Forced Family 3

E L E V E N

Four Days.

96 hours.

To keep track Annika had started scratching lines on her white bed frame. Her record was at the bottom, hidden by the lone pillow she was given.

Keeping the small time-keeping chart hidden gave Annika a sense of hope, it was a secret she kept all to herself.

On this particular day, day four, Annika had expected it to start the same as always - Niall would be the one waking her up and bringing her to the dining table where Breakfast would already be served.

The parents had seemingly learned to not take eyes off Annika since the first day where she escaped to Anne's house.

After breakfast, Liam would disappear for a few hours elsewhere in the house and Annika would be in a room with her little brother and Niall until lunchtime where once again the family settled at the table.

She noticed right away how every meal was eaten as a family.

It was a foreign concept to Annika. Her family didn't even have a table to eat at in the Hailey house apartments.

Annika remembers Nikole once telling her that when they went out to eat it was a luxury to sit at a table, that it was something "Only grown-ups and up-tight people do," This was before Thomas. Before Carter. Before Dylan left.

Shifting in the bed, Annika furrows her eyebrows thinking it was odd she wasn't checked on yet.

She sits up fully draping her legs over the side of the bed with a deep inhale as her eyes float about the room.

It was pretty. Ten years ago she would've killed for a room like this. Ten years ago Annika would admit she would've killed for a life like this.

Though her current life is in captivity - there were un-ignorable, unavoidable, differences that were for the better.

Annika chews her bottom lip thinking this, she reflects back to the sudden memory she had of Nikole the night before. It was almost humorous to her how often she thought of Nikole.

She remembers reading this book once about a man in captivity that used to say his name and age every day and within sixteen days he'd started to forget his middle name.

Annika wondered if that would happen to her, that one day if she woke up in the same room sixteen days later that a memory of a nameless woman would appear and she wouldn't know it was her mother.

When Niall did finally come 'round, he had Thomas in his arms, the boy sat contently with an expressionless smile towards his sister, "Ready for some breakfast?" Annika moves from the bed wordlessly, she follows behind Niall downstairs seeing movement from the dining room, the whispering voices are suddenly shushed when Niall clears his throat alerting the trio would be entering the room any second.

Annika hears the gasp of a man, it didn't sound like Liam before she steps from behind Niall seeing the dining room in full has been decorated to its entire existent.

She finds the sudden tacky decor out of place in such a modern and colorless house asides from her own bedroom. Her eyes skim the banners before landing on the middle of the table where a feast sat awaiting the family, her eyebrows knit together before two hands pull her in, "Happy Birthday!"

She held against someone's chest her hands rushing up to push away as she scans the new faces seeing the one that had pulled her in being the taller one from before, the tan man was there as well with what looked like a teenager in his arms.

Annika guessed it was another little, one like what she was obviously expected to be.

"W-wh-who's Birthday is it?" Annika manages to croak out stepping back from the hold in case anyone else wanted to force affection, "Yours sweetheart," Liam coos opening his arms to take Thomas, "Oh no you don't, come see Poppy," The taller of the two men, the one that hugged her, takes the boy from Niall instead with a kiss to the cheek, "I haven't seen you in days! Dada sees you every day," Gesturing to the teen in the Raven-colored-hair man's arms he mockingly coos, "Maybe you can get cousin Louis out of his bad mood this morning, he loves playing with trains."

Snapping her head towards the teen her lips part, "Y-you're L-Louis?" 

Her question remains unanswered, the family bustles around her as she's led to a chair a plate is made of all the breakfast pastries laid out on the table, "Happy Birthday baby," Annika sits watching the event unfold, her eyes stayed trained out Louis before Thomas made his first protest since being here.

Her eyes flicker towards the boy that has tears slipping down his cheeks once he was placed in his highchair, all the adults catering towards him leaving Louis and Annika alone.

They sit across from each other at the table, "H-hi Louis,"

Earthy eyes meet hers, he offers a small smile in greeting, "Ha-happy Birthday,"

Inhaling shakily she fights tears herself as she bites her bottom lip nodding, "T-thank you," 

She might've remembered her name, but already, she forgot her own birthday.

>Small Chapter, but good nonetheless. 

I love you all, Emma :)