I'm back! So sorry for how long I've been gone, but I am here! With a new username. Heh. And I've got another chapter for you! So yeah, I'll leave you to read it. I hope you like it! :)


Chapter Seven

Sam's POV

As Kinley's guardians, Emily and I had the task of getting her enrolled in school. She was in first grade, since she was turning seven in January. I wasn't sure how much time she'd missed since her mother's death and her move here, but I definitely didn't want her missing any more than she already had. So Kinley, Emily, and I packed into my truck and rode on over to La Push Elementary School. Kinley still hadn't spoken - which was something we were worried about regarding school. How would the teacher know if something was wrong? Would Kinley be made uncomfortable or get bullied because of her silence? God, I hoped not. The last thing she needed was more negativity in her life. She deserved so much better.

Her face gave nothing away as we drove over, just staring ahead and watching the road along with me as she sat in between Em and me. I kept an eye on her the entire way there, and then walking into the school, and I knew Emily was doing the same. At what point would all of this become too much? She'd been handling everything well, considering the circumstances.

In the school's main office, the receptionist asked us to take a seat while she gathered all the necessary paperwork, so Emily and I chose a couple of chairs while I pulled Kinley onto my lap. The little girl sat tense. It was the only sign she was feeling anything about this trip.

"You okay?" I whispered, leaning around so she could easily turn her head and meet my eyes.

She blinked down at the floor before glancing over at me and nodding.

"You don't have to be nervous," I told her. "We'll make sure you're okay."

She nodded again, this time focusing on her hands in her lap.

The receptionist got our attention and handed the papers on a clipboard to Emily with a pen. My imprint got to filling out what she could, but that wasn't much. So I took over, putting the clipboard on Kinley's lap. "Hold this while I write?" I asked, hoping enlisting her help would aid in keeping her calm.

I filled in most of where Emily couldn't, though there was still some places blank. I hated that. We were her guardians now, this was stuff we were supposed to know.

After taking the papers back to the receptionist, she told us she'd input the information and get Kinley enrolled, contacting her previous school for transcripts. Luckily, technology made the wait for that small, so we stuck around until that was sorted and a class could be assigned to Kinley.

"Alright," the lady said, "she's in Mrs. Pearlman's class. If you'd like, you can go visit the classroom and meet her teacher real quick. It'd have to be a short meeting, since school is still in session, but I'm sure a hello would be fine."

She had barely finished offering before Emily was nodding enthusiastically. "We'd love to."

We were given visitor badges and directions to room 103. Emily led the way, a woman on a mission, while Kinley and I followed behind hand in hand. Her tiny fingers clutched mine tight enough I started to feel a little pinch, but I didn't mention it. She could squeeze the life out of my hand all she wanted if it helped her get through this.

Outside of room 103, Emily paused. The door was open, and a friendly voice could be heard inside, talking about numbers. After a second, Em shrugged and stepped into the doorway, knocking lightly on the open door. The voice inside stopped, and then said, "Hello."

"Hi," Emily greeted with a smile. "I'm Emily Uley, and this is my husband Sam." She motioned for me and Kinley to step into sight. "And this is Kinley. She's starting in your class tomorrow and we just wanted to say a quick hello."

I took a quick look at the teacher, a kind-faced woman with light brown hair who was now smiling softly at my little sister. Then I focused on Kinley, who was doing her best to monkey cling to my leg. Sensing her unease, I reached down and lifted her up. Her clinging switched from my leg to my neck, but at least she was peeking over at the teacher. That was a hopeful sign, right?

Mrs. Pearlman walked over to us. "Hello, Kinley, I'm Mrs. Pearlman. We're going to have lots of fun learning this year."

Kinley eyed the woman's smile, uncertainty clear on her features as she nodded.

Emily's face filled with worry. "Can I speak to you for just a moment?" Obviously she was going to alert the teacher of Kinley's silence.

"Of course, if you could keep an eye on the children, Mr. Uley?"

I smiled. "Sure." The kids were coloring on pages with big numbers on them. Couldn't be too hard watching them for a minute. Stepping farther into the room, I found a chair and sat down with Kinley. "Look, they're coloring. Wouldn't you like to color with them?"

