I don't know yet???

five

She was right. God, she was right all along.

    After Cole left, everything was wrong. Eleanor went quiet. Eleanor stopped talking, which was something she had never done before, not even when she was really, really mad. She never had friends over anymore, and she never had anything to say. The grades on her report card were the lowest in the entire time she had been at the home.

    They started going to church more often after that. It was twice a week now, Wednesdays and Sundays, for hours. Charlotte had never been all that religious, but now her thoughts were comprised entirely of Bible verses and things said by the leaders of the youth group.

    She joined the church choir, as did Eleanor. It wasn't her decision, it was Chuck and Georgia's, as always. Charlotte didn't even really consider herself a good singer. Her voice was scratchy, hard to understand, and had little range, but she was promised that no one could hear her.

    It kind of hurt a bit when the smiling plump woman directing the choir told her to shut her mouth. She said it far nicer, of course, but it all meant the same thing to Charlotte. She wasn't important enough or good enough to be heard. She wasn't even included in a team she was forced to be in.

    On top of that, she wasn't sleeping well either. Whenever she did drift off (which was rarely), there were nightmares about bad things happening to those she cared about. Mostly it was her siblings dying, or getting paralysed, or maybe injured terribly. Sometimes she dreamed she was an adult, and they came to her in shambles, whether it was a financial breakdown, a lack of self-esteem, or an abusive relationship.

    And then, one fateful day, new kids showed up.

    Charlotte didn't know they were coming. Her siblings didn't know they were coming. Eleanor didn't even know they were coming.

    It seemed like Chuck had just straight-up forgotten too. It was seven in the morning when the doorbell rang, and he had just gotten out of bed. His hair was sticking up all over the place, and he was still in the clothes he wore overnight. "Hello?" he said, opening the door. And then, just, "Oh."

    "Mr. Murray?" the social worker at the door asked. He looked like a boy just out of college, Charlotte thought. He seemed a bit nervous too.

    "Yeah?" Chuck said.

    "This is Iona." The man gestured towards a girl. "And these two are Bryce and Mike." He gestured towards two shorter boys, though they were both of different heights.

    The kids stepped in, while Chuck continued his conversation with the social worker. First was Iona, then the two others.

    Charlotte could tell the weren't all siblings. Iona was clearly Latina, while Bryce and Mike were white (though tan, they both had sandy blond hair). Iona was the most confident, her silky black hair pulled back into a tight, high ponytail, which reached down to the middle of her back, her head held high and chin jutted out.

    Bryce and Mike both stood with more relaxed postures, hands in their oversized pockets, trying to seem thuggish. There were matching mischievous sneers on their faces, pulled tight across thin pink lips. "'Sup," one said. Charlotte guessed it was Bryce, the shorter, younger one.

    Charlotte sat there on the couch with her mouth wide open. Next to her, Eleanor put on a strained smile and said, "Hello. My name's Eleanor. An' yours?"

    "Bryce," he said.

    "Mike," the other said.

    They walked over and collapsed down on the other couch, taking up the entire thing. Iona followed, sauntering over and gracefully setting herself on a chair, back straight, legs crossed, and hands clasped.