-Chapter Seven-

Okay, this chapter is a few days later. Sorry if you get confused!

The chair creaked every time I shifted my weight. How old was this thing? It's not like I'm overweight, especially after I lost all that weight after the accident. Though it's not like I'm stick thin now. I still had the curves that any normal girl would kill for.

After dropping Kiana and Doris off at their new orphanage, Ms. Hemings brought me back to her office where she promptly told me to sit on this old chair in the hallway. Just seconds before she disappeared into the room next to it.

Twenty minutes later, I still sat there, ignoring the questioning stares from almost everyone who passed. One man, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, actually stopped to openly look at me. Or so I thought—he was actually looking at the door next to me. And with a brief "Excuse me sweetheart" he slipped past me and into the room that Ms. Hemings had entered.

Sitting there, I had a lot of time to think. I'd asked her to not take me to an orphanage but…where else would I go? I guess I hadn't really thought about it. Moment of insanity much…?

"Blair?"

I jumped and twisted in my seat to look at Ms. Hemings, who had her head poking outside the door. "Can you come in here for a moment? I'd like to introduce you to someone."

I nodded and followed her into the small room. Inside was a cherry wood desk with three matching chairs. In one of them sat the man from earlier and behind the desk sat a plump woman with glasses hanging from around her neck. Sunlight streamed through the window behind the desk, lighting up the room.

The woman nodded once, collected a thick stack of papers, and briskly left the room. Okay, who crapped in her Cheerios? Certainly not me, I'm sure.

Ms. Hemings cleared her throat before talking, "Blair, this is Dean. My fiancé…I thought you two should meet before we made any further decisions."

I shot her an openly confused look, which she dismissed by turning to Dean, who looked kind of awkward lounging there on the chair. "Honey this is Blair, the girl I've been telling you about these past few days."

Dean stood, confirming that he was about a foot taller than me and definitely Ms. Hemings. And I, myself, am pretty tall. He stuck his big calloused hand out, flashing white teeth, "Hey kiddo."

I took it, shaking his hand firmly before pulling away and tucking my arms across my chest. His hand reminded me too much of my brothers. When I thought about it, he and Ms. Hemings were in there late twenties. Close to Rian's age.

"So," he continued, "my wife has told me things about you, and as far as I can tell, it sounds like you are just like her when she was your age."

Behind me, I heard Ms. Hemings gasp before waving him off. "Whatever Dean…and it wasn't that long ago. It's only been a few years."

He rubbed his scruffy chin and looked upward as if thinking deeply, "Ah, yes. How old are you Blair? Eighteen?"

"Seventeen…"

"See? That's a little over ten years ago sweetie! I'd say it was quite a while ago." This time Ms. Hemings reached around me to pinch his arm, which he rubbed exaggeratedly.

She scolded him, "Take this a little more seriously will you?" But we both saw the thin smile she was trying to hide behind her hand.

"Fine, fine," Dean grumbled before turning back to me. "What school did you use to go to?"

Why were they asking me questions? My heart pounded mercilessly against my rib cage. "I-I was home schooled between my father and brother."

He dropped back down into his seat with Ms. Hemings following right behind him. She gestured for me to sit in the chair in the middle, so I did. Dean scratched his head, "That's a bit rare…to be home schooled so close to a good school."

I shrugged, "My mom didn't like the school. Or that's what my father used to tell me. She always had her own beliefs."

The door clicked open, revealing the plump woman once again as she made her way to the desk. She clucked her tough, "Feet off my table Mr. Fare, did no one teach you any manners?"

"Did no one give you enough hugs as a child?" I mumbled under my breath.

Ms. Hemings seemed to find this rude, as I could tell from the look she shot me, but Dean chuckled. He even held his hand up for a high-five, which I returned after a slight hesitation.

Ms. Hemings gave us both disapproving looks. Dean smiled at me, winking before he put on a more 'serious' expression. I didn't realize that, gradually, I started to feel more relaxed sitting between them.

"Have you two made your decision?" The woman asked as she slid on her gaudy glasses. She peeked over the rims at Ms. Hemings and her husband then looked down at the papers she was holding, "Yes? No?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dean and Ms. Hemings share a look. I glanced at Ms. Hemings, then Dean, still confused.

Dean spoke first, "You know what? I'm game. It's worth a try, right?"

Then Ms. Hemings, "I'd already made mine. The rest was up to Dean. So," she glanced at me, smiling, "then we've made up our mind."

"What decision?" I asked, becoming tense and nervous. "I've got it Paula," Ms. Hemings turned to me. "We were thinking…that you could come and live with us for a while. Temporarily. And if it all works out, we'll adopt you."

I was stunned into silence.

"Is that okay with you?"

My mouth opened but no sound came out, so I settled for nodding.

Everyone jerked in surprise when Dean clapped his hands together, "So it's settled! Since we already signed the papers we can head out. We have your bag in the car already as well."

"Oh, okay…sooo…," I rung it out, asking a silent question.

Ms. Hemings caught on first, "We'll take you back to our place so you can settle in. It already decided that you'll go to Union High School on Wednesday. Okay?"

I nodded. Wednesday, that gives me the rest of today and tomorrow. "Cool."

We drove in separate cars, me and Ms. Hemings in hers and Dean in his. He drove a slightly muddy red truck, seeming twice the size of Ms. Hemings little vehicle.

She huffed, "I don't know why he always insists on driving right behind me. Does he think my car will combust or randomly fly away? I mean really!"