She didn't answer, but instead kept her arms around my neck. Her negative response to this situation was making me uneasy. Tomorrow, she was going to be here all day by herself. She wouldn't have me to cling to, as much as I loathed that fact. We'd have to chat with her and make her more comfortable.

Later. For now, I held her in my arms as we observed the children. A little boy kept throwing glances our way. I caught his eye and smiled. He apparently took this as an invitation to walk over. "Hey mister, what are you doing here?"

"Me and Kinley are here to meet your teacher. She's in your class now; she'll start tomorrow."

He squinted. "Are you her daddy?"

The moment the question left his mouth, Kinley locked up. I tightened my arms around her in response, searching for an answer. She wasn't comfortable with the question. I would have loved to answer it with yes - I was her father, Emily was her mother, and there was nothing out of the ordinary here, no sir. Her mother didn't die and her father wasn't a deadbeat asshole who got himself killed by his own stupidity.

But that wasn't reality. In the real world, those things were the opposite. I wasn't her father, I was her brother. And though I had no problem admitting that, I was hesitant to mark her as unordinary right off the bat. She'd already be a target due to her silence, and the last thing I wished to do was add to that.

Lady Luck was really shining on us that day because Mrs. Pearlman walked back in with Emily before I could formulate an answer. "Joseph," she said to the boy, "you know you're not supposed to be out of your seat. Go sit down." And just like that, the child moved away. Kinley slowly eased away from me a smidge, looking up to see her new teacher standing in front of us. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Uley. And I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Kinley." Somehow, the woman's eyes were softer than they'd been before, and I knew she'd be a great teacher for Kinley.

We said our goodbyes and then headed outside, loading back up into my truck and going home. In the quiet, I thought about how in twenty-four hours, Kinley would be in that school with all of the other children. She'd be learning and hopefully doing well. Maybe it'd be good for her. She could make friends. Ease out of her shell.

My mind tried to stay on the optimistic track, but I knew she'd feel like a fish out of water. With how on edge she had been with Emily and me there, I could only imagine how much worse it'd be without us. I hated I had to push her into that, especially with all the changes she was already going through.

But that was the way it had to be. She needed to go to school. There was no way around it. And she was a strong girl. She would be okay.

I kept telling myself that while also trying to think of a way to maybe help Kinley deal better. It wasn't until later that night when a knock sounded on the door and Embry walked in that it hit me. Of course.


Embry's POV

After a long day spent away from Kinley, I finally made it over to Sam and Emily's place. Sam had mentioned they were enrolling her in school today, so I was looking forward to seeing how that went. I was a little nervous, too, honestly. Putting her into the hands of people I did not know for the entire day five days a week felt odd. But Kinley obviously had to go to school.

I tapped on the door a few times before letting myself in, guessing they wouldn't mind. Before Kinley moved in, we'd all done that every time we dropped by. We were aiming to make Kinley feel safe and comfortable now, though, so the rest of the guys waited to be let in before entering. I figured I could be an exception to that rule.

Stepping inside and closing the door behind me, I sensed my imprint in the living room. From the sound of it, Emily was in the kitchen and Sam was with Kinley. I considered heading in to talk to Emily first to get the scoop on how the school thing went, but I got the feeling I should join Kinley.

As I entered the living room, I was very glad I made that decision. Because the cutest little girl in on Earth looked up at me, blinked, and then beamed the brightest, most beautiful smile the world has ever seen.

That alone warmed my soul.

But it was what she did along with that smile that made my heart soar.

She stood up and ran over to me with open arms-while releasing a happy squeal.

A. Happy. Squeal. From Kinley. My imprint. The girl who had been mute since she arrived. Who'd lost her mother not too long ago in a brutal, horrifying way. She was happy enough to see me that she reacted like that.

Damn, I was lucky.

When she made it to me, I swept her up against my chest. "Hey, sweetheart. You have a good day?"

