The World That Was Mine (Part I & II)

V

Hiding is how I cope. It's how I deal with unwanted emotions or situations. From a young age I was hiding from things, My mother, the neighborhood toughs, the school kids. It seemed there was always something to hide from. Something to not deal with. So my first instinct when I woke up in that unfamiliar bedroom was to remain there and hide, as opposed to going and finding Tyler or one of the others and having to meet everyone right now. I thought perhaps, if they didn't see me that would forget I was here.

That's how it worked with Mom. Out of sight out of mind right? I sat crisscrossed, on the bed staring at the door, wondering if they had forgotten me. I hoped they did. I was a burden to remember. But alas my question was answered when there was a knock on the door. I didn't respond, but whoever was on the other side, took it upon themselves to enter anyway. "Morning Izzy." Liam said with a smile. 

"Morning." I mumbled quietly.

"Sleep well kiddo?" He asked, walking into the room and taking a seat on the bed beside me. I nodded slowly, looking up at him. I was small by most people's standards, but compared to the 3 boys I've met so far, I look like an Elf which was very annoying if you ask me. "Well, the others are waiting down stairs in the kitchen, if you want to join us." he offers. 

Guess my hiding is over. Internally sighing, I gave him a nervous look. "Sure." 

Liam puts a hand on my shoulder. "Just take a breath and remember to be confident in who you are." He was certainly an optimist. But being confident like he suggested, was easier said than done. Standing up, Liam outstretched his hand which I hesitantly took.

"Don't worry kid, they'll love you." He attempted to reassure me. I don't know how he could be so sure, given that he barely knows me, but I appreciated his positive outlook which so far he seemed to consistently have. I allowed Liam to pull me down the stairs, nerves ceasing my body with each step. I could hear commotion coming from the kitchen. I gulped, my lip finding its way between my teeth subconsciously. Liam squeezed my hand encouragingly. "Ready?" I took a deep breath and nodded. I counted about 7 people in the room, all crowded around a kitchen island, talking and laughing. But the room fell silent as soon as we entered.

Every pair of eyes fell on me, like I was captivating in some way. They all watched me with sad expressions, some with specks of admiration glimmering in their gazes. What really caught my eye was the girl in the midst of boys, staring at me the most intensely. She held a sort joyous look, like she had found the missing piece to her puzzle.

All of the looking at me made me feel self conscious, so I averted my stare, settling for looking around the kitchen that was bigger than our whole apartment in Brinley. It was modern and decorated nicely, but it could have used what some might call a woman's touch. My neighbor back home had taught me about such things and she would have a thing or two to say about this place. But then again she had a thing or two to say about most everything.

Tyler was the first to snap out of the momentary trance, coming to my side and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Everyone, this is Izzy." He introduced looking at the still bewildered seeming group. "Izzy, this is Henry and Jace." He pointed to two boys I could tell were twins. They had the same dark hair as Nolan and Tyler and one had silver eyes the two oldest brothers had, but the other had blue ones that resembled Moms and Liams .The blue eyed man wore a pair of glasses, and a kind smile, while the silver eyed man wore a neutral expression, and I could see tattoos on his knuckles and arms. His posture was stiff and slightly anxious for some reason.