Nepenthe {joshler}

v.

"we're here." adrian says. josh blinks awake from where he was sleeping in the front seat.

the drive was longer than he'd expected, but adrian had already warned them it was a half hour drive from their new house to their school so he isn't surprised.

with a nervous glance at his siblings in the backseat, he gets out and looks up at the house.

it's big, clearly big enough to fit four kids. it looks lavish and expensive,with neat flowerbeds on a healthy front lawn. there were two sleek, expensive looking cars on the long driveway.

all four children gape, they've never seen anything this nice before.

"come on." adrian says, opening the trunk and helping them pull out their bags.

when the front door opens, laura is smiling, but it quickly drops when she sees that they only had a bag worth of things each.

she lets them in, the inside of the house just as nice and well-kept as the outside. but it's also cosy and homely. all four kids gawk as they are lead into the living room.

"right, well if you guys are okay, i'll get going?" adrian says, hanging back.

josh opens his mouth to protest, but it dies in his throat. with a reassuring smile, adrian reminds them he'll be in touch, and leaves them to it. he isn't one for hanging around, or emotional goodbyes.

"right, well, we were thinking about a quick shopping trip, if you guys are up for it?" bill says rubbing his hands together.

"we figured that you would want to decorate your rooms yourselves. we want this to feel like a home to you guys." laura adds.

"i'll show you your rooms, so you can get a feel for the space." bill gestures for the kids to follow him up the stairs.

the rooms are big and they're all furnished with wardrobes and drawers and desks and double beds (except for abigail who had a princess bed that makes her squeal with excitement).

Bill then drives them to home depot and lets them pick out tins of paint and supplies. he takes them to a few more stores, letting them choose some bedding and when he sees ashley admiring an ornament, he puts it in the cart and when abigail grabs onto a pillow shaped like a cat he tells her not to lose it, with a wink. jordan gets a baseball poster he keeps hovering near, but josh is reserved. he doesn't look at anything around himself, he doesn't give anything about his personality away. bill watches him, because his sheets are plain and he picked some light blue paint for his walls and that's it.

"okay kids, i just need to get some more things for you."

assessing that they're already overwhelmed, he's quick to just pick out some more basic items himself. putting some lamps and towels and alarm clocks and pen pots into the cart. he gets them some school supplies because adrian mentioned that the had very little stuff, and when he overhears ashley and jordan having a whispered argument over his need for a new backpack, bill stops walking.

"josh can you get abigail to pick out one of those princess blankets?" bill says gesturing with his head to the display of disney throws and blankets. josh nods, picking her up from where she was walking beside him, and taking her over to it.