Paying the Price

Chapter 22: Owen

Last chapter recap- Janae

"Okay Owen, are you ready for bed?"
He nodded and then I picked him up and carried him to the living room where June had set up lots of pillows and blankets on the couch for him and then I put him to bed.

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I woke up on the nice soft couch and almost forgot where I was.

I was at June's house.

She is so nice.

And really pretty too!!!

Janae was really nice to me too, she gave me a nice bath and everything!

I also like Oliver, he's super funny.

Oakley's a little scary though. He hasn't said much to me but he reminds me of my big brother Odin.

I miss him lots.

"Owen? Are you awake?" It was Oliver I think. It's hard telling the four of them apart.

"Yes, what time is it?" It was bright outside but I didn't know if it was morning brightness or nighttime brightness.

"It's about 4:00, you took a good nap after lunch." He told me.

I looked around the living room and kitchen and didn't see the rest of Oliver's siblings "Where is everyone else?"

"Well, Oliver and Janae decided to go shopping for you and get you some better-fitting clothes, and June is in her room." He told me. 

I looked at him confused, "wait, I thought that you were Oliver?" 

He smiled, "No bud, I'm Oakley but it's okay, it will probably take you a while before you are able to tell us all apart." 

Heck yeah, it would. 

They all look the same!

"So, when are you going to send me back outside? I mean I really appreciate you guys taking care of me today and helping me get away from those bullies but I would like to know when you are going to get rid of me so that I can continue my search for my brother." I asked Oakley, not Oliver. 

He looked at me confused, "Owen buddy we're not going to send you back outside. We want you to stay here with us and we will help get you back to your brother."

Okay, now I was confused. 

Why would they want to keep me? 

Were they planning on hurting me like mommy and daddy? 

I backed away from him a bit in fear. 

"Are you going to hurt me?" I asked softly. 

He came and sat next to me "No Owen, why would you think that?" 

"Well, why else would you want to keep me?"

He looked a little confused at my words, "Owen we want to help you and get you back to your brother. We would never hurt you and we will take care of you until we find him." 

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise" 

We linked pinkies and sealed the deal. 

Then I heard the door start to open and in walked Oliver and Janae carrying lots of shopping bags. 

"Hey, Owen!! We got you some stuff that you need to try on. We didn't really know your size so we had to guess so if anything does not fit we can take it back." Janae came and picked me up and took me to her room to try stuff on. 

June was in there reading on the bed, "Hey guys! Let me see what you got." 

Janae puts me back down and starts to take things out of the bags.