I waited with Tim until he fell asleep, his heavy breathing filling his shared room, before leaving, wandering slowly towards my own, locking the door when I was safely inside. My eyes wandered over all of the furniture, making sure I had left nothing on the counter-tops before I stripped, shivering as the cold air hit my skin. Within three seconds of my clothes hitting the floor, I was under my duvet, shaking with the cold. I knew what was coming as soon as I closed my eyes, but staying awake would only postpone the inevitable, the nightmares.

"You can run, but you can't hide." A deep voice echoed out, reaching my hiding place. I shuddered, the thought of what the person would do to me if they found me. I held my breathe as a shadow passed across the door, hesitating before passing on, the footsteps receding into the darkness. "I will find you!" He growled, his fist reaching out to hit something. "You're in the closet again aren't you?" He laughed, happy he had discovered me.

I shrank further back into the coats as the doors crashed open, meaty fingers searching through the clothes until they landed on my ankles. "Come here." The man laughed. "I want to have some fun."

I tried to wriggle away, kicking out with my free foot, connecting with something soft. The man yelped and briefly released my ankle. I got to my feet and tried to run, tripping as he grabbed my ankle again. "Let go of me!" I yelled, kicking out again. The man laughed as he tugged me towards him, pinning me to the floor as he unbuckled his pants and tugged them down, stroking himself as he stared at me.

I tipped my head backwards, anything to avoid looking at the figure. Another person stood in the doorway, his face obscured by shadow, his posture showing horror. "Help me." I pleaded, reaching a hand out towards the figure.
"I'm trying." He responded, holding his hand out towards me. "Come on, just a little closer." He groaned, his fingertips brushing mine, electric shocks bursting down my hands.
"Please..." I yelled,my scream cut off as the man forced his penis into my mouth, causing me to choke, my vision going black.

I cuddled my duvet, tears streaking down my face, my breathing ragged. I raised my head slightly, my eyes on my alarm clock. The red numbers read 2:30am, too early to get out of bed. I groaned as I pulled my blankets back over my shoulders, shuddering at the memory of the dream. "Fuck sleep." I grunted as I tugged open my bedside table drawer, my hand searching for my blade.

My fingers brushed the edge of it, grabbing a hold before pulling it towards me and grabbing my small first aid kit. The blade was stained with blood, droplets scattered across the surface. Nostalgia kicked in, the first time I dragged the blade across my skin, the first time blood flowed from the wounds, the first time waking up in a strange place.

I dragged the blade across my wrist, slicing over previous scars, wincing at the bite of the cold metal. A shudder worked its way around my shoulders, my muscles clenching around the blade. "Damn it." I hissed as blood crawled over the edge of my wrist and landed on my covers."Godamnit!" I yelled, my voice slightly louder. The blood warmed as it fled down my arm, streaking red lines into my flesh.

A knock at the door forced me to look up, my heart thumping erratically in my chest. "Yeah?" I stammered.
"Fwankie, I had a bad dweam." Muttered Tim.
"Hold on a second." I replied, climbing to my feet and grabbing a pair of sweatpants out of my bag. Once I had them on, I opened the door and let Tim in, picked him up and carried him to my bed.
"Can I stay here Fwankie?" He asked, his eyes wide. I nodded.
"What was your dream about?" I asked, stroking his hair as he got comfy.
"You were hurting yourself Fwankie." Tim muttered. My heart started beating faster, my arm automatically going out of Tim's sight. "You were hurting yourself weren't you Fwankie?"
"Uh..." I started, not wanting to admit it.
"It's okay if you were Fwankie, I understand but don't hurt too much because then you'll have to take a vacation and I can't see you anymore, like my sister. Please don't go on a vacation?"
"I won't." I whispered, resolving in that instant to try and stop.
"Fank you." Tim whispered before cuddling against my stomach and falling asleep.

---

"You ready to go?" Mrs Jones asked.
"Yeah, just let me go say goodbye to Tim and then I'm completely done." I replied before backing away and walking up the stairs.

