Adopted and Raised

Chapter Twenty Nine - Settled In

We arrive at the apartment and I smile at Dan.This was my new home.When we went inside,Phil gave me a big hug.

"I missed you Ell!" he exclaimed.I laugh and hug him back.

"I'm glad to be back," I smile. "For a while."

"Until you and Dan get married and have children," Phil jokes.I punch him playfully on the arm.

"We'd have to think over the whole 'kids' thing," I say.

Dan leads me to his room and I unpack my belongings.I pull the note from my pocket and read it over again.It stung when I thought it over.But it was okay.It doesn't matter anymore.

I lay down in bed and look at the ceiling.Dan lays down next to me and holds my hand,intertwining our fingers.

"This is amazing," he whispers. "You and me together.With our best friend."

"It's a girls dream to live with the famous Dan and Phil," I admit. "I'm glad it's me."

He nods and we go silent.It wasn't like an awkward silence like those with my dad.It felt comfortable.It didn't matter at all what was going on.What mattered was this time we had together.

A lot of people say Dan is too old for me.He's only six years older than me.It's not that big of a deal.The way they say it is as if we were twenty years apart.

I took this silent time as time to gather my thoughts.Everything was happening very fast and the world was coming down on me.In this moment I felt as if everything in the world would be alright.That I had no problems anymore.

But in reality,it's not true.I'll always have problems.