"Good morning officer, what can I do for you?" He seemed kind enough, but no one was kind once they noticed how truly repulsive I was. I wasn't good for anything other than doing the house work.

"I've brought in the girl I was talking to you about, Maisee?"

"Oh yes, yes, come in." He motioned for us to enter the threshold. But I couldn't move, my feet felt like they were glued to the porch I was standing on. I didn't want to go in, I wish I could just stay on the run forever. That way, no one would be able to hurt me anymore. The officer didn't notice my hesitance, striding in and expecting me to follow. When I didn't, they both looked at me expectantly. "You coming?" I was saved a reply when a woman stepped up from behind him, flashing me a worried look.

"Don't, Zed. What happened to her was awful, maybe she doesn't feel like coming in just yet. Honey, why don't you go and sit outside for a while, I'll bring you some hot chocolate and a coat in a minute." Only too happy to comply, I stepped away from the entrance and booked it down the small stairs. The ground was covered in a thin layer of frost which glowed white in the sunlight, but I didn't let myself get entranced by nature. Instead, I found myself a fallen branch to sit on, burying my head in my hands soon after so I wouldn't have to see my new house. I was thankful that the woman had been kind enough to see that I was uncomfortable, yet did she really understand the extent of how broken I am? How much I couldn't go in?

"Um… Hi." Quickly removing my hands from my face, my gaze shot upwards where it was met with a guy. I didn't get a chance to look at him though; I was already on my feet and ready to run away. They had probably changed their mind and sent someone to drag me into the house. I didn't want to go in - not before I came to terms that I might never walk out of that place alive. "No, wait, don't be scared, I brought you a blanket." I halted in my escape, shocked by his words. Who was he and why was he even bothering with me? I didn't matter.

"Why?" I don't know why I asked the question. It was just my stupid curiosty bubbling to the surface again. I should've simply run, when you stopped and chatted with monsters, that's when you get hurt. In any case, I thought he wouldn't hear – my back was turned toward him and leaves were rustling in the background – yet somehow he did. He was the first person to answer one of my questions in days. It felt so nice to have someone hear. But I couldn't let myself get lured in by it.

"You looked cold out here. Mom will be out soon with your hot chocolate too, but I thought you could use some company." He was extending the lilac blanket towards me, and as I went to grab it shakily, I stopped in hesitation. Should I grab it? Would he shout at me for it? Sometimes I was beaten for grabbing things that were offered to me because I was supposed to be generous and give it back. Was this a test like that?

The cold shiver that ran its way up my spine made me make up my mind quickly. Even if he did hit me for this afterwards, at least the cold wouldn't be able to seep into my bones. That had only happened once before, and I'd nearly had to go to hospital. The monster beat me for that too.

Luck didn't seem to be on my side though, my foot catching on a piece of ice as I slowly grabbed the blanket. I'd been too focused on judging his reaction to actually be able to keep my balance. I wasn't normally this clumsy whilst in nature - I had a way of just being able to tell where things were - although civilisation was a whole different matter all together. Maybe it was because I was talking to the cute boy, that must be it.

"Owie." The soft murmur left my lips as I tried to collect myself. I was stopped by a hand, it was reaching out but I didn't understand why.

"Here, let me help you up." I let my eyes drift up to his face for the first time, and then back down to his hand. No one had ever lifted me up off the ground. Normally I was just screamed at for being clumsy. Which, in a house, I was. I couldn't let him touch me though, scrambling up to a standing position on my own instead.

His kind brown eyes followed me all the way. He was gorgeous. That was probably just another mind trick they'd play on me. I certainly hoped not. At least during these 17 years the monsters hadn't messed with my heart. They'd never led me to believe that anyone could love me. They'd made it all very clear. Yet these people were being nice and offering me hot chocolates with soft blankets. How long would it take them to turn on me and hurt me once more?

"You ok?"

"Y-yeah." Finally taking the blanket from him, I looked up for what would hopefully be the last time. As we made eye contact, he pulled in a ragged breath. His brown hair falling into his eyes as he shook his head, probably trying to clear out the image of my ghostly-looking gaze. While he did this, I couldn't help but admire how cute he really was. It'd make this so much easier if he weren't.

"Do you want me to sit with you?" I hadn't even wrapped myself in the blanket yet. I was afraid to do so in front of him. Maybe he'd take it away for being rude and being warm whilst he wasn't.

"Then you'll be cold." It wasn't that I cared about his well-being. In my old house, I was supposed to think about his needs before my own. His hunger came first, just like his breakfast. His body warmth came first too – he always got the duvet and the blankets during winter time. He always, always, came first. Because I was too disgusting to be anything but last.

"Oh, don't worry about me, I'm used to the cold up here in the mountains." I was surprised that he'd refused the offer to go back in and pretend this conversation never happened. In fact, I was so shocked that all I could do was shrug and sit back down on the log. He joined me, but I couldn't force myself to start up another conversation. After a while, he spoke up again. "Don't you have a coat?"

Not bothering with a reply, I just shook my head.

"And any clothes warmer than that? You'll get cold really fast up here." Once again, I shook my head. He'd be in for a shock when he found that I didn't even have any other clothes apart from this old sweater and my faded jeans. I only had them and my imitation converse because the monster knew it'd be suspicious if I showed up at school in nothing but socks and a t-shirt. "Hm… Mom might want to go out shopping with you then. She's the one who told you to stay out here if you wanted."

"She was nice."

"She is. If she does take you shopping though, and she takes my grandma along, beware. Karla, my grandma, is an unstoppable force of nature when she sees something she likes." At that, I left out a soft laugh, even though I didn't really feel like expressing my non-existent joy. Luckily, the woman from before came then, carrying a steaming mug in her hand, saving me from having to actually make a proper response to his statement. She looked so warm and motherly, just like my mum should've been. Just standing near her made the urge to trust her unbearable. It was people like her that I had to look out for.

"I heard something about grandma's shopping?" She shot the boy a reprimanding look, but before she could scold him for what he'd done, I stood in front of him. From what I'd seen so far, this family was a lot more normal and dynamic than mine had been, I didn't want to shatter all of that. It was my fault that he'd made the joke in the first place, he'd just been trying to cheer me up. I always mess everything up.

"No, it… it wasn't his fault. If you're going to hurt someone, hurt me." At my final word, I hung my head low. I didn't want to see the expression that crossed her face when she decided she'd rather hit worthless little ol' me than her son.

"-What?"

Hi :)

I just want to say one thing: Oh my god guys. Seriously, oh my god. Thank you so much for all of your reviews, especially to the Guests, who i couldn't send a PM to in thanks. But, yeah, I didn't expect to get that much of a positive reaction, you're the best :)

Also, I just wanted to tell you guys how the family works. So Sky and Zed have had 6 children: Vince and Max who are 5 year old twins, Blake aged 13, Alex and Marcus who are both 15, and obviously Gray (who's 17). So that's the whole family, who you'll probably get to see next chapter. Hopefully it won't take me too long to write it :D

Bye bye :)