"Tim." I called, poking my head through his bedroom door. "Tim, I gotta go."
"Please don't Fwankie. Please don't go." He cried as he ran towards me. I knelt down so I was on the same level as him and wrapped my arms around his shoulder.
"I have to bud, but remember I'll come back and visit, I already promised."
"How do I know you won't take a vacation Fwankie?" He asked, his blue eyes teary as he looked at me.
"I promise that as well Tim. I won't hurt myself any more." I muttered.
"Pwomise?" He asked. I nodded.
"Promise." I paused and rested my head on his shoulder, sighing. "I have to go now. I'll come back soon." I whispered. I climbed to my feet and let go of his shoulders, waving as I walked back down the stairs.

I slid my backpack onto my shoulders and waved goodbye to Mrs Jones. James was just signing the last of the paperwork then I would be going 'home'. I sighed. "I wuv you Fwankie!" Yelled Tim as he came hurtling down the stairs, throwing himself at me, tears streaking down his face.
"I love you too Timmy." I muttered as I buried my face in his hair.
"Have fun at your new home Fwankie."
"I will." I sighed before placing Tim on his feet. "You ready?" I asked James, who nodded. "Bye bye Timmy."
"Byeee Fwankie!" He cried, waving as I grabbed my bags and climbed into James' car.

"You love that little kid don't ya?" James asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.
"Yeah, I kinda grew attached. He reminds me of my little brother." I sighed.
"Well, how about, when we've got you settled in, we let him come to visit?" John suggested, turning around to face me. I nodded, my eyes on the trees down the side of the interstate. "You're quiet, what's up?"
"Didn't sleep too well." I muttered, yawning to prove my point.
"We need to go shopping to get you some stuff for your room, but you can sleep afterwards, how does that sound?" James asked,
"Yeah." I replied.

I stepped into the furniture store, my eyes roaming over all the different types of things. "Choose whatever you want." John said, smiling at the shock on my face. "Yeah, whatever you want. Go, write down the numbers of the items you want and come back here in an hour." I nodded and sped off, heading towards the back of the store.

My eyes landed on a wrought iron bed frame, painted black. It was just right. I scribbled down the number on a piece of paper and was off looking for other items to go in my room. A shout distracted my attention. "Dude, Mikey, bro. I do not need a new bed!" A male voice yelled, footsteps echoing as someone chased down the elusive Mikey. I turned around, ready to head off towards the wardrobes and drawers and walked slap bang into a person.
"Shit, I am so sorry." I stammered as I stepped back.
"It's okay dude. If it wasn't for my douchebag brother, I would have been paying more attention to where I was going. I'm Gerard." He explained as he extended his hand. I shook it, deja vu clouding my mind.
"I'm Frank." I said.
"Cool. Well, I gotta go find Mikey, so hopefully I'll see ya soon?" He asked.
"Yeah, don't see why not." I replied, smiling as he ran off, shouting his brothers name.

"Here's the list." I said to John as I walked up, grinning from ear to ear as I listened to Gerard and Mikey shouting at each other as they chased each other round the store.
"Great, we'll go and get these ordered." John said, kissing James before disappearing to find an employee.
"How about we go out for lunch? What sort of things do you like?" James asked.
"Anything so long as it doesn't have meat." I replied, my stomach choosing that moment to rumble.
"Great!" He chuckled.

---

I looked around the diner, my eyes landing on each table for a short amount of time before I turned back to my 'parents'. "So what about school?" I asked. "I mean, there is no way I can keep going to my old one, it was a push to get me there from the orphanage, but now we are an extra half an hour away."
"Well, we were going to give you that choice. There is a nice school near the house, you could walk it, or we could get you home schooled." John said.
"School, definitely, please?" I asked, unsure if sounding so eager was a good idea. "Just so long as they have music classes."
"I know they do orchestra, but we can take you down tomorrow and you can have a look?" I nodded, grinning when my veggie burger arrived.
"Sounds good." I smiled, taking a bite of my burger.

---

I looked around what was to become my room, smiling, hope finally in my system. If all goes to plan, this will start feeling like a family, like a place I belong. When they signed the papers, I resolved not to run again, not unless I really needed to but John and James? They were really nice, they made me feel loved and they acted like they wanted me.

Maybe this would be the new beginning that I have been after since I was 15. Maybe I would finally be happy.

Notes

So, this would have been up sooner but I got distracted... Sorry ಥ_ಥ

But it's here now :P so enjoy <3

Remember, I need four comments before I add a new chapter :P

~Elise-Iero-