The Harper Family: Faithfully Yours (Wattpad Version)

Baby steps

Melody

Venturing outside of my house made me uncomfortable. So, people came to me until I became more comfortable.

Reverend Harper visited me so I could attend the youth group. It was important to me. D enlisted help from others, so it felt normal to me.

We sat around my living room in a circle.

"Why am I here?" Jordin asked.

"You need Jesus, you heathen," Kyler said.

Jordin gave Kyler an annoyed look. "I've changed my ways."

"Yeah, okay," Odin scoffed.

"I have." Jordin rolled his eyes.

"I like attending youth group," Sofie said.

"Since when?" Odin asked.

"Since we were using it to sneak around." Sofie shrugged.

We gave Sofie a strange look.

"Was that before or after you made me spy on your dad's driver?" Rachel asked.

"God understands why I needed to sneak around. My dad was a schmuck." Sofie shrugged.

"I doubt God would forgive you for calling your dad names," Mercedes said.

"Oh, I'm sure God will forgive me." Sofie smirked.

We heard pounding on the front door. D got up and answered it. Three guys entered with Gabby, Kenzie, and a guy.

"Sorry, we're late. Dyson was having a meltdown," Gabby said.

"I wasn't having a meltdown. Why do I need to attend a youth group when I attend church?" The guy looked at Oliver. "No offense, Oliver."

"None took," Oliver said in annoyance.

"Will you sit down?" Gabby shoved the guy toward us.

D closed the door as the others found a place to sit.

"Who let you out of your cages?" Ryden asked.

"Your daddy," a guy said. "I would say momma, but you don't have one."

"Will you knock it off?" Kenzie asked.

"You're asking a lot from us." The guy shrugged.

I stared at the three guys as two argued with Gabby and Kenzie.

D sat next to me. "Mel, meet the demon spawn. Decker, Dixon, and Dyson. They're cousin Deacon's boys."

I glanced at D but didn't smile.

Dixon approached me. "Sorry about my brothers. They forget we're not at home."

I averted my eyes as I heard my heartbeat in my ears.

"Melody?" Oliver asked.

I squeezed my eyes shut. The noise was triggering that night. Oh, God.

*****
Demarco

I put my hand up to silence everyone's chattering. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Mel and me.

"Mel? It's okay. Take a deep breath. You're not alone," I said.

Mel took a deep breath, released it, and opened her eyes. "Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. No one here will hurt you." Oliver shot everyone a look.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Let's get started," Oliver said.

The triplets found a seat with their significant others.