A/N: Thank you for such kind reviews! :D I really appreciate them. Tell me what you'd like to see in future chapters! Characters, events, etc. I'll favourite and review one of your stories and credit you if I use your idea.

Chapter Three

That night, Lorna cuddled up in her bed doing exactly what she'd been bottling up all day. Crying. Softly, so as not to be heard by whoever occupied the rooms next door and were possibly still awake. Every time she came close to sleep, a new nightmare or vision of her parents or her brother would enter her mind and swallow her up. Sweat was dripping down her face and mingling with the teardrops. Surely she wouldn't be the only person in this place to suffer from nightmares, they'd all been through these things, but Lorna just couldn't think that way. She didn't want their comfort, it'd just make things worse.

When she woke up for what she'd counted as the fifth time from her short bouts of sleep, Lorna slipped out of her bed and rubbed her eyes, tip-toeing out of her room and closing the door behind her carefully. As she'd guessed, other people were probably still awake, so sneaking around was not going to be easy. Lorna was smart enough to know that the 'sleep walking' excuse would get her nowhere. She was an appalling actress.

A creaky floorboard at the top of the staircase jolted her, causing her heart to thump unnecessarily violently. With a relieved sigh, she reached the bottom step and casually continued on to the direction she remembered as the kitchen and dining room. Pulling her messy hair back into a tight ponytail, she entered the room and strode over to the countertop, now feeling confident that nobody had seen or heard her. Nobody would be down here anyw-

Just as she'd been setting herself in a seat at the counter, a head had jumped up from the other side and made her jump out of her skin. She would've fallen out of the chair, too, if they hadn't grabbed her hand and she hadn't grabbed the chair. With her eyes wide open and her heart thumping against her ribcage, Lorna breathed deeply and sighed again in relief. Thankfully, they'd stopped any noise from being made and prevented any injuries. Lorna was, now, very paranoid however.

"What'd you do that for?" Lorna now recognised the boy as Johnny, and he had been quick to drop her hand once the chair was stable again. "Here's one thing you need to learn about this place: if you're going to sneak about, then you could at least try not to get caught."

As usual with Lorna, there was a dragged silence and Johnny considered her. "So, what're you doing up?" Of course, there was no response. "Oh, yeah. The new girl that doens't talk. Well, if you're in the kitchen then I take it you want something to eat or drink. What do you want?"

Lorna glared at him when he mentioned her silence, but soon recovered and shrugged, puzzled. Why had she decided on the kitchen? Perhaps it was because she could see outside, or because the living room was just too lonely. But Johnny took her answer as an orange juice and took a seat beside her, sliding the carton into her hands. Reluctantly, she gave him a grateful look and turned to sip on her drink. He may not have been the nicest resident in the home, but that didn't matter. Lorna wasn't looking for friends, remember? But company couldn't hurt.

"Why're you down here?" he repeated, clearly refusing to take silence as an answer. "I mean, I've been down here since half one. It's half two now. So why-"

He stopped, noticing the expression of determination on Lorna's face. "All right, don't tell me then." They sat in absolute quiet after that, only slurping on their juice and yawning every now and then. When the clock ticked to three o' clock, Johnny stood up suddenly out of his seat and squashed the carton into the bin. He turned to Lorna. "You won't tell anyone I was here."

It wasn't quite a threat or a warning, not a plead or a reassurance. He said it as though it were a fact, and that alone scared Lorna. What if, by choosing the path of never speaking, she had dragged herself out into a forest packed full of wolves? What if she'd willingly made herself vulnerable, instead of strong?

Pondering over the thought worriedly, Lorna threw her carton into the bin and made her way back upstair. Whether her plan had gone horrifically wrong or not, it had already begun. That meant that there was no going back now, only continuing forward. Wherever that was.

