Adding Shadows

Count On Me

Virgil yawned, stretching and kicking his blanket off.

"Good morning, Virgil." The voice drawled. Virgil sighed, and waved towards the other bed in his room.

"Yeah, saswhatever, morning, Declan." Virgil tiredly said, he looked at the clock. Nine fifteen. He slept late.

"Isn't That a great Saturday morning greeting." Declan glared, speaking sarcastically. Virgil shrugged and pulled on a heavy sweatshirt hanging by his bed. It was like getting a hug from teddy bear.

"Oh, good. The two brats in room five are up."

"Good morning, Remy!" Both boys said in unison. Declan was fifteen at the time.

"Morning," Remy yawned emotionlessly "Patton mad oatmeal." And then he left, most likely to take a morning nap.

Virgil scrambles out of bed and ran downstairs to the kitchen. The smell of toast and cooking oats filled the air.

"Good morning, Patton!" He greeted, delightedly. Patton laughed and pushed his wide-rim glasses up his nose.

"Morning, kiddo! You're in a good mood!" Patton dishes a bowl of oatmeal and buttered a piece of toast as he spoke. He set it on the table in front of Virgil, but Virgil didn't eat yet.

"I guess, should I get the others up? Declan's already awake." Virgil offered, Patton nodded.

"The twins already got up, they're both outside picking vegetables from their garden."

Virgil nodded and went upstairs first. The house was nine bedroom and five bathroom, there was four stories, a middle floor, a upstairs, and two basements. Despite how large it was, it wasn't very special looking.

Virgil knocked on room one, Rosetta and Carly's room, both eight. They woke up and gave him quick hugs before running to the kitchen. He went to all the other rooms, waking up Jeremy, Max, Elliot, Henry, Esther, Jared, Brittney, and Abigail. The twins, Grace and Scout, were already up.

Patton greeted all the children, and gave them all breakfast, said goodbye and went to his other job, a surgeon, and a good one too. That's how they had enough money to buy the house and pay for all of them. Plus, Remy ran a coffee shop.

Virgil quickly, but not sloppily, ate his breakfast and rinsed the bowl, placing it into the dishwasher. The oldest orphan, Brittney, was seventeen. She didn't expect to be adopted, so she's saving money to buy an apartment when she's a legal adult.

"Virgil, you can run along now, I've got the dishes." Brittney told him kindly, smiling and waving him away. Virgil thanked her and ran upstairs to his room.

He pulled out his journal and jotted down a quick entree about how the morning had gone, what he ate, and how he was feeling. The feeling part slowly came to happier tones that last week.

Declan slid through the door and shut it carefully behind him.

"Writing in your diary again?" He scoffed, trying to get on Virgil's nerves. Virgil made a decision to ignore him.

"Aw, c'mon, Virgil, I was only kidding." Declan laughed. Virgil sighed, setting his journal down and turning to Declan.

"What do you want." He said flatly. He was not in the mood for Declan to make him feel down.

"I simply wished to talk about your mother,"

Virgil froze. Not now, Declan, please not now.

"I mean, everything you've said, she sounded lovely. What a shame what happened to her. Isn't It terrible to think about? How he tried to strangle you too?"