The DuBois

Zack

I was roughly awakened by Quinn shaking my shoulder. "Zack, get up. The sooner we eat breakfast, the sooner I get to meet your new friend." She was shaking me harder now.
I groaned. "I'm up, I'm up." She threw me some clothes, which she must have gotten from my room this morning.
"Put these on. Quickly." Quinn must have thought I was moving too slow, so she helped me put on my shirt, which I was actually grateful for since I was having a hard time maneuvering my arm into my sleeve. Finally, we were both dressed and heading downstairs.
The mood in the dining room was joyful until Quinn and I walked into the room. Then it became tense. I wanted to turn around and head back upstairs to escape the stares that seemed to be penetrating my very soul. Andrew must have told them about the folders. I immediately felt guilty even though I hadn't done anything wrong.
"We're just going to grab some protein bars to go," I heard Quinn say. "We are going to meet some friends at the park."
"Okay. Have fun, sweeties," Bianca said. She was so caring, I couldn't believe that she had been one of the people keeping secrets. Maybe she didn't know, I thought. Before I could keep going with that train of thought, Quinn was pulling me towards the front door.
"Bye," she said. I was only able to give a small wave before I was drug out the door.
"Where were you going to meet your friend?"
"At my tree in the backyard."
We circled around the house and started towards the tree, munching our protein bars as we went. As we got closer, I heard singing.
I'm going home to the place where I belong.
I frowned. Who was singing?
Where your love has always been enough for me
The only other person who is suppose to be here is...
Not running from. No, I think you got me all wrong
The Boy!
I don't regret this life chose for me
But these places and these faces are getting old, so I'm going home
I gasped. The singing stopped. "Who's there?"
"It's me. You know, the kid that had a broken arm yesterday..." I called.
He still hadn't appeared, but he must have been able to see us because then he asked, "Who's she?"
I wasn't exactly sure how to answer that. "She's my sister. Actually, she's my aunt. Well, she's really my adopted sister AND my aunt. Look, my family life is complicated, but she can be trusted."
"But I can't trust you." The boy dropped from a tree, turned around, and ran.
"Come on, we have to follow him!" I yelled already chasing him through the trees. As we ran, I began to recognize the path we were taking as the one leading to his camp. I finally caught up to him when we reached his clearing. I grabbed his arm. "Hey! You can still trust me."
"No. I can't," he said with his back turned to me.
"And why can't you?"
He turned to face me, and I saw that his face was red with anger. "Because you betrayed me!" he yelled. "You knew I didn't want anyone knowing where I was, but then you tell people! I trusted you! She could send me away! I can't go back, I can't." He said the last part so quietly, I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly.
"No one's going to take you away," I told him.
He stayed silent. "I wouldn't let that happen....because we're friends," I said.
He heaved a big sigh, and then said, "My name's Nick. If we're going to be friends, we should know each other's names."
"Mine is Zack."
"And I'm Quinn." We both jumped. I had completely forgotten she was there. "I have a question for you, Nick."
Nick crossed his arms. "And what would that be?" he snapped.
"What were you singing?"
His face seemed to soften before becoming hard again. "A song."
Quinn gave an exasperated huff. "Well, I know that. I meant what was the name of the song, or who wrote it?"
"It's called 'Home' by Daughtry."
"Why were you singing it?"
"I was bored waiting for Zack, so I started singing. I like that particular song because it makes me yearn for what I never had, a home. A home is a place where you're loved, a place where you feel safe, a place that is familiar. I never got that. You know for a while, I thought it was my fault for my parents divorce, and my dad's anger. I tried to do better, I really did. It was never enough. Music got me through. Is that the answer you were looking for?"
Quinn looked stunned. Her mouth was open slightly, and her arms were hanging limply at her sides. "I'm sorry," she said.
Nick shrugged. "What's there to be sorry about? It's in the past. There's nothing we can do about it now,"

"I can still help though. This is a nice little set up you got here but I know someplace better. Come on." She started leading us deeper into the woods. After ten minutes a little house came into view.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"Uncle Luke, my dad, built it for me after I tried running away when I was 10. I was hiding out in the basement of his bar. I'd been missing for 3 days and no one had missed me." Her eyes welled with sadness and betrayal, "He made it for me saying it would be more comfortable than a wine cellar. This way he could find me easier if I ran again. I haven't used it in years though, and I think he's forgotten about it too."

Uncle (technically grandpa) Luke was an odd guy. He had a different hobby every time I saw him, along with a new business. He opened 3 bars, a chain of hotels, an antiques shop, and had a very impressive collection of cars and guns. I looked over at Nick, but he was still wary.

"Nobody knows about this place," she assured him. "Just us." She got a key from under the mat, unlocked the door, and went in. We followed her inside and if her room was impressive than this was 10x that. Ok hold up. If our family was so rich that it had all these extra houses in our backyard how come I was sleeping under the stairs?

"Ok, so you have your own little house in the backyard, but I have to sleep under the stairs?" I asked unbelievingly. I was starting to get a little angry about all this. Quinn just shrugged like this was to be expected.

"Wait," Nick made the time out sign with his hands, "You sleep under the stairs? Like Harry Potter?" I groaned. This is why I don't have any friends at school. They found out I lived under the stairs in my adopted family's home and labeled me a loser. Nobody is crueler than eleven year old wannabes.

"That's just cruel," Nick said, "They make you sleep under the stairs when they have all that room?"

"Yup."

"Not anymore," Quinn cut in, "now he's sleeping on my couch. Anyway let's go."

"Now where are we going?" Nick asked suspiciously.

"Back to the mansion. It's 10 o'clock on a Sunday, the rest have left for church by now and you need to take a shower. You smell like the sewer." Nick didn't look too happy, but he came with us back to the house. While he was in the shower Quinn re-wrapped my arm.

"Andrew's going to be upset that we skipped mass, isn't he?" I winced in pain as she adjusted the bandages.

"He's going to be pissed. That's why you're going to hide in the basement with George until I come and get you, alright? I'm not letting Andrew hurt you again." I nodded reluctantly

George was a nice guy, and he lived in the basement. It was more like an apartment though with a full kitchen and bathroom. I didn't want to hide though. Now Quinn would be taking all the heat. Andrew wouldn't hurt her though. She was old enough to protect herself and if the others were there they'd stop him. Right?