and see Jayden towering me. I thought he would have some commentary but he just stared then walked away with Jaylen and Jaxon behind not even realizing they were watching the whole encounter.

Jaxon walked out without a second glance and Jayden looked at me apologetically with a sheepish smile. I mentally rolled my eyes attempting to pick myself up off the ground. I quickly followed so I wouldn't get lost again.

When we got to the table it was awkward as fuck. Paul tried to start conversations with me but I quickly shot him down with vague and short answers. I knew this was all an act. His true colors would show once we're alone, just like Darren.

I shuddered at the thought of him.

I noticed Blake's eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying. I was going to ask about it but I didn't want him to hate me more than he probably does.

After dinner, I went to my 'room' and started on a good book. I was interrupted when somebody knocked.

"Come in." I talk loud enough so only the person behind the door can hear me.

To my surprise, Paul walks in and says he wants to have a talk with me. I'm hesitant at first but agree. I make sure he leaves the door open just in case.

For a man that was so powerful, he seemed... nervous? Why would he be nervous to talk to me? He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and began to speak.

"So um... how are you?"

...

"We both know that's not the reason you came in here." I state.

"Yeah, I'm not good at this kinda stuff." He chuckles nervously.

"If you ever need anything, let me know. It may take a while for the boys to warm up to. They don't like to invite anybody new into their lives. If they bother you, let me know. I want you to feel as welcome as possible."

"Also, here's my number if you need anything." He slips me a small sheet of paper with everybody's contact information on it.

"I don't have a phone." I mumble quietly. He looks surprised but doesn't comment. With that he walks out of the room before murmuring a small "goodnight".

Was he really that committed to this act?

What if it's not an act?

I don't know. I just know, I'm not gonna let him in. Letting people in only leads to hurt in the end.

I've learned from experience.

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1424 Words

Any thoughts?

I'm not too fond of chapters 1-3 since they were written earlier in the year but after that, they get better.