A/N: This is my newest story, called Love Always, Demi.

In this story, I've decided to combine all of my favorite stories that I've written. In this new story, you will see some aspects of Unsafe Place, Changes and Out of My Mind. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the general plot of the story. I do not own the characters in the story, I do not own their identities, and nothing I say or put into the story is a direct reflection omy the true identities of my characters. I do not claim anything I say or put into the story to be true. I do not claim to own anything but the plot and the idea of the story.

August 12, 2008

Dear Mom,

I guess I should start by saying that I miss you. But I'm not having a completely terrible time. I'm sorry I didn't write to you yesterday, I was just so busy settling in. Florida is so pretty! I didn't think it'd be this different from Texas, but it really is. There's a palm tree around every corner! And Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jason live a half hour away from a beach. We never got to go to the beach that much back home.

I'm getting kind of nervous to start school. Yesterday night, Aunt Kathy gave me the website to the school I'll be going to. It's called Mainland High School. I think it's a private school, which is cool. We could never really afford private schools back at home. Uncle Jason says that money's not really a thing anymore, but I still feel guilty about taking from them. I won't worry too much more about school, because I still have three more weeks before I actually start.

Aunt Kathy said that she'd take me out school shopping sometime this weekend. I don't really understand how she can treat me like her daughter when I just got here yesterday.

Did you know that Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jason were rich? Aunt Kathy says that they aren't "rich" they're just "money savvy." I think they're rich. It's probably because Uncle Jason is in the navy, isn't it? Aren't people that serve the country usually rich? I think dad should have went to the navy, don't you?

I'm running out of things to write about now, mom. So I guess I have to stop writing. I'll write to you some other time, I promise. I don't want you to miss anything in my life. Until next time,

Love always,

Demi.

I put my mechanical pencil into the lock box on my nightstand and push my computer chair in. I think the work desk is my favorite part in my new room, because I like to write. That's not usually something I tell people, because teenagers aren't supposed to like to write. But I do. I'm not like a lot of other teenagers, but that doesn't really bother me. Back at home, I had one friend that knew I liked to write. Her name was Melby and she had Cerebral Palsy. Melby wasn't retarded, though. She just couldn't move. She couldn't talk much either, but we had the best conversations. She was mostly a good listener. I miss Melby a lot sometimes, but she moved off to South Carolina with her new foster family, so I don't know her address, so I can't write to her.

I also like to draw. I'm not as ashamed of that fact as I am about the writing, though. I'm not cocky or conceited, but I'm a really good drawer. I mostly like to draw nature things, like trees, birds or lakes. But recently I've been drawing a lot of cartoons. I've almost got my drawing of Spongebob perfectly, but I can never get his pores exactly right. I'd like to learn how to draw people someday.

I grab my cell phone off my dresser and check to see if I have any notifications. I really wish Melby knew how to text message, but like I said, she can't move. Not even her fingers move. I didn't have enough friends to have anyone that misses me back in Colleyville. I wasn't exactly a lame person, but I didn't hang out with the popular crowd. Nobody picked on me, except for a few girls that called me "assface" but that never exactly bothered me. I'm aware that I have a butt for a chin. I can't change it, so I don't think I should stress over it.

I could use a new cell phone. The one I have is one of those Razor phones. My mom bought it for me when we lived back at home. It's yellow, my favorite color. It's not one of the nicest cell phones, but I guess it's okay. It sends text messages and receives calls, but it doesn't get on the internet.

I like living with my aunt and my uncle. It gets kind of lonely, but for the most part, it's peaceful. Nobody yells too much here. Nobody eats dry cereal for breakfast because there's no milk, and I don't have to be sad that I'm hungry. It does make me sad that I left my sister back at home, but I know that she's okay. My other sister's okay, too. I think she's off at Texas University, studying pediatrics. I miss them both, but it's much more pleasant here. It's been taking some getting used to, though; being the only child here and all.

"Demi, honey you can come eat some dinner if you're hungry. It's all finished for you." My aunt Kathy calls to me from the bottom of the spiral staircase.

I round the corner coming out of my new room and approach the top of the stairs. I would really like to slide down the staircase railing, because it's spiraled, but I'm not comfortable with that just yet. So, like a civilized human being, I walk down the steps one by one.

