I make my way down carefully since the steps are carpet I am pretty happy.

I duck under the four stairs and by the wall making me invisible unless they walked over to me.

"She has been known to start fights, bad ones too."

"She's not in juvie. She can't be that awful kid you are telling me she is."

"Because she's sneaky, she doesn't get caught, she's not sloppy. She is smart and she can be an amazing kid, haven't heard a word since she was seven about fighting till a few weeks ago. Then at the place, she was threatening and starting all sorts of fights."

"That girl? The one who was shy to be around me and helped me grab cups without hesitation when my hands were full. That girl? Why are we discussing this again?"

"Look, I love seeing her have a home and life but her and other people don't mix well at all. You should understand that if anything goes wrong, don't send her back. Juvie might be the only place that can help straighten her out. It might be the best option now rather than in the future."

"Are you suggesting I get her put in juvie?"

"It might be the best thing for her, to get her to stop fighting."

"Thank you for your concern Andrew but you also have to look at this, her parents died in front of her at seven, her teachers are under suspicion that she has been being bullied for who knows how long, her father she thought loved her gave her up to go start a new life and abandon her after her mother died in front of her, she was in a place that has kids that are not nice and still gets straight A's. If I was her, I might as well gave up on life. So if she want's to fight to defend herself or go sparring to make herself feel better you better believe I will let her."

"Mrs. Elliot, I understand where you're coming from but-"

"No, no you don't. I was in juvie when I was a kid and it ruined me. I will not do that to her and you saying 'but' after that just shows you don't get where I am coming from. That girl has been through enough!"

"Mrs. Elliot, you must understand, she has given other kids black eyes. Broke their noses. I am trying to look out for your family."

"She is my family now, and I will look out for all of them, it is not your concern anymore Andrew. And did you ever hear what they did to cause her to switch."

Silence fills the air.

"Okay then. Beth! Breakfast is ready!" She shouts up the stairs.

Wow. Thanks, Andrew. Hope I never have to see you again. Gaby is my new favorite adult. She is on my side.

I slide back to the stairs and stand up and walk to them, making it seem as if I had just come down. He got the part about me being sneaky right.

I plaster a smile on my face and help her carry a few plates and cups filled with water over.

"You are so sweet." She exclaims as I take a plate from her hands and put it on the table.

She takes a seat across from Andrew and with me in the middle of the table.

She takes a plate and so does Andrew so I follow. There is a plate of pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and french toast. Love being able to eat without being rushed.

They grab their food first. I grab a piece of french toast with a slice of bacon and a few scrambled eggs. 

"So Beth, do you know Leo very well?"

"I know who he is but I haven't really ever talked to him," I say swallowing my food before I talk.

"He can be a bit intimidating at first. You have never had siblings before, right?"

"No, but my closest friends are like sisters."

"What about Alan?" Andrew butts in with a mouthful.

"Him too."

Mrs. Elliot's sides of her mouth tug up at my response to calling Alan, my sister.

"My husband is a doctor and I am a nurse so we normally work long hours. He should be home tonight though."

"What type of doctor if you don't mind me asking," I respond with. I know how to be polite. Why do you look so surprised?

"OB-GYN. I'm a Pediatric nurse."

"So you guys get to deliver and take care of the infants."

"Wow, you know your stuff. I've told my kids that at least a million times, still can't remember. How did you come to know so much?"

"High school assignments and just being in a hospital for long periods of time."

"Amazing. Studying anything else?"

"Vetranarian and paramedic."

"That's amazing." She says finishing her plate as I have only a small piece of bacon left.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Elliot, could I talk to you alone please?" Andrew says with a hint of urgency in his eye, not looking at me.

"Sure. Why don't we go outside?"

He nods his head and they both stand up.

"Go ahead and eat whatever you want. I'll get the plates so don't worry about it for now." She says to me as they walk away.

I slowly finish my bacon till I hear the front door close. I quickly gather the plates and cups, placing them in the sink and clean up the rest. When I finish I quickly run to the extra living room and dining room that sits next to the front door and put my ear to the wall. 

"At least keep her under lockdown. I am only worried about your safety. With everything that has happened to her lately, I fear she could break. And it won't be pretty."

"I invited you into my home, gave you a meal and now you try to tell me how to parent my daughter? I appreciate your concern but I am telling you, I have it under control."

"Listen and stop being so stubborn, she is a teenage girl who has been through a lot. You and I have known each other for a while now and I don't want to see you get hurt."

"You are not family or even a close friend and you have no right to talk to me like that in my own home. You can leave now."