Weary and tired, she slipped into bed and fell into a deep sleep instantly. Only one nightmare appeared this time, and it was quickly washed away by a warm image of her family. Rueben was snuggled beside their living room fire, his messy tangle of brown curls laying on a large cushion. Beside him sat their mother, her glistening straight blonde hair shining in the moonlight that streaked through the window. Her kind grey eyes were full of hope and love as she stroked her son's head. Then there was their father - his scruffy brown hair, just like Lorna and Rueben, and his dark eyes filled with laughter and pride. Lorna snuggled between her parents, a wide grin spreading across her face, one arm resting over Rueben's sleeping body, finally happy again. Rueben was safe. Her parents were safe. She was surrounded by people who loved her...

A scream jolted her awake. Glancing towards the other side of the room, where a clock had been evidently left by the room's former resident, Lorna realised that it was seven o' clock. Seven o' clock, on a Saturday morning. Were these people crazy? Why ever anybody would wake up at such a time baffled Lorna as she creeped out of the room, half asleep and yawning. It had been a girl's scream she'd heard, one loud enough to wake anybody up.

Entering the kitchen, she suddenly became aware of the problem. Other kids had rushed out of bed to see the source of the scream, too, and looks of shock and amusement were plastered all over their faces. In front of them, behind the breakfast counter, was a horrified Carmen. Covered in orange juice. Wide eyes drifting towards the bin, Lorna saw the carton immediately. Her carton. Clearly, when she'd thrown it, the carton had only fallen in the edge of the bin. Carmen had probably tried to close the bin and... well, Lorna hadn't exactly finished her drink last night.

Johnny sent her a knowing look and practically smirked. She knew he wasn't going to tell anybody, of course, perhaps he was even worried. If anybody found out that he'd been awake at such hours last night, there'd be hell to pay. However, Lorna was battling giggles herself at the distressed girl. Mike had rushed to help, handing pieces of paper towel over to her and scrubbing at the juice on her pyjamas.

"You'd better go and get changed, Carmen," he suggested, frowning apologetically.

Nodding, Carmen began to leave the room. Before passing the crowd of kids, she stopped and glared at them all. "Whoever this was, you'd better own up."

With that, she stormed through them and marched up the stairs. Once everyone was sure she was out of earshot, laughter commenced - all but from Lorna. It was way too early to laugh, and it'd ruin her act of silence. Mike raised his eyebrows at them somewhat disapprovingly and left the room at that. A few moments later, everybody was seated at the table and Gina had set out plenty of toast and juice for them.

This time, Lorna didn't sit next to Carmen. Actually, she was a little afraid of what she'd do to her if she got too close. Carmen didn't know it was Lorna's fault, but it didn't mean she wouldn't take it out on her. Instead, she was the last to sit down. Unsure and feeling awkward, Lorna looked around and bit her lip.

"Here," Rick seemed to have noticed and was gesturing to the chair beside him. "You can sit there, if you like."

Gratefully, Lorna slid into the chair. Thankfully, Rick didn't expect conversation out of her. He left her to finish her breakfast and even poured some raspberry juice for her, smiling. Lorna had decided that Rick was a nice person, but she wouldn't dare like him. Fondness was dangerous.

"So, Lorna, how many carehomes have you been a resident of before Elmtree House?" Gus asked, pen and pad at the ready. It made Lorna sort of nervous, the way he leaned forward across the table and held his notepad firmly in front of his face - staring right into Lorna's eyes.

"Maybe she doesn't want to discuss that," Rick cut in, looking at Lorna in the corner of his eyes. "It's a bit of a personal question."

When Gus backed away reluctantly, Lorna found herself looking at Rick thankfully again. Damn, why couldn't the Elmtree care kids just be horrible to her and get it over with? She still hadn't smiled - except at Harry, but that didn't count, it was like looking at Rueben - or spoken to anybody. No personal attachments made.

Frustrated at the fact that she'd had to wait for the rest of the care kids to finish eating when she'd finished so early, Lorna cleared and washed her plate before rushing back up to her bedroom, aware of the fact that Rick's eyes were on her the whole time.