When I watched the red truck, I realized that he did seem quite determined to stay directly behind us. Not even letting any cars cut in front of him. This amused me a bit, and I feared it would show on my face. It did.

"It's not funny," Ms. Hemings scowled at him when she saw him in the rearview mirror, "I'm sure he's breaking some kind of law."

I shook my head, fighting off a smile that I hadn't smiled in weeks. "Ms. Hemings-"

She jumped, "Oh! That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Why don't you try calling me by my first name now that we're going to be living together. It's Trina. "

"Sure…Trina."

Ms. Hemings- I mean Trina nodded, "It'll take some getting used to but I think it'll work."

Next thing I knew, we were at a gate. It was iron and stood at least ten feet tall. I squinted, watching the guard walk to the car. When he got close enough I saw that his name tag read THOMAS in big block letters. He was bald with one of those typical grey mustaches under his nose.

"Well, good evening Trina. I presume that Dean is somewhere close behind?" He said, chuckling to himself.

She sighed, smiling a little as well, "Isn't he always?"

"But of course," he bent down to check the car, and froze when he saw me staring. "Hmm, who might this be?"

"This is Blair; she'll be living with us from now on. So make sure you don't lock her out because you don't recognize her."

Thomas scratched at is neck, "Will do ma'am. Have a good day." He speed walked back to his station, fumbled with a few buttons, and waved to us then Dean. Then will almost no sound at all, the gate slid to the left, inviting us in.

Beyond the gate, a suburb of houses lined the pavement streets. All of them huge in the same way. They had to of been at least three stories tall. The yards were a different matter, most were pretty small, but some could fit pools in the backyard. I got a glimpse of a few over the white privacy fences that cornered half of the houses. To the designers' credit, every house had just a little bit of difference. Whether it was the color, shape, or charm that radiated off of each one.

Trina pulled the car into a driveway, "Home at last."

She jumped out but I hesitated. Maybe someday, this would be home to me too. Trina came around and opened my door, "Come on in. Dean will get your bag."

I nodded, climbing up out of the small car and shutting the door just before Dean's truck pulled in next to it. He stuck his head out of the window, "How 'bout we order pizza? I'm starved."

My stomach growl involuntarily, "Sounds good to me. Any chance we can get meat lovers with cheese crust?" It felt odd asking.

Dean draped his arm dramatically over his eyes, "Thank the heavens! She's not a vegetarian!" He peeked at me from under his arm, smiling. "Of course, it's my favorite too."

Trina rolled her eyes, "Dean that was one time. And it was only for a week."

"And what a long week that was! She tried to go all vegetarian on me. My taste buds left me alone and just recently came back," he explained.

She glared at him.

After Dean grabbed my suitcase we headed inside. Trina set off down the hall to call Pizza Hut while I followed Dean. The front door opened right into the kitchen. Which, by the way, looked as fancy as the outside of the house, with pure granite counter tops and white cabinets.

Straight a crossed was an archway that led into the living room. The dark hardwood floor looked chilly under my feet. But I couldn't feel it through my worn tennis shoes. One of the few things I brought with me.

A flat screen hung from the wall, facing a black leather couch and coffee table. I was still gawking at it when Dean turned down the hall where Trina disappeared. He started flipping more lights on as he went up the stairs, "Sorry, Trina likes it to be at least freezing in here. And she has a bad habit of walking around in the dark." He stopped a wooden door with a shiny bronze handle and opened it. Inside was a delicately designed, vintage themed room. "You'll be staying in this room here, unless you'd like another. We have a few other spare rooms you can stay in."

"No, no. This one is fine." I confirmed, taking in the dark room. The window popped outward, providing a ledge to sit on. The bed was a full-size, covered by a frill-edged red bed cover. It was such a smooth color that it could have only been described as "blood red".

I took my suitcase from Dean and set it on the bed lightly. "Um, Dean?"

He leaned against the doorway, "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem. I'm going to go check on Trina and make sure she didn't order supreme pizza."

"Yeah, okay."

Then he left, leaving my alone so I could unpack my suitcase. I zipped it open, pulling out the three pairs of jeans I own and placing them on the bed. Under it was the picture. It was taken two years ago by a random pedestrian for us, it was my favorite.

My dad had insisted that we get out of the house and go to the park just outside of the city. We complained and shot snarky comments all the way there. But of course, we didn't feel like raining on dad's parade and played along when we got there. The first thing we did was feed the ducks. I remember the look on Rians' face when a goose flew at him; he fell flat on his butt in the mud. Dad and I laughed for ten minutes straight, but Rian didn't think it was funny until weeks later.

I asked a nice woman passing by to take a picture of us and she did. In the picture the lake was behind us and shining brightly. I stood in front of my brother and dad, looking small. At the last second, Rian had snaked his hand up to my head, rustling my hair into a knotted mess. As a result, the picture was a bit weird. With me twisting around to glare at Rian, and Rian smiling down at me with an amused expression, Dad was the only one facing the camera. He looked as happy as can be.

I loved this picture just as much as the one I had hidden behind it. To put it simply, it was of my mother. Her bright hair was pulled back in a black clip, a few strands escaping. She squinted up at the camera with her mouth curled up in a knowing smile. But really got me was her eyes. They were just like mine, with the same piercing green.

It was the only picture I had of her. And at the moment, I was really glad I had stuffed it into the black frame with the first one. Otherwise I would have forgotten it.

After packing everything I had brought into the drawer, I lied down on the fluffy bed. Just as I did I heard Dean calling from downstairs.

"Blair! The pizza is here!"

My stomach growled even louder than before.