Safe and Sound

Chapter 3

Mia and Ari ate their dinner in silence, unsure how to approach the situation at hand. How were you supposed to ask the people who took you in if they had a sinister ploy? Mr. Heart cleared his throat. Both girls looked up at their foster dad. He seemed to be in his late 30's and he had the same green eyes as Max. His hair was blonde, however, and slicked professionally back. He had a clean shave with thin wired glasses, giving him an overall appearance of intelligence.

"Do you guys like the pasta?" he asked, trying to break the silence. Ari looked up, meeting his kind eyes and ducked back down before nodding meekly. Mia strained a smile and nodded as well.

"It's very delicious." Mia replied politely. The worst part of the situation was that the food was really good. Actually, it was probably one of the best things she's had to eat in a long time. It made being suspicious of the Hearts even harder. 

"Okay this is weird." Max finally sighed, putting down his fork. "What's the issue? This is so awkward I feel like dying." Mia and Ari glanced at each other before looking at Max. He looked pissed off as he continued. "We're doing our best to be nice to you guys but all you guys do is jump everytime one of us talks and act like we're out to get you. It's starting to get irritating."

"Then why did you pick us?" Mia finally yelled, pushing back her chair and standing up from the dinner table.

"Mia..." Ari pleaded with Mia, pulling on her arm. She didn't want any trouble and wanted to give the family the benefit of the doubt. Mia shook Ari off her arm.

"It's weird that you guys said you didn't want twin girls but yet here you are coincidentally with adjacent rooms and all the clothes two girls could want in the world. You even got our sizes right!" Mia watched as Max's eyes widened a little and he looked over at his parents. Mrs. Heart sighed and Mia immediately felt awful for bursting out. "Sorry. It just seemed... not right." Mia muttered before sitting back down. Mrs. Heart looked up and gave a small smile. She was a dainty looking woman with warm green eyes and black hair, very similar to Max. Her hair was long and wavy, flowing down her back. She hardly looked like somebody who wanted to hurt them.

"It's quite alright, darling. You have every right to feel that suspicious. You're right. This was planned. We've been planning this for the last 2 years." she watched as Ari's and Mia's eyes grew big with horror. "No no no no!" Mrs. Heart stood, holding out her hands to stop whatever they were thinking of. "It's nothing weird like that." 

Mia bit her lip again, unsure of what to think. The past 2 years? Mrs. Heart put her hands on her face and groaned.

"I didn't mean to scare you girls." she mumbled from behind her hands. Mr. Heart took her by her shoulders and comforted her for a moment.

"We're a family friend to your father." Mr. Heart finally said. His lip twitched up to a small smile. Mia and Ari stared at him, unable to breath for a moment. He watched as their faces turned dark and his smile quickly dropped as realization hit him. "Neither of you know what happened... do you?" 

Mia and Ari shook their heads slowly, unable to wrap their minds around everything that was going on. Mr. Heart was about to start but Mrs. Heart stopped him.

"I think they've had quite an eventful day." she murmured at him. She turned to the two girls. "I promise that we'll explain things slowly over time. But you two just have to trust us." Her eyes seemed to beg the two girls. Mia looked away, not knowing what to think. This family was linked with their father. The man who left them to fend for themselves and let all the horror stories become a reality to them. The man who promised to come back but never showed up when they needed him the most. So who was to say that they weren't just as awful? That they won't just leave them without reason and hurt them? Ari's eyes started to brim with tears, staring at the Mrs. Heart's kind eyes. She wanted so badly to trust them and not have to worry anymore.

What do the Hearts want from us? Both girls couldn't help but wonder. Mia closed her eyes for a brief moment before getting up.

"Thank you for the meal." she said with a curt nod. Ari wildly looked from her sister to each member of the family. She didn't move. 

"What the heck is going on?" Max finally broke the silence from his seat. He seemed to have no idea what was going on whatsoever. His face was twisted in confusion as he looked stared at Mia and Ari. "Mom? Dad? What are you guys even talking about? Who's their dad?" Mrs. Heart simply shook her head at Max.

"Go upstairs and get some rest, Mia." she said gently, giving an encouraging nod. Almost robotically, Mia turned and walked up the stairs and found her way into her room. Without even flicking on the lights, she walked over the bed and sat down. Why didn't Max know what was going on? Mia couldn't help but feel completely lost as she sat in the dark.

"Knock knock?" A voice called from her door. When Mia didn't respond, Max's head popped inside. He flicked on the lights, his eyebrows furrowing together. "Weirdo. Why are you sitting in the dark? Are you emo or something?" 

"No." Mia retorted. "Why are you even here?"

"To clear something up." Max's face became more serious. Mia waited for him to continue. He fidgeted a little as her grey eyes watched him. "My parents aren't bad people. I don't know for sure what's going on but I'm sure they've got a really good reason."

"Is that all?" Mia finally said with a sigh. She suddenly felt tired, not wanting to deal with anything anymore. Max shook his head no. 

"I think it's important that you and Ari know something before you guys make decisions about us." he leaned against the wall. Mia raised an eyebrow before realizing that she had left Ari downstairs at the dinner table. She internally groaned. She never left Ari alone to fend for herself like that but the stress and confusion must have taken over.

As if summoned, Ari's face popped next to Max. She squeezed by him and ran over to Mia and sat next to her on the bed.

"What's going on?" Ari asked tenatively. 

"Where were you?" Mia ignored Ari's question.

"I was helping to put away the dishes and stuff." Ari looked down at her feet. Mia sighed, mentally punching herself for not being as hospital as Ari. 

"Anyways..." Max cut in, making both girls look at him. "Now that you're both here, I'll just leave you guys with this." Max cross his arms and looked rather uncomfortable. He looked around, trying to focus his attention elsewhere. 

"What?" Ari probed.

"If we're going to be family, that means we're not going to lie about things or cover things up." Max's eyes finally landed on Mia's eyes. "It means that we're going to have to try to understand each other." Mia tightened her jaw, about to say something when he raised his hand to stop her.

"I know it's not going to be easy. I'm not saying we'll just tell all our secrets right here and become best friends forever or something. It'll take time but I don't want things to continue to be awkward. I'll start, okay?" Max looked at both the girls, waiting for their reply. It seemed fair. They nodded slowly, unsure of what he was going to say. He bit his lip for a moment, as if unsure of himself suddenly.

"Two years ago..." Max hesitated. "My sister killed herself."

---------------------------------------

Hey guys! I hope you guys are so far enjoying the story ^^ Be sure to leave your thoughts and comments~ Thanks! (:

The picture is how I envisioned Max. Huhu. (Yes it is WeeklyChris with a slight change in hair color ;D ... he's perfect.) Hope you're all enjoying your day and remember to keep smiling<3