Sometimes all you really need is a place to call home. *** Claire is lost and scared and utterly alone. Her family is in shambles after the death of her older sister Ina, and she's left to pick up the broken pieces of herself as her life heads into a downwards spiral of loneliness. Her heart leads her to 5:48, a little cafe by 33rd street, where she finds her new home. With a broken heart and a speech disability, Jasper has his heart and mouth sewn shut by the winding threads of hurt and fear. Painting and serving coffee in cafe 5:48 are one of his last few saving graces, but the smile he's been painting on himself will soon fade away as everything he's ever held dear slips away from his grasp. Ezra is out-of-sync and oddly cold by the way life has treated his young self. Abandoned by his single mother at an early age, he has grown up thinking that he is a mistake. His constant shaking hands are a reflection of what he often thinks of himself, but the delightful pastries he bakes for 5:48's customers are a reflection of what others see of him. Drew is a quirky rarity. He is a dash of loud, a pinch of exuberant, and a cup of eccentric - just like the meals he serves in the cafe as the only chef there. Behind his playful grins and outlandish clothes, however, are his jutting ribs, hollowed cheeks, and too-thin arms. Sometimes he cannot stomach being in his own skin as much as he cannot stomach food. This family has gone a long way from finding each other, and they'll be going a long way together too as reality comes catching up to them, threatening the newfound happiness they've found with each other. Secrets are revealed, pasts become presents, and lives are changed. Slowly but surely, they find their way back home. *** NOTE AS OF 08/2026: This is the old version of the story from 2012, posted in FULL. Another story that will be considered a reprise of this old version is in the works, and will be posted under the name "Hiraya House."

"Okay, where do you want me to start?" "Anywhere you wish." "There were five of us. Dani, Elizabeth, Audrey, Taylor and me. We spent about 9 months in the basement. The walls where cement. The floor was cement. We each had our own chairs. Dani had her baby blue chair with white roses in the upper right corner. Elizabeth had her pale pink chair with white daiseys in the lower right corner. Audrey had her yellow chair with white roses in the upper left corner. Taylor had her black chair with red roses in the lower left corner. I had a white chair with sunflowers that sat in the center, the very center of the room. Each of us had a light above our heads. There were no covers in the lights just the wires losely hanging with the light attached at the end. The front legs of all our chairs had buckles that when we sat down they were right where our ankles were like he knew just were to put them. There were buckles on our arm rests that when we laid are arms on them the buckels our wrist were in the perfect spot. I think its funny how we all never made the conecction." "What conecction would that be?" "That we all have brown hair, blue eyes, were 5'5, all weighed 130. That when you put the first letter of each of our names together it spells Death. I love how at one point we all thought something, right before we were taken. Dani thought she was going to get mail. Elizabeth thought she was picking up dinner. Audrey thought she was going to class. Taylor thought she was taking her dog for a walk and I thought I was going to marry him and that I loved him with all my heart."

Every mother has warned her daughter about dating a "rock star". Well Eva Hyde completely forgets that warning when she meets Ashley Purdy. Eva is skeptical of this man, he must be married. He must just want a hook-up. Maybe she's just another girl to him. Maybe he's just toying with her. But Mr.Purdy might learn something from Eva, and Eva might just fall in love for once.