I only own my OC!
First Night
I wake up to a hand on my back. "Hey." I look up to Dave, confused as to why he woke me up. "It's time to go get the others." He heads out the door toward his car on the street.
"Oh!" I slide off the bed and grab my jacket before running after Dave. "Hold up! I'm coming!" I jump through the window before settling on the seat.
"Ready to go?"
I nod, and lean back so he can buckle me in. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. I wasn't about to leave someone in Ian's hands."
"I'm not really all that, Dave… I'm just…me."
"You're just a kid. You shouldn't be worked like that."
"I was working harder than that for my real parents. They…wouldn't let me leave…"
"Why not?"
"Because they wanted me to do their work for them, and feed them, and take care of them…like a slave. Then Ian made me make money for him, so… Here I am."
"You're safe now, Sheyenne. I'll pick up the others, and then you can get some rest before supper, or you can hang out with the others, but I have to insist that homework comes first."
"I know… I'm sure I'll have plenty because I stayed home…"
"You're out until next week at the earliest, Sweetheart." He smiles. "I've heard you sing, and so have the others, but they may ask you to sing for them sometime soon, too, so I want you to be ready for that. Remember, you don't have to unless you want to."
"I know. Ian would make me sing, my parents would force me to be quiet…"
"Well, you have a choice now."
"Thank you, Dave."
"Don't mention it." He smiles over at me as he pulls up to the entrance. "You'd better be ready. They'll want to talk with you as soon as they get in."
"I'm ready."
"Hey, Dave. Where's—" Brittany turns to me. "OH! How are you doing?"
"I'm good. How was school?"
"Boring." She sighs. "Choir was fun, though."
"Good. I can't wait ta be in choir again."
"We'll see if we can change your classes if we have to."
"We won't have to. Ian wanted me to sing all the time—so I could "stay" a good singer. I miss getting to sing for fun."
"I know you do." He sighs. "Well, you'll get to now. Alvin sings all the time, after all." He shrugs. "But you may get drafted to one team or the other."
"Oh, haha, David."
I smile brightly. "Hey, Alvin."
"How was school?"
"Boring."
I tilt my head to the side. "Are you sure about that?" I was sure something would happen, because something always happens when I miss something. "Ian didn't show up looking for me?
"Nope." Alvin settles into the seat beside me. "So what did you do all day?"
"Read and napped. I haven't even unpacked yet."
"Need some help?"
"Alvin, no."
"Different reason to help than the one we see?"
"Different motive entirely. It's bad enough the girls are in his room, but you're an only child and I don't want to throw sibling rivalry onto you."
"He wants to—"
"See my underwear. Yeah. Jeanette, would you like to help me unpack?"
"Sure!"
Supper
After I'm unpacked, Jeanette and I head over to the kitchen and join the others. "All right, we've got shells and cheese tonight, and milk for the seven of you. Sheyenne, are you settled in all right now?"
"I'm all unpacked, and I'm ready to go to bed."
"Good. If you guys want to go outside, you can, but be careful. Bedtime is at nine. Alvin, if you argue with that again, you're starting to go to bed earlier."
"Aww, but Dave!"
"No buts, I'm tired of fighting with you in the mornings, and Sheyenne came from an abusive situation, so she doesn't need to have that daily battle waking her up in the morning."
"Sorry, Shey."
Jeanette leans over to me. "I think he's got a crush on you."
"I think he does too…" I huff. "But I think Brittany's going to have some trouble with me if I act on it. I really just want to be his friend…"
"I can't be sure how that will help… He's as "boy" as "boy" gets, Shey."
"I'm aware of that." I huff. "I don't want to be treated like I'm someone I'm not. I'm a chipmunk, but I'm not really his type."
Bedtime
I change into a fleece nightgown and climb into my new, big bed. It's only a moment before I'm asleep, for the first time having a solid, sweet night.