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Five

It had been two days since the mall trip and things were going as expected; Anna was still mute and somewhat distant, hyper aware of the girls emotions, and the girls were taking their time, always making sure Anna felt safe. Anna still only let Dinah carry her, and that was if she was crying or sleepy; it wasn't that she didn't want the other girls, it's just that she was afraid to trust them completely and let herself like them and then they hurt her. She had seen kids be returned to Ms. Freed, and she didn't want that, it scared her just thinking about it.

After four days with the girls, she started to realize that what they had said two days ago in the living room was true. She didn't get in trouble for falling asleep or for asking for food or not finishing it. She also learned that loud sounds and voices were a big occurrence in the house; Dinah's music almost always playing and Camila's excited behavior spurred loud shouts of excitement. She also learned that her room was close to Dinah's, causing relief to flow through. The girls have also learned a couple of hand gestures Anna uses when there's no paper for her to draw on. Anna also saw that the girls didn't mind if she grabbed their hands out of the blue, instead they would look down at her and smile with warm eyes - it made Anna feel safe.

She was currently going down the stairs looking for Ally, hoping that she could get some breakfast. It was morning and today Ally hadn't come in in the morning like she had the past three mornings, causing fear to course through her. She decided to investigate and got out of her room and into Dinah's. Seeing that she wasn't there, panic cursed through her, her eyes widening in fear and tears sprung out of her eyes. Where was Dinah? Where was Ally? She checked all the room and saw that none of the women were up here, so that's why she was going downstairs.

She stepped off the last step and looked into the living room and then turned her small face to the kitchen, sighing in relief as she saw all five women sitting around the kitchen table. Camila sprung up once she saw the tears and kneeled down, ignoring the want to pick up her daughter.

"Hey, baby, you okay?" Camila asked, seeing Anna shake her no. "What's wrong?"

Anna struggled to express herself with her movements, so she walked to one end of the kitchen and grabbed a piece of paper and a crayon from the small desk the girls put there for her things. Anna drew a bed and five stick figures and then a big "x" over them. She proceeded to point at her eyes and then at them and finally at the paper.

"We weren't there when you looked for us?" Lauren asked, causing Anna to sniffle and nod her head, her lower lip trembling. Dinah quickly stood and held out her hands, causing Anna to quickly walk into her arms. Anna sniffled and laid her head on Dinah's shoulder, feeling Dinah bounce her slightly made Anna sleepy, so she tightened her arms around Dinah's neck and bury her head in the crook of her neck.

The girls watched with admiration as they saw Dinah instantly calm down their daughter, soothing her fears.

"Do you think it was 'cause I didn't wake her up this morning? The past mornings she's awake by the time I walk in, but today she wasn't." Ally said, not really knowing for sure or not, guilt slowly creeping into her heart.

"Maybe, but you know what that means," Normani said, standing up from the table with a plate in her hand, kissing the top of Ally's head as she passed her, "she's given you two roles."

"Roles?" Camila asked, looking at the sleeping girl in her girlfriend's arms.

"Yea, like Dinah, she's the one that gives her comfort when she's sleepy or sad. And then Ally's like her morning buddy, they have the same schedule, so in the mornings she looks for Ally." Normani explained, now standing behind Dinah and kissing her little girl's head.

"I want a role, that's not fair!" Camila whined, looking at the little girl and Dinah longingly, wishing she could carry her.

"We have to wait, Mila." Normani said, frowning slightly, she too wanted to hold her daughter, but she understood she wasn't ready.