Me and Dad stayed like that for a long time, neither of us caring that the boys were staring at us. Finally Dad pulled away and looked at me "Welcome home little princess." He said quietly. I smiled softly and he kissed my forehead. I only met this man a minute ago, yet I've never felt so safe around someone. He stood up and looked at the boys "Let's eat dinner." they all nodded and went into a dining room.

I sat down next to Hayden and Dad looked over at me "Have you seen your room yet Thea?" I shook my head. "Well right after dinner, one of the boys will show you where it is." I nod and Alex come in with 2 huge pizza boxes. Pretty much before he could even put the boxes down the boys were grabbing food and eating like a pack of wild animals.

I didn't know if I was allowed to eat so I didn't reach for any. Alex noticed and handed me a plate with 2 slices, but I gave him a suspicious look. Once, mom gave me food but got really mad at me when I started eating it. Hayden looked over at my untouched food "Why are you not eating?" he said in a curious tone. "Is it for me?" I asked feeling confused. He laughed slightly and gave me a funny look "Yeah it's for you. Why wouldn't it be?" I shrugged and picked up the slice of pizza.

I took a bite and waited for someone to start screaming at me for eating it. But no one did. So I kept eating and managed to finish once slice. At some point Beau stole a piece of pizza from Greyson's plate starting a fight between the two. "Hey that's mine!" Greyson yelled at his twin. "Well it's mine now." Beau said with a full mouth. Greyson started yelling at Beau.

My mind immediately went to Greg. My heart beat faster and tears pooled in my eyes. I could practically feel the anger in the room. Anger means I get hurt. I put my hands over my ears and tried to drown out the yelling but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't drown out the memories swirling in my mind.

Dad got up from his seat at the end of the table and came over to me "Beau and Greyson enough!" He said sternly. He came next to me and crouched down. He pulled my hands away from my ears and pulled me off the chair and onto his lap "Shh it's okay. You're okay." He whispered to me.

My breath steadied as Dad rubbed slow circles on my back. "Was it the yelling that upset you?" He whispered. I nodded and looked down at my hands, embarrassed about how I reacted. He lifted my chin so I was looking at him "That's okay sweetheart. Everything's okay." His voice was soft and sweet. "I'm sorry." I whispered wiping my eyes

"Don't be sweetheart. There's nothing to be sorry about." I gave him a small smile and he stood up, with me in his arms "You can sit with me so these icky boys don't bother you." He said loud enough for the others to hear. I giggled a little and when I did Dads face lit up. He sat back in his chair and held me close, once again giving me a sense of safety.

After dinner Hayden led me upstairs to a hallway and into a beautiful room. It was white with little light pink things here and there, it reminded me of a princesses room. "Sorry it's so plain. You can decorate later if you want. We'll take you shopping tomorrow." Hayden told me.

I shook my head "It's perfect." I said quietly "Well, I'll leave you for a little while. We're gonna watch a movie soon so I'll come get you then." With that Hayden left shutting the door behind him. I put my backpack down and my few clothes away and then I noticed the small bathroom.

A sharp pain in my ribs reminded me of my lack of painkillers. So I grabbed the bottle and headed into the bathroom. They had been giving me trouble all day long. I had a feeling they were broken, which I know is cause for a doctor but that would require telling Dad and as I already said, that was not happening. Not now, not ever.

I locked the bathroom door and lifted up my t-shirt. My ribs still looked nasty and breathing was getting harder. I touched the back of my head but quickly pulled my hand away at the awful pain that shot down my neck. I put my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming out. I couldn't think of anything but pain. I was sick of being in pain.

I was snapped out of momentary trance by someone knocking on the door "Thea come down for a movie." Hayden called through the door. I quickly pulled my shirt down and put the painkillers under the sink. I'll take some later. I opened the door and walked out, trying not to cringe at the new pain, from poking at my ribs.

Hayden stood in my doorway looking at me "You ready?" He asked. I nodded and followed him into a living room, where the others were sitting on the couch waiting for us. I took the open seat beside Alex and pushed myself as close to the arm as possible not wanting to be too close. "Alright what movie do you guys wanna watch." Dad asked the group "Annabel!" The twins yelled in unison.

Dad shook his head "No way, we have a little kid in the house. No horror movies." I felt bad that I was the cause of the disappointment "Okay, how about...the bee movie!" Beau said. They all nodded and turned it on. I've never seen the bee movie. Or any movie for that matter. Half way through, Alex had to go upstairs to finish some work.

At the end of the movie, Dad told me to go get ready for bed. I complied and went up the stairs only to crash into someone. I fell to the ground and covered my head, expecting to be hit. When the person hesitated I got up and sprinted to my room. I went into the bathroom and locked the door. My ribs were throbbing from the impact and I could barely breathe. I grabbed the bottle of pills and swallowed 2 as quickly as possible.

I sat down on the floor, lacking the energy to get up and tried to catch my breath. When I did, I stood up and changed into my soft shorts in preparation for bed. I tried to distract myself but the pain was making it very hard. I was so lost in thought that I jumped when there was a knock on the door. Not even waiting for a response, Greyson opened the door and walked in

"Dad said to get into bed and he'll be up to tuck you in soon." He told me "Tuck me in?" I had never heard of that "Yeah, you know like kiss you and tell you good night. Have you never been tucked in?" He seemed really confused. I shook my head "My mom didn't really do stuff like that." I whispered. His eyes turned from confused to sad. Then without another word, he stepped out of the door.

I climbed into the bed and it felt like absolute heaven. At home I sleep on a worn out mattress on a creaky metal bed frame. After a few minutes of laying in the bed, absorbing the absolute comfort, Dad came into the room.

He looked at me with pure love and adoration in his eyes. No one's ever looked at me like that. He sat on the side of the bed beside my legs "Greyson told me you've never been tucked in. So I'll show you what it is." He said softly. His eyes now had an entirely different emotion in them. Sadness.

He pulled the covers up to my chin gently smoothing them around my small body and leaned forward "Good night little Thea. We're so glad you're here." He whispered. He kissed my forehead and stood up. He stopped in the doorway and turned to me "Sleep well baby." He turned the lights off and I fell into a peaceful sleep in seconds.

But peace never lasts long for me.