I hear him sigh and I rush back to the kitchen and turn the corner as I hear the front door open. I take a quiet deep breath. Forget you, Andrew. I grab two plates from the table with food on them and walk them over to the counter when she turns the corner.

"Mr. Baker had some other events to attend to, he wanted to say goodbye but had to rush out."

I like this lady. She is sooo nice!

I nod my head as I turn to her.

"Why don't you go unpack? I'll take care of this, then I can show you around?"

"Alright," I say walking past her and up to my room. 

I quickly unpack what I can. Like, I should receive a reward for how quick that was. I take my phones and hide them in my drawers. I sigh looking at my work. Nothing much changed. I walk over to the plastic ball with a hole on one side and sit down. Just, taking everything in. I look over at the clock and see it reaching twelve pm. I should probably head back down.

I stand up and walk downstairs to see Gaby on her laptop. I walk over to her but she hears me coming before I reach her and turns her head to me.

"Done already?"

"Yep."

"Perfect, I have to go pick up Asher and Rain in three hours so we got some time."

I nod my head.

She stands up and closes her laptop, setting it on the coffee table. 

She shows me around the house a bit and talks a little about some certain rules they have but it's pretty standard. She then takes me outside and shows me around but before long we both notice it's three. 

"I better go pick up the kids. Leo isn't allowed to drive right now so I have to pick him up too. You wanna come?"

"Sure." 

I can't really just stay here.

She walks over to the side of the house with no deck wrapping around and there sits a limo, an AWD sports car, a black ford and a blue integra. My jaw drops but I quickly pick it up as she walks over to the limo. These people have to be crazy.

She opens the driver seat and smiles at me as I open the back seat. She gets in first and I follow seeing the inside. The windows are tinted making it dark but around the seats are fairy lights that go across the ceiling. Seats line one side and the back with bags of snacks or waters sit in a basket behind the door.

I sit down on the long couch close to the front which is separated by a wall with a square cut out from the middle up. I buckle up as she starts the car.

"So does Leo know you?"

"We know each other exist I guess. Does Leo know about you guys taking me in?"

"He knows he's getting a sister that is fifteen years old, whose name is Beth. I don't think he knows it's you though."

Oh. Well, that's going to be awkward. The rest of the ride is silent till we reach the middle school. She sits in the parking area till she says something.

"Here they come."

I lean forward a little and the door opens, in comes two very loud and bubbly kids.

"Mom! Mom, guess what!" Rain says dropping her backpack by a seat.

"Guess who's here first."

She looks over to me and so does Asher.

"Are you Beth?" Asher says dropping his bag.

I nod my head in agreement and Asher waves his hand while Rain grabs her bag to sit next to me.

"So you get to stay with us for a long time?"

Uh. Not up to me but why not?

"Yep."

She smiles wider.

"Hah! I got someone on my team now!"

"I got Leo on my team," Asher says trying to brag.

"Do you know who Leo is?" Rain says turning to me as we start to drive off.

"Sorta. I used to go to school with him."

"Oh, guess what happened today?"

"What?"

"I learned how to multiply and divide!"

"That's awesome!" I say playing along.

"Have you been to the house yet?" Asher says coming into the conversation.

"Yeah, I have been."

"Do you like your room? I got to help put stuff together!"

"Yeah, it looks awesome. Nice job."

And with that, her smile grew and so did the twinkle in her eye. 

She continues on and talks about her day until we reach the high school. Asher also ended up sitting next to Rain and joined what we were talking about. We drive by the front and I look out the window behind me that faces the parking lot. I look to the back and sure enough, there are the guys. They are all talking by their motorcycles.

"What are you looking at?" Rain asks noticing I am looking out the window.

"I thought I saw some of my friends pass by."

"Was it them?"

I turn back.

"Nope. What were you saying about Sammy?"

"She won a race against one of the boys in our class."

"He very fast?"

The door swings open and I turn my head along with Rain and Asher to see Leo walk in. He and I make eye contact and he gives me a confused look then looks to his mom.

"What's Beth doing here?"

"I mean, I have been talking about this for a while now."

He looks back to me realizing what I am doing here.

"I didn't know you were in foster care." He says setting down his bag and sitting down between Rain and me.

"Leo!" His mom exclaims.

"Leo pushed me!" Rain says with a pouty face.

"Sorry." He says putting his hands up.

She still gives a pouty face and scoots over to a new seat making Asher do the same. The car soon takes off and Leo turns to me.

"So you're with us for awhile?"

"Yep."

"Cool."

"She's going to school with you tomorrow and she's already been to the house. Be nice Leo."

"I will." He says rolling his eyes.

We make it to the house and step out. That's when it begins.