The Lost Girl (Complete)

Chapter Nine - The Hollow House

Waking up with a smile was a different experience for Celestia but she still took a moment to savour the warmth of the blankets before having to get up and face reality once more.

The day before had been exhilarating and precious, something that she would remember forever. She'd really met her aunt and found ten uncles, if she included Uncle, as well as eight nosey cousins. She'd been nervous following the others into the house but the first thing she'd heard was Sofia excitedly telling her little sister about the shopping trip and how they finally had another girl to hang out with.

That acceptance had eased some of the pain within her heart but still, she'd had to leave and give herself a moment to come to grips with everything. Sang may be her aunt but Celestia was already an adult and she couldn't expect that her life was suddenly going to turn into a fairy tale. She had a house to organise and decisions to make – ones which may very well take her away from her newly discovered family.

Sighing, she threw back the covers and braced herself for a freezing shower. She'd already tried to organise to have the power switched back on but without the full amount for the overdue bill, the company wasn't budging. So she would have to suffer through it and hope that the house was in good enough condition to sell quickly, regardless if it went below market price. She just didn't have any options, there was no money to fix it up and any that she did have coming in from work went straight to rates, water and food. Electricity would just have to stay in the luxury basket for now.

Slipping out of the bathroom and down the stairs with an extra jump pull on for warmth, she spent only a few minutes searching the fridge and cupboards for food, groaning with the realisation that she still hadn't made it to store. Once Uncle had dropped her home, she had spent the rest of day sketching in the drawing pad her old art teacher had given her before graduation. It was one of the most valuable things she owned, bound in leather with thick pages just waiting for her to make lines across the page.

Although reading was how she had coped with her home life, her passion came to life whenever she could find something to draw with. Dragons, princesses, wildlife, she had spent hours sketching the things described in her favourite novels but her teacher had said she had an exquisite eye for detail when it came to people. Her final assessment had been had been a huge canvas of her mother from when she'd been young – it was supposed to have been a gift but Celestia had never had time to pick it up before her mother passed. Now it sat in that art room, a donation which the school could try to auction off at their next showing if they chose to.

With her stomach rumbling, she threw a glare at the fridge and walked over to the table to pick up her bag and check the amount in her wallet.

"Perfect," She grunted. She could get bread and milk but nothing to put on the bread – unless she bought cereal instead and just rationed it to last...like a week. But then she'd also need a weeks worth of ice since the fridge also wasn't working without power.

Something definitely had to give before she wound up in the ground next her mother.

Making sure that the windows were locked tight, she headed towards the front door, pulling it open just as someone's knuckles skimmed off the hard wood.

Celestia managed to jerk her head back just in time to avoid having Silas' fist make contact with her forehead.

"Shit, man. We're not meant to knock the poor fucking girl out!" Gabe chuckled from beside him, slapping Mason on the back of the head as the boy cracked up laughing.

Celestia knew that her expression was priceless because if there was anything she hadn't expected it was to walk out and find a mini-army bouncing from foot to foot on the front porch. In fact, barely half of them fit on the porch while the rest all stood waiting impatiently on the walkway.

"Good morning," Sang beamed from her place on Silas' other side. "I know that we're unexpected but we forgot to get any of your numbers and since you were going out with Gabe and the girls anyway, we thought we'd stop by and invite you out for breakfast."

"If that's acceptable," Owen murmured from behind his tiny wife, eyes taking in every detail. The peeling paint, cracked windows and overall depressing feel of the once lovely house.

"Oh, ummm..." Celestia had no idea what to do as she ran her eyes over everyone. "That's really nice of you."

"Were you heading out?" Kota asked – it felt weird for her to think of him as anything other than Mr Lee – "We didn't mean to ruin your plans."

She glanced down at the keys clutched in her fist, "No. I was just going for milk, actually. You really didn't have to come all this way to invite me."

"We're going to the Diner anyway," Luke shrugged, winking at her. "And Sang was being super cute about wanting to grab the rest of the stuff from her old room."

Glancing back inside, Celestia bit her lip, "I can understand that." She sighed, staring at her feet, "It's just...the house is pretty bad. I mean, I try to keep it clean but there's not I can do about some of the damage."

"What kind of damage?" North asked from his spot on grass, his hearing undiminished despite the fact that he was nearly forty.

"Oh, my Mum used to have a lot of parties so the carpet is stained and the whole place needs painting." Her shoulders slumped, "It's bad but your room is still nice. I aired it out but I tried not to disturb anything."

"Honey," Sang whispered, her face full of compassion. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. I didn't think how it would make you feel to have us all just turn up when we only met yesterday. I just got too excited. Let's go out for breakfast."

Feeling as though she was being too soft, Celestia shook her head, "Its fine. You can come in and grab everything but I'm not sure where everyone can sit. There's only one lounge."

"Don't worry about us," Owen assured her, a slight smile softening his face.

Celestia nodded and backed into the hallway where she decided to just drop her bag on the stool which had been recycled as a little table.

She went to point out where everything was but a smile from Sean as he swaggered in behind his daughter Avery had her shaking her head, "I'm sure you know your way around."

"Would you prefer us to stay in the living room?" Nathan asked, butting his shoulder against one of the triplets as they all glanced around, no doubt seeing all of the evidence of Marie's 'party house'.

"No," She smiled, strangely happy to have the house filled with people who cared about her for once. "Like I said, it's not looking very healthy but I don't mind you wandering around."

She gestured for her aunt to precede her up the stairs, grinning slightly as she heard Owen bark, "And do not even think about climbing on to the roof, Sebastian."

"But, Dad! Mum and North said that it was really easy..."

"Lucian! Deal with this now! God! The medical bills!"

Photo of Sebastian Blackbourne