Bully

Chapter 30: Long talks

**ABRIELLE'S POV**

I woke up to the smells of French Toast and bacon. For some reason Barry seemed to make French Toast better than anyone I'd ever come across. He was a fabulous cook. I was stumbling to the front, everything throbbing in pain as I did so, and barely made it the kitchen table. He looked over at me then briskly closed the few feet of gap between us. Once he helped me make it to the table he asked if everything was ok. I smiled meekly at him and said I was fine. He frowned, clearly not believing me, and asked if I needed anything. A glass of juice and my morning meds including the pain pill. As he was pouring me a glass, Brent stumbled to the front.

Barry asked him if he'd be so kind as to get my morning dose of meds as well as a pain pill for me. The vocalist just nodded silently as he did as was requested. Sitting there quietly I heard someone in the bunk area moving around and figured it was just Eric getting up. It really surprised me when both Eric and Zach emerged from the bunk area! A short while later, the busses began to slow down and then pull off on the side of the road. Bill and Jake boarded our bus and then we took off again. Must be a band meeting or something.

Barry slid my plate over to me with a warm smile. I poured pancake syrup all over my French Toast and quickly dug in. Brent just smiled at me as he watched me eat. Barry handed plates out to everyone. I didn't see Jake nodding towards Bill or Brent.

"Abrielle? We would like to have a talk with you." Bill stated, voice calm and soft

I darted my eyes towards the elderly man which made him smile warmly at me.

"We all care deeply about you, Abrielle." Jake stated, "But none of us think you going back to your family and that campus is good for you."

I couldn't help but look at him funny. Where were they going with this? Why did they even care?!

"Yeah. You can't thrive and grow in an environment where you struggle just to survive from day to day." Brent added

"Jake wasn't lying when he said we all deeply care about you. We want to see you happy and smiling. Not worrying about what your so-called family is going to do to you." Zach stated, voice calm and almost soothing

"So we've all sat down and come up with a solution to you not going back to your family. We're not going to pressure you into anything, OK. We want to make that perfect clear first and foremost. If you are uncomfortable with any of this, all you have to do is say so." Barry said, flashing me that beautiful, warm grin of his

I sat there looking at each one of them as they spoke. They were all staring at me which was making me slightly uncomfortable. I looked over at Eric and he smiled almost shyly at me. I'm not sure what it was about his smile but it always made me feel, as cliché as it sounds, all warm and fuzzy inside. Until I remember I'm not good enough for him and that he's only being nice to me because he's stuck with me for this program.

**ERIC'S POV**

"So, this is what we're proposing. Eric is single and his house is way too big for just a single guy. It's secluded with great security. It would be quite hard for anyone to see onto, or even get on the property. Eric?" Bill stated

"You would obviously have your own room. A suite, actually, with an attached bath and small balcony. There's a big walk-in closet as well. My property is right on the beach and has a couple acres with it. I have pictures if you'd like to see them." I explained

"Before you say anything, we've all discussed and have decided to split the cost of your schooling between the four of us." Brent stated

"The six of us." Jake corrected with a warm smile making Bill nod in agreement

"Anything you need for school, we'll take care of." Brent said

"What we want is to sever all ties with your family. We want to make sure that anything they can hold over you, we've got covered. If that makes sense." Zach added, furrowing his brows

She just nodded but remained silent. My heart began to sink. Perhaps her family had her so under their control that she wouldn't leave them. Even knowing they would most likely kill her one day.

"OK. Before we get started with anything else, do you have a state issued photo ID? Driver's license or other ID?" Jake asked her

She nodded her head yes. This was a good start!

"Do you have a certified copy of your birth certificate and social security card?" Jake asked

She looked down and shook her head no. I think we all figured that she wouldn't. It wasn't a big deal. We can help her get them.

"Ok, that isn't a huge issue. I've done my research so I know how you can get a certified copy of your birth certificate and a replacement social security card." Jake stated, "Do you want us to help you get them?"

I watched as she looked around at all of us. Slowly she nodded her head yes. I think we all sighed with relief! Maybe I was wrong after all!

"Do you know your social security number?" He inquired

Once more she nodded her head yes.

"Excellent. The first step is getting your birth certificate. It seems to be a fairly simple process. You'll have to order it online. Any one of us can pay the required fee because it has to be paid with a credit card. Once you have that, we can work on getting a replacement social security card.

You will have to download and fill out the application unless we have the time off to locate a social security office. As a matter of fact, that may be the easiest way to go. Download and fill out the application then take that in with the documents you'll need." Jake stated thoughtfully

"Where will she be sending these documents to? She can't send them to her house!" Brent exclaimed, earning a head nod from nearly everyone else

"She can send them to mine. I'll have Lori keep a look out for them. If we have a few days off, she can over-night them to the hotel." Barry piped up

"That sounds like a plan!" Bill stated with a soft chuckle, "Is this ok with you, Abrielle? I know it seems like we're making decisions for you but we're just trying to help."

"It's ok." She said, giving a shy smile in return

It wasn't much but it was a start!

"Is there anything you can't absolutely part with at your house? Anything we need to somehow get for you?" Jake asked her

She thought for a minute then shook her head no. It was so sad. At least to me.

"She's going to need new clothes. The poor girl can't live with the few clothes in her suitcase!" Zach exclaimed, smiling widely

Abrielle chuckled nervously and gave the tiny guitarist a small smile.

"We can deal with all that at a later time. For now, I think we should get on what we absolutely need right now." Bill added

I brought up photos of my house, from my Facebook app on my phone, to show Abrielle. Our hands briefly touched as she took my phone from me. My heart sped up ever so slightly. She scrolled through the photos and smiled shyly every so often.

"Oh. This is the suite you'll have. When we get some time off, we can go and redecorate your room to your liking. The kitchen is huge. I don't know if you like cooking or not. I'm a decent cook so we won't starve." I said, laughing slightly

My lame joke made her giggle. Barry just smiled at the display.

"I.....uh..... don't really.....know how... to cook." Abrielle stated, looking away from me like she was ashamed of the fact

Barry, Jake and I just looked at one another. It wasn't really surprising seeing as how she was being treated at home. To hear her say it still got to us all.

"Eric's a good cook, don't let his modesty fool ya." Barry piped in

A/N: Please review and vote below :)