Lyle House

Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becomes a man who hates noise.

~ Cyril Connolly

Present Day

Jessie

There I stood in front of a huge white Victorian house perched on an oversized lot, with yellow trim and a swing on the wraparound porch.

There were two women waiting for me. The first, grey haired and wide hipped, came forward to greet me. The younger one's dour eyes following me, her arms crossed, braced for trouble. Together we walked up a long narrow flight of stairs. The older woman —a nurse, who introduced herself as Mrs. Talbot— chirping a guided tour, but I couldn't focus on her. My mind was searching for potential danger. Not that I was particularly expecting danger, but after years of the Edison Group and living off the streets it had become second nature.

I looked for potential exits as they showed me through the house. I knew if I stayed there too long the Edison Group would find me and there was no way in hell I wanted to end up back there. I noticed the house was very quiet and empty for a teen home. The only reason I was here, was because I had been discovered living on the streets covered in injuries. I couldn't explain what had happened so child services had placed me here, a group home for troubled teens. Eventually she showed me upstairs to my room.

The bedroom was white and yellow, decorated with daisies, and smelt of hair gel.

The room was a sterile looking, two plain beds, two dressers, two tiny desks, all wiped clean of personality. It was obvious I had the room to myself. "Breakfast will be at 7:30am and class starts at 9:00am. You will have lunch from 12 until 1, and finish class at 3:00pm. After you do your chores you will have free time. Lights out is at 10:00pm week days and 11:00pm weekends. We live by a strict schedule, do you understand Jessamine?" Mrs. Talbot asked. I nodded in reply.

"OK, I'll let you get settled and call you when it is time for dinner." With that she smiled and left. I worked on unpacking my suitcase. I didn't have much in it anymore, just some long black pants, singlets and black long sleeve tops/jumpers. In amongst all that I had my most prized possession, my violin. It had survived through all the years of constant moving.

Around 5:30pm I heard voices in the hall. I peeked out the door to see three teenage girls walking to their rooms. One girl had black hair and pale skin, she seemed to be arguing with a girl who had long black hair and copper skin, the third girl was quietly watching them, she was short with pale skin and blonde hair with red streaks. I quietly closed the door before they saw me.

Half an hour later Mrs. Talbot opened the door, "Time to come down to dinner."

I took a quick look in the mirror to check all my scars were covered before following her out. I was nervous, I hadn't been around a group of people my own age for a while. As we were walking towards the kitchen, the other nurse walked up and whispered something into Mrs. Talbot's ear. "Oh, dear." She said then turned to me. "I have to go, do you remember where the kitchen is?" I nodded yes and watched as she and the other nurse hurried off.

The closer I got the more anxious I felt. My stomach tightened and I felt as if I could barely breathe. I covered most of my face with my long black hair and walked in with my head down. As soon as I entered the room everything went silent. I peeked up to see almost everybody staring at me. There were the three girls I had seen earlier and two boys. One of them was blonde with Asian features that reminded me of someone and the other had black hair, even sitting down I could tell he was huge.

Nobody said anything, and the silence stretched out awkwardly. The blonde boy was the first to break it. "Hey, I'm Simon. This is Chloe," He pointed to the blonde girl with red streaks, she gave me a small wave, "that's Rae," he said pointing out the girl with black hair and copper skin who gave me a smile, "that's Tori," he pointed at the pale girl with black hair who looked like she'd rather be any other place then here, "and this is my brother Derek." I gasped and stepped back while staring at the black haired boy, my mind was spinning. Could it be my Derek? I wondered. Simon frowned at my reaction. "What's wrong?" He asked. With that Derek looked up with those emerald eyes staring at me. He looked shocked and suddenly stood. I was aware that everybody in the room was staring at us, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him.

After all this time here he was, my Derek, the boy who had once been my whole world. After another minute Simon spoke, "What's going on?" He asked looking between us, "Derek?". Derek seemed to regain his composure, "This is Jessamine." He said introducing me to everyone without looking away. Slowly he started walking towards me as if he was unsure of his actions. All I could do was stare at him. He stopped a meter away from me, I could barely breathe. Part of me wanted to throw my arms around him and never let go, the other part wanted to run. Something around his neck caught my attention, it was a chain. Without thinking I reached up and lifted the chain to find a white gold ring with a blue sapphire at the end. It was my mother's ring, the one I gave him all those years ago when I told him to never forget me. I couldn't stop it then, the tears began to silently fall down my cheeks, and just like from the very beginning he wiped them away and pulled me into a hug. "I never forgot." He whispered.

A/N: I know this may seem OOC for Derek, but they have a special bond from childhood. Please Review and let me know your thoughts.