"How big of a piece of lasagna do you want, girlie?"

"Real big." I find myself smiling as I answer her, which is kind of a big deal. I think I'm smiling because I actually get food that isn't greasy and hasn't already been cooked by someone I don't know.

"You got an appetite like your uncle, kid." My uncle ruffles my hair and takes a seat in the dining room.

My aunt and uncle don't eat in the kitchen like we used to. They actually have a dining room that they use. I'm sure they can eat in the kitchen if they wanted to though, because in the middle of the kitchen, there's a bunch of countertops all clustered together with barstools there in case you want to sit down. I believe it's called an island.

I pull out a dining room chair next to my uncle and sit. The chairs in here are really comfortable, and the entire room is just really nice. The walls are light brown with really soft, white plush carpets. My uncle said the carpet is from Persia, but I think he was being an ass. The table is made of black steel with a stained glass tabletop and the chairs match. We're not Chinese, but there are Chinese scriptures and paintings all over the walls. I think it's nice.

My aunt brings in three plates of lasagna and sits them in front of us. You would think that my aunt and uncle would drink some fancy champagne with their dinner, but my aunt just puts down three cans of Pepsi. I grab a fork and cut a piece of my lasagna.

"So kid, how are you adjusting?" My uncle asks me. He cracks open his can of Pepsi effortlessly. My uncle is big and burly with muscles everywhere. His dark brown hair is always messy and unruly and his voice is intimidating.

"I'm fine. It's just a big change…I wish I could go back home…" I shrug and fork the piece of lasagna in my mouth. It's so delicious it tastes like a fancy restaurant made it.

"This is your home now, Demi. You know that, right? I know you miss Texas, but you'll learn to love Daytona Beach. I promise it's not that bad here."

I look down at my plate of food and nod. It's not that bad here in Florida, but I just miss Texas. If the opportunity for me to come back to Texas arose, I don't think I'd go back though. My life wasn't pleasant in Texas. It's pleasant in Florida. I just wish my aunt and uncle could take care of me back home. That's all.

"So you start school on the 31st… Are you excited?" My uncle tries a little harder to make small talk with me.

"I don't know…" I take a sip of Pepsi.

"You can make some friends in school… you'll get to know people." He's already finished with his piece of food.

"I just don't know if they'll like me…" I sigh.

My aunt swallows her mouthful of food and speaks up. "They'll love you. You're a great kid, Demi."

I put my fork down on my plate, because I'm done eating. "I hope you're right."

"So where do you like to shop at? I need to know where to take you to get clothes. We could just go to the mall, but if you have any specific stores in mind, we can definitely go to them."

"I don't know… my mom used to get all my clothes at like… Walmart." I was never allowed to get name brand clothes, because those were too expensive. I had a few pairs of jeans and that was fine with me.

"So the mall it is." My aunt chuckles and pats my wrist. I know she means well by all this, but I really just don't want to talk about school and school shopping.

"…I'm going upstairs. To take a shower or something…" I leave my plate and my can of soda sitting there on the table and walk back upstairs. I hear my aunt and uncle talking about me as I walk away.

"Don't worry about it, Kath. She'll warm up…" My uncle Jason's usually booming voice is soft while speaking to my aunt.

"I just feel so bad… She's only fifteen." My aunt sounds like she's crying.

"It's okay, babe. She's just taking some time to get used to us, that's all. She's okay. She's better here."

"I just want her to be happy, Jason."

Now I feel bad. I am happy. I really am. I'm happy here in Florida. I just wish I could go home. I miss my mom and my sisters. It's not that I miss home as a whole, I just miss the place. I miss the life I used to have back at home before I had to move here; before my aunt and uncle opted to be my guardians.

I walk back into my new room and shut the heavy wooden door behind me. My new room is really nice. I can tell that my aunt decorated it as nice as possible. My bed is enormous with a wooden frame and a big soft mattress. My bedspread is light purple with zebra print all over it and I have six pillows to match. The carpet is the same plush carpet that's downstairs in the dining room and on the floor is a fluffy light purple rug too. My dresser matches the same wood that my bed frame is made of and so do my nightstands. I even have a really big plasma TV mounted on the wall in front of my bed. And as if this super fantastic room isn't enough, I even have my own bathroom. My aunt made the theme of my bathroom match the zebra print in my room.

