(MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope everyone got what they wanted and you have an incredible day!)
James (Surprise!)
"Mum?", I asked her as we sat in plastic chairs outside the trailer, it was raining so we had the tarp up but it still kind of dripped onto us, though I wasn't bothered, rather I was used to it, I had lived in a trailer for the majority of my life, being fostered since I was a toddler, living with my mum like this was normal.
"Yes darling?", She asked me, she had car grease on her face as she was a full time mobile mechanic, that's how she made money when we travelled and she had been teaching me a few things, what the different tools did, how to tell if there's something wrong with the car just by the sound of it, stuff like that.
"Can we go and see Sam?", I asked her, I heard her on the phone a few days ago with Charlie, Sam's older brother, telling her that they were moving again and they had to move schools because of it, I could tell my mum was upset, she had wanted to foster them for years now but never got permission for some strange reason, just because she was a single mum they thought she couldn't handle three kids, especially not Sam.
But Sam was actually pretty chill when you knew who she was as a person and what her boundaries are, I mean she has a lot of them, but we have been friends for years now so I know pretty much everything about her.
"Not right now Hun, Charlie and Sam are settling in with their brothers", She said quickly, staring off into the rain as if she was worried about something, her eyebrows were raised too as though she was thinking in deep thought.
"Why? Brothers?", I asked quickly, brothers? Sam never mentioned having brothers, did she keep that from me on purpose? My mum nodded and turned to face me, wiping her nose which caused the dirt to smudge.
"I know right, Charlie said it was a shock to both of them as well", She said with a frown, as if she though Charlie was lying which makes sense, he is much older than Sam so wouldn't he remember his brothers if they shared the same father and mother. Or? Me and my mother both raised out eyebrows at each other, obviously thinking the same thing, but then we both shook our heads.
"Nah, they look too alike to having different parents", She said quickly, swinging a drink from her can, I nodded and did the same, however mine was diet coke, hers was not.
"But it's been days, I miss her", I said quickly as my mum just smirked, I rolled my eyes at her but didn't say anything.
"I do too hunny, as difficult as she is sometimes, she is a little angel", She said with a grin, they had always got along really well with each other and I could tell my mum loved Sam like her own daughter. She sighed after a moment and shook her head.
"But you just moved schools, do you want to move again just so you can be with her?", She asked me with her eyebrows raised, a questionable look on her face, I snorted at her like a pig.
"Yes, of course, she needs me when Charlie isn't around, who is going to protect her?", I asked my mum quickly, worrying about the bullying she might get just because I'm not around to help her.
"I don't think you give her enough credit J, she is perfectly capable on her own, you know how smart that kid is, a little Einstein, stick with her for the next decade and she will make a fortune, I'm telling you now", She said with a confirming nod.
"I know, whenever she shows a teacher how smart she is, they instantly favourite her because of how cool she is", I said quietly, a tiny bit jealous of how smart she is, I would love to be that smart but I'm more of a charisma person, something she has no idea about. My mum just nodded in agreement.
"Wouldn't you? Though I'm happy about her accepting you are of her, a lot of kids can be rather cruel don't you think?", She asked me rhetorically, I knew how mean kids can be, though she always told me never to tell Charlie, he is extremely protective of her sometimes which is understandable but still, he would burn the school down if he knew how badly she gets it sometimes.
Kids don't do it when I am around though, I normally make friends pretty quickly so I'm not bothered about moving again, friends change but Sam is always a must.
"So can we go and see her, you could ask Charlie?", I asked her but she just shook her head.
"Not yet, though", She said trailing off, turning once again to face me, sighing in annoyance.
"You really do have me wrapped around your finger don't you?", She said with a small smile on her face, faking being annoyed at me. I jumped up out of my chair and wrapped my arms around her neck, kissing her cheek as she laughed.
"We will move tomorrow and call the school in their area, get you all set up and everything, alright?", She said to me as I nodded with a huge grin on my face.
"Go on, get", She said, waving me off as I ran into the trailer, tying everything up so it wouldn't move as we drove.
I get to see Sam!
Charlie
This meeting seemed to be a bigger deal to Adam and Leo than it was to the others, Aiden, Chris and Max seemed like they were dragged their and Raymond was yawning in the corner though they sharpened up when Adam glared at them. Leo just played with the rings on his fingers, they were metal rings shaped with an octagon pattern, good for giving a beating.
Probably why he has them.
"Alright, we are here to discuss Sam", He said loudly, suddenly everyone's attention was on Adam as they all stared at him with curiosity though Raymond looked at me, giving me a nod to make sure I was alright.
"What about Sam?", Max asked with concern though it was obvious he was trying to act cool with it, Aiden snorted at him and Chris just smirked whilst shaking his head.
"Guys, it's alright to care about her, she is our little sister, contrary to the fact we didn't grow up with her, we are allowed to worry", Raymond said with a smile as everyone around the table nodded with a small smile, even Adam.
"Yes, that's true of course, she is ten years old, a baby practically", Leo said slowly with a sigh, as if her age was inconvenient for them. We sat in silence for a few moments before Adam said my name.
"Charlie, was is exactly wrong with her?", He asked me, causing me cross my arms over with an eyebrow raised.
"There is nothing wrong with her, a little different sure but it's not a bad thing", I said in annoyance, emphasising on the nothing to make my point. Adam put his hands up as if I had a gun to his head.
"Fine, nothing wrong with her, so then what makes her different?", He asked with his eyebrow raised this time, all of my older brothers staring at me as they waited for me to answer. What would it hurt if they knew?
"She is autistic", I answered slowly as they all looked at me puzzled but Raymond who obviously knew what it was from being a medical student.
"Is it a disease?", Aiden asked quickly, his hand went onto Max's shoulder for support. I scoffed at their ignorance though admired them for caring about Sam this much to be worried about her.
"No, it won't kill or injure her", I said quickly as Aiden's grip let go from Max's shoulder and all let out a sigh of relief.
"What is it then? Can we help her with it?", Leo asked, his chill exterior suddenly disappeared. I shook my head with a straight face.
"It just means she thinks a little differently than us, things that might be a small thing to us might be a big deal to her and vice verse, she hated being touched by strangers, even by me, and she liked her food in a specific way, can only touch certain materials and cannot stand loud noises, rather quiet place. That's why I took her to the Museum every weekend, it was like a reset for her. The best thing you can do for her is to let her be, she is an incredibly smart kid, she did a few tests a year ago at her old school and they say her intelligence is off the charts for a kid her age, she runs rings around me", I said slowly, making sure they were listening to every word, which was obviously they were as they stared at me.
There was a small knock at the door as the boys hands went straight to their pockets, going for their guns.
"Hello?", A small voice said outside, it was Sam. They moved their hands from their guns and Leo went to open the door to reveal a very scared Sam.
"What's wrong?", Adam asked immediately as Leo brought Sam into the room. Her eyes were wide open and she was breathing heavily as if she had been running.
"I saw people in the house walking around", She said quietly, coming over to where I was and held by hand.
"There are people everywhere hunny, you sure they weren't staff?", Chris asked her slowly as Max and Aiden nodded their heads. She shook her head quickly.
"They were holding guns".