The Lost Child

Chapter 4

"Hey Lake, come play," Vincent encourages with a smile while holding up an extra controller in his hand that I hadn't noticed when we came into the room.

"Um, I don't know how to play video games," I admit, totally embarrassed to admit this to them. "I don't want to mess up your guys' game."

They frown at me, and the four of them share a look as if they're speaking silently with each other for a few seconds before they look at me again with Vincent saying; "You won't mess anything up, and we want you to play with us. We're happy to teach you how to play."

Chewing on my lower lip while trying to decide what to do, and then slowly nod my head as I stand to join them on the brown colored carpet. Sitting next to Vincent on his free side, and he hands me the extra controller with a wide smile. Softly thanking him, I examine the controller as Vincent explains what the buttons mean for the game that's in the Xbox. I guess we're playing something called 'Mario Kart'.

Forty-five minutes later we stop playing the game because the food has arrived, and Ryan's called us from the kitchen to come and serve ourselves. Placing the controller on the shelf by the television next to the other controllers, I follow behind everyone into the kitchen. Hanging back until has served themselves, I jump a little when a paper plate is handed toward me by William.

"Thank you, William," I murmur, taking the plate from him with a tiny smile that he returns.

"You're welcome, Lake, and if you want, you may call me Will," he replies, and I nod in understanding, but we will see what I call him.

Grabbing a slice of pepperoni and cheese because of the three options, this one seems the safest. The other two have pepperoni, ham and hamburger on one, and one has pepperoni and a lot of veggies on it. Glancing around the counter of the kitchen, looking for a glass, so I can get myself some water, but only finding cans of soda.

"Grab a can of whatever flavor of soda you want, Lake," Ryan states from the head of the table, nodding toward the cans.

Chewing on my lower lip as I debate with myself internally, I mentally shrug, and grab a cold can of Sprite. Joining the others at the table, I end up sitting in between Vincent and William.

"Thank you for the pizza and soda," I murmur to Ryan, looking him in the eyes. "I can do extra chores to cover my cost of this dinner." 

Ryan shakes his head, stating firmly; "Absolutely not. There's no reason for that, but I appreciate the offer."

"Okay, sir," I murmur, picking up the slice, and taking a tentative bite.

They seem to be watching me for whatever my reaction is to the food, and I have to admit, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Swallowing my bite, telling them with a surprised smile; "It's far better than I thought it would be."

They seem satisfied with my answer, and they break out into conversation about school and the sports that the kids are playing this year. Vincent plays baseball and basketball for his college, Orian plays baseball and soccer for his college, and Reid plays soccer and basketball for his college.

"Lake, do you play any sports, or are there any that you want to play?" Ryan inquires, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Shrugging my shoulders, murmuring; "I don't play any sports, sir, but I wouldn't mind trying soccer. I don't expect to be able to play though, so don't worry about it."

They frown at me while Ryan states; "You're allowed to want to play a sport if you wish. When you start school, we can ask about you trying out for the soccer team at the school, or for a rec team."

Slowly nodding, feeling weird about being able to play a sport because mom and dad, I mean Greg, wouldn't allow me to play a sport. They were worried I'd be hurt, so therefore I wasn't allowed.

"Thank you, I appreciate this," I softly reply, and Ryan smiles brighter, telling me that it's no problem.

"Are there any interests that you have, I mean any hobbies, or activities you'd like to try?" Orion asks as we continue to eat our dinner.

Chewing on my bite, and swallowing before I answer; "I really enjoy drawing, writing, and I've always wanted to try to learn how to play an acoustic guitar."

"If you're ever comfortable sharing your drawings, or writings with us, I know we'd all enjoy seeing or reading these!" Vincent eagerly states.

I'm shocked by this because mom and Greg were never interested in my hobbies because they thought these wouldn't translate into real life experiences that would gain me a prestigious career.

"Really? You don't think my hobbies are stupid, and not worth my time because these won't gain me a prestigious career?" I ask, dumbfounded with wide eyes.

They shake their heads 'no', while they assure me that if my hobbies make me happy, then that's all that matters.

"Could I start off showing you a few of my drawings?" I tentatively ask, chewing on my lower lip.

"You sure can, Lake," Reid assures with a small nod of his head. "You don't have to though, if you aren't comfortable with this. We don't want to push you into doing anything you're not comfortable with."

Shyly assuring them that I'm comfortable showing them a few of my drawings, they eagerly agree that they're excited to see whatever I'm willing to show them. We finish dinner, clean up the mess, and then I make my way to the bedroom to grab a sketchbook to make my way back to the living room.

Everyone is sitting around the living room, and I stop in front of Ryan, and shyly hand him the sketchbook which he takes with a gentle smile. He flips the front cover over, and his smile widens as he studies the image in front of him. The first picture is of a dragon sitting atop of a castle.