I think I want to take a shower and go to bed. Even though it's only 6 o'clock in the evening, I'm tired and I need to rest.

In my bathroom, I start my shower water. I make the water super hot and step in. I wash my hair first, because that requires the most energy. I really hope to get a haircut before school starts, because I'm really sick of my boring, dark brown hair. The front bangs make my face look fat and the length is starting to get really gross.

It's not like I ever had anyone to impress back at home, but I shave all my body hair off anyway. I've only had one boyfriend in my life. His name was Cody and he broke up with me because I was too fat. Literally, he told me that I was too fat. Now, he said it nicer, but the idea is still the same. Anyway, Cody and I never did anything bad. We never had sex or anything. I'm too awkward to have sex. But he kissed me and stuff and I think I've wanted to have sex with him a couple times. I don't usually tell anyone that I'm a virgin though.

Even though I'm a virgin doesn't mean I'm clueless about how sex works though. I know all there is to know, so when the time comes I'm sure I'll know what goes where and why some things get wetter than other things.

I know all this, because my associates back at home weren't saints. It's amazing how much you can learn from your friends. Plus, I've watched porn before. I swear I didn't look it up myself and just go watch it though. I was at this party for one of my classmates and when we were watching movies, they just turned on porn. Everybody watched it and everybody masturbated to it. I don't masturbate.

I won't lie though. I have masturbated before. I was just curious as to what sex felt like. Cody never wanted to have sex with me, which I found weird. Aren't all boys supposed to be horny freaks? Well, every time the subject of sex would come up, Cody would shy away from it, as if it wasn't something he was interested in. He never even got a boner when we made out. He broke up with me after that. I guess that's why it wasn't much of a shock to me when I found out a month after our breakup that he had a boyfriend. Just my luck to date a gay guy.

Anyway, it's not like I masturbated with some weird sex toy or anything. It was harmless, really. I was in the shower one night and I was curious, so I used my hand. I don't know why, but it wasn't fun. I didn't enjoy it.

I step out of my long, hot shower and wrap a towel around myself. You know what sucks? Puberty. Puberty really sucks.

When I was around twelve, I started growing boobs. Granted, my boobs aren't all that big, but it sucked to have to wear a bra spontaneously. Then my hips started widening, I got a butt, I got some fat and BAM, I started to bleed from places I never wanted to bleed from. I guess I'm telling you about how much puberty sucks, because I just shaved my body hair yesterday night and it's already growing back.

I pull on a pair of underwear that are black with white lace trim and white polka dots on them. They're a little uncomfortable, but they're the only underwear I could find in my drawer at the moment. I refuse to wear a bra to sleep, so I just pull on a baggy t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I towel-dry my long hair and tie it up in a bun.

Before I get into bed for good, I grab my sketchpad and a pencil from my work-desk. I grab my outdated MP3 player and put my headphones in too.

I turn on a song by one of my favorite artists, Michael Buble and drown out the world. I really like to sing as much as I love to draw, but I'm not a very good singer, so I will never pursue that career.

I listen to the music and begin to draw on a blank sheet of paper in my sketchpad.

I draw some lines. Those lines become a trunk. From the trunk, I draw some more curved lines. Those lines become branches. From the branches, I draw ovals. The ovals make leaves. And before I know it, on my sheet of paper explodes a glorious, fall scene.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as my door swings open. I push the pause button on my MP3 player and look over. My aunt sets a glass of milk on my dresser, along with a plate of cookies.

"I thought you might want a snack…" She's trying really hard to be nice to me, I can tell.

"Thank you." I turn my attention back to my drawing, but I don't turn my music back on yet.

"…Demi? Honey… I know things have been difficult for you… since… but I want you to know that I love you. And I promise to make things better for you. This is your new home, so… I'd like for you to start acting like it. I know it must be tough for you to be uprooted from your home, I understand…"

"Aunt Kathy, it's fine. I just need some time. I'm fine. I'm happy here."

"Alright. If there's anything you want or need, just tell me. Okay?"

"Okay."

She turns and leaves my room again and I push play on my music.

I add a few more details to my leaves and tree scene.

The more I listen to my music, the more I find myself getting lost in my artwork.