At my question, she got tense. I did the same in response, looking over at Sam for information. He was watching us with a faint smile on his face, clearly pleased. Apparently he'd missed my question. Sitting on the other end of the couch, I rested Kinley on my lap as I turned to ask Sam, "How'd today go?"

His smile faltered for a brief moment before returning as if nothing happened. I knew it had to be forced. "It went well. She's in and ready to start tomorrow. Em grabbed her some school supplies and a cute little backpack and everything. Her teacher's nice. It'll all be good." He seemed to be reassuring himself of that as much as he was telling me.

Peering down at Kinley, I asked, "You got a new backpack?"

Shyly, she nodded.

Widening my eyes innocently, I said, "I'd love to see it. Will you show it to me?"

Now she bit her lip. I almost retracted my request, since she appeared so reluctant to part with me even for a moment, but she nodded before I could follow through. Wiggling out of my arms, she was on the floor and out of the room.

"What's up?" I demanded quickly.

Sam shook his head. "I'm just worried. It did go well-she's in and her teacher seems friendly. But she's so nervous about going. She was squeezing my hand so damn hard earlier." He sighed. "You think you can give her a pep talk or something? Boost her spirits? If anyone can get through to her, I'm guessing it's you."

I didn't get the chance to respond before Kinley was bounding back into the room, tiny little backpack bouncing behind her, but obviously I'd do it. I watched as she spun around, displaying the pretty yellow flower adorning the white bag. Sparkles surrounded it, twinkling in the light. "Wow!" I exclaimed, exaggerating a bit for her benefit. "That is the best backpack ever. It's so pretty."

She giggled, turning back to face me. Pulling it off her back, she set it down in the seat next to me and tugged open the zipper. She withdrew a yellow pencil pouch, a composition notebook, and a yellow folder from within. Handing them all to me, she eyed me up carefully to catch my reactions to her school stuff.

Damn, she was adorable.

I went through everything she gave me, pulling out every pencil, crayon, and eraser in that pouch, ooo-ing and ahh-ing over all of it. She seemed pleased with my responses. Once I'd gotten through everything and we were tossing it all back into the bag, I asked her gently, "Are you nervous to go to school tomorrow?" Sam had left to help Emily in the kitchen, but I heard his movements in there stop at my question and I knew he was listening in.

Shifting on her feet, she gave a noncommittal shrug.

"You know," I said. "When I went to school, I was nervous, too."

Glancing over at me, she silently urged me to go on, obviously interested in what I had to say.

"Every year from when I started kindergarten through high school, I was always nervous when school started. What if nobody liked me? What if I couldn't understand what we were supposed to learn? There was always something to worry about. But you know what?"

Kinley blinked at me, and I took that as her asking, "What?"

Leaning forward, I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "It was always okay. The teachers are there to help you if you don't understand something. The other kids weren't so bad. Some of them even became my best friends, and they still are now. You know Jacob and Quil." I paused, raising my brows at her until she nodded. "I met them at school. I know it can be scary, but it will be okay. And no matter what you've got me and Sam and Emily and the rest of...us here if you ever need anything. Alright?" I'd almost slipped up and said the rest of the pack, which would have led us into a whole new conversation she was definitely not ready for quite yet. I think I recovered pretty well, though.

She seemed to contemplate my words for a few seconds, then nodded somewhat reluctantly. She was still nervous, but she heard what I said. That was all I could ask for. So I gave her a smile, crossing my fingers I'd get one back.

Kinley's lips had just barely tipped upward when Emily said from the doorway, "Time to eat, children."

I grinned and stood, waving Kinley ahead of me. "Ladies first."

As I followed Kinley past Emily to go to the kitchen, Emily whispered, "Thank you." I didn't look back to meet her eyes, but I couldn't avoid Sam's when I went to take my seat at the table. He sent me a subtle chin lift in gratitude. I rolled my eyes, not accepting any of their thanks. They had to know I'd do anything for Kinley. I wanted her to be happy, safe, and healthy, and I'd always do whatever I had to in order to make that happen.

Glancing over at Kinley as the picked at her food the best she could before peeking over at me for help. As I reached over to help her, I felt content.

Yeah. I'd do anything for this little girl.


Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!