Art supplies...

My room was filled with art supplies that had my hands twitching as if the only thing that I wanted to do was to make something from them, especially the painting set that was near my bathroom door.

"Blaire?" Patrick asked, trying but failing to hide the amusement in his voice. "Blaire, are you ok?" he asked because this was a time where I wasn't able to hide my emotions like I had been able to in the past.

"Yes," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, even though I hadn't stepped into the room to look at the whole thing. My heart skipped a beat before it started to pound harder and faster in my chest, and a wave of emotion washed over me, something that I hadn't expected, especially since I wasn't sure how long I was going to be able to live here, even though they told me that I was staying. "I am ok."

"Are you sure? Because you haven't stepped in all the way into your room. It looks like you are not ok," Patrick said.

"Is this all for me?" I asked, not responding to his comment or his question. I hesitated and licked my lips, looking at everything that was in the room with no strings attached. "I mean, is all of this for me?"

"This is your room; is it not?" Patrick asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied my back, and I couldn't help but shrug and grimace because I wasn't sure if this was my room or not.

What did I do to deserve all of this..?

"What do you mean that you don't know?" Patrick asked, growing confused. He frowned and narrowed his eyes while he continued to study me. "This is your room. This is where your new mom and dad had put you, Blaire. This isn't some sick joke where you will be played with until you let your guard down and then send you to the streets. They want you to be a part of this family; we want you to be a part of this family."

"And this community," Scott said and took a step toward me, and my body involuntarily moved toward him as if by some pull that was placed between the two of us. "We want you to be a part of this community and for you to stay for as long as you want to stay with no strings attached."

"But why?" I asked and licked my lips, my voice barely above a whisper. "Why me?"

"Because there are still good people in this world who need a helping hand, and I have a feeling that you are one of those good people that needs help," Scott replied, and Patrick grunted his agreement. "Do you not believe so?"

I hesitated before I shook my head no, and my heart ached and became filled with sadness and pain. "No," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I shifted on my feet and cleared my throat. "I do not think that there is that much goodness for someone like me."

They looked at each other and then looked at me, and I had this feeling that they were talking to each other in only a way that they could.

I paid them no heed and entered my bedroom, and my heart skipped a beat before it started to pound harder and faster in my chest. I didn't say a word to them and walked over to one of the easels where a canvas was already waiting on it, and I could instantly picture what I wanted to do with it.

"Do you think that all of this is a dream?" Scott asked, breaking the spell that had been placed on me, and I was stirred from my thoughts and the image that I wanted to do on the canvas.

Instead, I shook my head and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line while I pushed all of those thoughts outside of my head. "Yes," I said, biting back a tired sigh while I moved a hand through my hair and across my face. "I think that this is all a dream."

Patrick tried to smile, but it didn't reach his worried eyes. "Do you want me to pinch you?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied me. "We can see if that will help you decide if it is a dream or not."

"I wouldn't suggest it," Scott said, and I merely glanced at him from the corner of my eye to see that he was glaring at Patrick and looking very protective of me, for some reason.

"I wasn't going to," Patrick said and shook his head, biting back a small laugh. "I do not need to get smacked around by anyone, including those that you wouldn't expect to be able to do it." He flashed me a small smirk and a wink, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and scowl.

"Very funny, Patrick," I said, knowing full well that he was talking about me. I took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh, rubbing my hands together while I made my way over to the couches, ignoring the call of the easels and the urge to draw or paint because I had guests in the room with me. "You all can come fully into the room and go to the couches," I said. "I do not know why you all are just standing there. You can come in. I'm not going to bite."

"Yet," Patrick said and walked further into the room with Scott trailing after him, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and scowl, even though I was more amused than anything else. "You aren't going to bite, yet."

"And who or what am I going to bite?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I looked at him, and Patrick smiled and shrugged while Scott's cheeks turned red as if he knew what Patrick was implying.

"Don't worry about it," he said and walked over to the sitting area and sat down with a happy groan. "It is not something that you need to worry about so soon."

I held back an eye roll before I looked at Scott, who was not meeting my gaze at all. "Do you know what he is implying, Scott?" I asked, and Scott instantly shook his head, even though I could tell that he was lying.

"No," he said, his voice an octave higher. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet while his cheeks turned another shade of red. "I do not know what he is talking about, so I hope that you can forgive me."

"Un huh," I said, not believing him at all but deciding that I wasn't going to push, especially since it didn't concern me at all.

But what if it did..?

I shot that thought down and pressed my lips into a thin line while I stared at him with a calm expression on my face that seemed to leave them a little worried while they looked at each other before they looked at me with blank looks on their faces.

"Are you ok?" Patrick asked and frowned while he searched my face for something. "You seem to be a little annoyed about something, Blaire."

I bit back a tired sigh and shook my head, moving a hand across my face and sitting down in one of the other chairs that were in the room with Scott sitting in the same chair as me. I glanced at Scott from the corner of my eye before I looked at Patrick. "Don't worry about it, Patrick," I said and pulled my legs closer to my chest, and I couldn't help but bite back a small wince when my side pulled, which had Scott instantly looking at me with a look of worry on his face that I didn't understand. "It's not something that concerns you or Scott."

Scott scoffed a laugh and rolled his eyes, pursing his lips in annoyance. He didn't say a word and folded his arms across his chest, and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, not knowing why he was acting like this. He didn't say a word and didn't look at me, but I could tell that whatever I had said annoyed him.

"Anyway," I said, changing the subject while I turned my attention back to Patrick, who was watching us with a bemused look on his face. "Where is Declan? Is he done with his dad, or is he not coming at all? I thought he'd be done by now."

I hope...

Patrick smiled sadly and shrugged. Pain and guilt filled his eyes, and I had this feeling that he had no idea where Declan was. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know where h-"

There was a knock on my door before someone burst through, and both men jumped up with snarls on their faces only to relax when they saw it was only someone that I had been talking about.

Declan blearily looked around my room with a black eye that I had no idea how he had gotten but had me worried for him, even though he was only a few months older than me. His eyes landed on me, and a look of relief flashed through his eyes. "I'm here," he said and smiled, tucking his head closer to his chest. "I'm hurt, but I'm here."

Oh, thank Gods...