Can I Call This Home? (discontinued)

☊⊑⏃⌿⏁⟒⍀ 1

The car ride was torture. 

Every second felt like a minute, every minute felt like an hour, and every hour felt like years. I wasn't sure where we were going, but the man in the driver's seat didn't seem bothered by the long drive. 

The car jumped when we hit another bump, and my stomach twisted into a knot. I hated cars. In the year I had been free, I had avoided getting in any car, hating the feeling of every bump and brake. 

"You good Mate?" The man next to me asked. I think they had said that his name was Phil. 

I nodded, scared to respond. What if he hurt me for talking? It wouldn't be a surprise after some places I've been in. 

Maybe that's why we had been driving for hours to what looked like the middle of nowhere on the GPS. Maybe Phil was going to kill me. That would be great honestly. I would finally be put out of my misery. 

Sadly, judging by this man's happy attitude, I doubted this would be the case. Also the lack of any visible weapons. But maybe he hid the weapons on purpose. To make me less suspicious. 

"Oh look! We're almost there!" He suddenly said, pointing to something in the distance. Following his finger and gaze, I looked out into the fields, noticing a big blue house barely in view. 

As we get closer, I sit up straighter, looking up at the fancy house that was slowly coming into view. It was much bigger than most of the other houses I had stayed in. 

It was painted a light blue colour, had a white trim and must have been around two or three floors tall. Trees surrounded the perimeter of the carefully manicured yard, a rainbow of colours neatly arranged in rows in the front. 

As we pulled into the driveway, I noticed the little details of the house that were harder to see from far away. Chalk decorated the driveway, and a bit of the walls. There were a few toys on the ground, and cats were everywhere. 

As soon as the car stopped, I got out of the car and went to the trunk, grabbing my bag from Phil who was already there. He smiled kindly at me and walked over to the door, taking his keys from his pockets and looking back at me, gesturing for me to come closer. 

I was scared. I knew for a fact that it took four hours for us to drive here from the nearest town, and it would take longer to walk there. On top of that, the moment I stepped into their house, I could get smacked or knocked unconscious and shoved into a closet somewhere. 

But again, it would take forever to run somewhere safe, and he looked very athletic. I doubt I would even be able to make it to the end of the driveway before he grabs me. 

I take a quick deep breath and walk over to the door, my knuckles white as I hold tightly to the strap of my backpack. 

With one more kind smile, Phil unlocked the door, opening it up widely, showing me the hallway inside. 

As soon as the door opened, I could hear screams and yells coming from inside, along with the  patter of feet against a wooden floor. Suddenly, a group of kids come running into view, a few of them falling as they enter the hallway.

I had expected Phil to have maybe 2 kids. Not 8. 

Most of them seemed my age, but there was also a toddler and two who looked older than me. And they all looked crazy excited. 

"Phil who's that!?" One of them, a blond boy around my age, yelled at Phil. 

"This is Ranboo. Now calm your ass down so I can introduce you guys" The group of boys stopped fighting and stood in a line. Or at least I think it was supposed to be a line. It was more of a squiggle.