"Ah, Scott," Jill said and smiled when she saw him standing behind Patrick. "How are you? Are you well?" She looked at me before she looked at him and bowed her head, submitting ever so slightly.

"I am good and well. Thank you," Scott said and tore his gaze from me so that he could look at her. He offered her a tight smile and bowed his head in greeting before he lifted his head and stared at her. "How are you, Jill?"

"Good," she said. "Have you met Blaire yet?" She gestured to me. "She is good with kids as you can see. Zander basically leapt into her arms, which was good because I am still cooking." She bit back a small chuckle and shook her head.

Scott looked at me before he looked at her. "I had only glanced at her before she left and went up to her room," he admitted before he looked at me. He offered me a tight smile, looking nervous. "How are you, Blaire?" he asked as if he was testing my name out for the first time.

I shrugged and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line, and I ignored the way he made my heart skip a beat before it started to pound harder and faster in my chest. "I am ok," I said before I cleared my throat while I shifted in my seat. "Nervous."

"Nervous?" Jill asked and raised an eyebrow in question while she looked at me, surprised. She cocked her head to the side and bit back a small frown, and a look of worry flashed through her eyes. "Why are you nervous? You are safe."

I didn't say a word and tapped Zander's side with one finger, and Zander shifted but didn't make any noise as if he didn't care that I had tapped on his side. I looked at Scott before I looked at her, not knowing how to tell her that he was what was making me nervous.

Patrick cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, and we looked at him. He said something to his mother, and she looked at him with a curious look on her face and an annoyed look on Scott's face before they all looked at me.

I bit the inside of my lip and bit back a small gulp without saying a word. I watched as they talked with each other, wanting to know what they were talking about but didn't know how to ask them.

It was as if they were talking to each other through a different way than the way we normally talked to each other...

Scott held back an eye roll and set his jaw before he pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn't say a word to them, and his eyes seemed to grow softer when I caught his eye. "It is nice to meet you, Blaire," he said and held out his hand for me to shake, and a small smile appeared on his face.

I hesitated before I stood and started to walk over to him, making sure that Zander was safe in my arms. "It's nice to meet you, too, I guess," I said. I shifted Zander until I was able to have one hand free so that I could shake his hand.

Sparks flew between the two of us when I touched his hand, and I bit my lip to keep myself from gasping while a shiver went down my spine.

Zander whined when that happened and turned to look at his mom, and Jill turned to look at us with a small protective look in her eyes.

I hesitated and let go of Scott's hand before I turned to look at her, feeling guilty that Zander whined. "Here," I said and moved away from Scott before shifting Zander a little so that Jill could grab him. "I'm sorry. I-"

"Hush," she said and shook her head, interrupting me. She walked over to us and took Zander from me, and Zander went over to her freely. "It's fine, Sweetheart. Zander just gets nervous sometimes and wants to go back to me." She rolled her eyes and scowled, playfully. "He is such a Mama's boy."

I bit back a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded before I placed my hands behind my back and clasped my hands together, making sure that they weren't shaking. I didn't say a word and slowly blinked while I looked between the three of them and pressed my lips into a thin line.

Jill cleared her throat and walked over to the oven so that she could get started on cooking again with Zander in her arms. "Did you want to stay for dinner, Scott? You can if you want to. I don't mind and will have a lot of food."

Scott looked at me and then looked at Jill. "Unfortunately not," he said and shook his head with a small apologetic smile on his face. "Mom wants us to be home for dinner, so we will be having to stay there."

"That's fine," she said and nodded. "How about this weekend after Blaire makes sure that her group is safe?" she asked. She looked at me and offered me a warm smile. "If that is fine with you as well, of course."

I hesitated and stuffed my hands into my pockets after I had released them from each other, not sure if it would be a good idea, especially since I had no idea how I would feel afterward.

I wasn't sure what I was going to find and was scared...

"We'll talk about it then," Scott said and glanced at me before he looked at Jill. He offered her a tight smile, and a look of sadness filled his eyes. "I will let my dad and mom know that we might be eating there during the weekend."

Jill nodded. "Well, if you two want to go ahead and hang out in Blaire's room, you both may." She looked at me and smiled. "Blaire, Sweetie, your new clothes are being dried and will be ready for you shortly. We also left a gift for you in your room, too."

The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention, and I quickly shook my head and gulped. "You didn't have to," I said. "I-"

"It was inexpensive, Sweetheart," Jill said with a small laugh in her voice, and she shook her head while she interrupted me. "If you want to pay us back, then all you have to do is draw us a portrait one of these days. How does that sound?" She flashed me a small smirk and a wink.

I hesitated and bit back a small gulp while my mouth grew dry, and I had a feeling that they had gotten me some drawing supplies. "Please," I said and shook my head. "You didn't have t-"

"Just go see it before you fight with me about it, ok Dear?" Jill asked, interrupting me. "If you hate it, then we can go ahead and return it."

I hesitated before I slowly nodded. "Ok," I said and licked my lips, turning to look at Patrick and Scott. "Did you all want to go ahead and go up to my room, then?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I looked at them.

"Yes," Patrick said and nodded before Scott could say a word, and Scott sent him an annoyed look, which he ignored. "Declan will be here soon. He had to talk to his dad about some things that had come up." He shrugged and grimaced, pressing his lips into a thin line.

"To put it lightly, he is getting yelled at by him for not telling him everything sooner," Scott said, and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "Was it really that bad?" he asked and furrowed his brows while he cocked his head to the side while he studied me.

"Worse," I replied tersely and coldly. "It was much much worse where I myself had almost lost my life on more than one occasion because of the abuse and the conditions that we had been put through."

And with that and without another word, I started to make my way to my new room with the group watching me, shocked and surprised about what I had just uttered before I left the kitchen to go to my room and see what new gift was bought for me without my knowledge.

Oh, Gods keep me safe...