Naia's POV

It was dark outside, but then again, it was almost 6:30. Jimmy made some stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy for the Christmas dinner but since turkey took too long to make, he made chicken instead.

"Naia, can you pass me the gravy?" Otis asked and I handed him the bowl of gravy after I had drenched my chicken, mashed potatoes and stuffing it. I then made sure I had some greens of my plate and helped myself to some salad.

"You can eat whenever you're ready. There's no thing we do." Shay told me as I sat there awkwardly.

I smiled at her gratefully, "Thanks for telling me." I picked up my fork and dug into the food.

It was amazing.

There were a whole bunch of conversations going around but I wasn't sure if I could join any of them so I just kept eating and let my mind wander off to wherever it wanted.

"Naia." Thomas whispered from next to me.

I pulled him closer, wrapping an arm around him. "Yeah little dude?"

"Why are we down here?" He asked, snuggling into my side causing me to wince a little bit. The last beating from Mr. Samual had really left a mark on me.

I sighed, "I'm not really sure Thomas. I think Mr. and Mrs. Samual are having people over so they don't want them to see us?"

"Why?" asked Shane. I looked over to Ellie for some help.

Ellie saw my plea and jumped in, "They're scared that the people will think we're better than them. They're scared, that's all. It really doesn't have anything to do with us."

"Tomorrow's Christmas." Shane said matter of factly. It broke my heart since both boys were so excited for Christmas and now it seemed like we'd spend in down in this dark, cold basement.

"Yeah, tomorrow is Christmas." I said as I stretched my legs out.

"I don't like Christmas anymore." Shane said and beside me, I felt Thomas nod his head in agreement.

I bit my lip before answering. "Shane, Thomas, I promise you that once you leave the Samuals, you'll love Christmas again."

"Do you like Christmas?" Thomas asked me.

I shook my head, "No, but once we leave this place, I will."

"What are you hoping Santa will bring you Naia?" Stella asked me. She was sitting on my right and Gabby was sitting on my left. Next to Gabby on the other side was Matt.

"Uh," It took me a moment to fully snap back into reality. "I don't know, I don't have much more I could ask for." I answered truthfully.

Stella shook her head and smiled, "Think outside the box. If you could have anything in the world right now, what would it be?"

I was going to say friends but that would sound too sad so opted for something better.

"Skittles." I said in a monotone voice.

Gabby and Stella burst into laughter and I couldn't help but join in.

"You could have asked for a dog, a new video game, whatever, but you asked for Skittles?" Sylvie asked between giggles.

I shrugged, "I've never had one before, but I mean come on. Colourful sweet things?" I used my fork to pick up a piece of chicken and swiped it through some extra gravy on my plate before putting it in my mouth.

I was getting sleepy even though it was only 8:30. Everyone had settled down and was entertaining themselves in some way but I was bored which was probably why I was getting tired. My eyes started to droop but I fought them, though that most likely made me even more tired.

"You good Naia?" Stella's voice asked and I lazily turned my head to look at her.

I nodded, "Uh huh, just a little bit tired."

"Tired!" Stella exclaimed taking a seat next to me. "It's only 8:30. You don't even go to bed this early on a school night."

I laughed and then shrugged. "I guess, but I'm bored so..."

"Ah, yes. Boredom makes anyone tired. Come join the girls and we can do something interesting." Stella said and I followed her to where Gabby, Sylvie, Shay and Foster were sitting.

"There's my girl!" Gabby said, opening her arms so I could give her a hug.

We talked about stuff like movies and makeup when the topic of birthdays suddenly came up.

"Your birthday's November 1st, we know that." Shay said pointing at me.

I nodded, "Yeah, pretty awesome birthday. Thomas' birthday is coming up. It's on December 28th."

"How did he find out his birthday?" Stella asked. "I mean, they didn't tell you guys anything about yourselves."

I was a little bit confused with what Stella was asking but I understood eventually. "Oh, Shane and Thomas came to live with the Samuals when Shane was almost seven and Thomas was five. I guess their previous foster parents were nice enough to tell them."

"Why did they change foster parents do you know?" Shay asked me cautiously.

I shrugged, "I don't know the details but they were killed in a car crash."

Suddenly, Gabby's phone rang and she picked it up and answered.

"Oh! Hi Kristen, yes this is Gabby." Gabby said and looked at me. I gave her a shrug and slouched in my seat.

Great, she called.

"Um, let me ask her." Gabby said and covered the phone with her hand. "She wants to talk to you."

I hesitated but then nodded. "Sure."

Gabby handed me the phone and I put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

I heard my mom's voice on the other end. "Oh Naia, sweetie, I called to wish you a Merry Christmas!" She said and I heard some background noise and some shuffling, "Nolan and you father say Merry Christmas as well."

I nodded, "Oh, yeah. Uh, Merry Christmas to you guys as well."

"I'll have to ask Gabby and Matt but I think we should meet up soon after Christmas. Victor and I both have the 27th off, maybe we could meet up then?" She asked. "I mean, if Gabby and Matt don't have a shift of course."

I looked over at Gabby who gave me a encouraging smile. I then looked at Shay who gave me a thumbs up.

"Yeah, I'll ask them." I replied trying to sound like I at least cared a little bit.

"Okay, well, Merry Christmas sweetie." Mom, no Kristen, no Mom, said.

"Merry Christmas." I said and hung up before anything else could be said. I handed the phone to Gabby and crossed my arms before settling down on the chair.

Shay put a hand on my arm, "Is everything okay?"

"She wants to meet up on 27th, I was supposed to ask Gabby and Matt if that was okay." I said avoiding all eye contact and staring at the fridge.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Gabby nod. "Of course, we don't shift that day." Gabby said.

"She said she would call you guys before to confirm." I muttered.

"Do you want to meet her?" Sylvie asked and I shrugged. "You know, I've always wanted to meet my birth parents."

This caught me off guard. Sylvie. Adopted?

"You're adopted?" I asked her and Sylvie nodded. I looked at everyone else's reaction and understood that I was the only one that didn't know. Which made sense, besides Foster, I was newest here.

"I'm kind of angry that they just left me." I admitted and then sighed. "But then I feel like I'm supposed to love them since we're blood related."

Foster smiled, "Maybe when you meet them, you'll start fitting more pieces together in your puzzle."

I nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense."

"So is it a yes?" Gabby asked me and I nodded again.

"Yeah."