My Brother Says I'm Dangerous

(7)

I open my eyes, to find a face peering down at me curiously.

"What the hell?" I panic slightly, trying to sit up.

"You said a bad word." I look ahead, to see a girl sitting cross legged on the end of my bed. She looks about seven, with blonde curly hair and big blue eyes.

"Who are you?" I mutter, not sure how to react. Children and me never really mixed.

"I'm Elizabeth." She smiles. "But everybody calls me Beth. Except for my teacher, she calls me Lizzie and I hate it. So you can just call me Beth."

"Hi." I say slowly. "What are you doing in my room?"

"Mommy wanted me to see if you were up." She explains, climbing off my bed. "She says breakfast is ready. I wasn't supposed to come inside, but I was kinda curious. Your name is Eva and you're new so I wanted to be the one to see you first."

"Oh." I say slowly, she's still watching me.

"Well?" She raises an eyebrow expectantly. "Are you coming?"

"Um..." I start. "Yeah." I slide out of bed, looking for my backpack.

"All your stuff is downstairs in the kitchen." Beth says. "But your backpack is over there on the armchair." I smile briefly at her, and check my bag for any clothes, but I didn't pack any. I smooth out the shirt and jeans I'm wearing, and follow her out the door.

"Do you like dolls?" Beth asks curiously. "I just got a new doll for my birthday. I turned seven. She's got purple hair, and she came with a brush so I can make her look pretty. You can play with her if you want."

"Sure." I say absentmindedly.

"Do you like ballet?" She asks another question, as we start down the stairs, her yellow sundress floating around her body. "I'm taking classes, but I'm not the best yet. My teacher says that soon we'll be having a recital, and everyone gets to come watch. Mommy bought tickets for you and your brother, so you can come watch me. We're dancing the nutcracker."

"Sweet." I smile abruptly. Does this kid ever shut up? "Where is my brother?"

"I left Nick in the kitchen with Mommy." She says, as we reach the bottom of the stairs. "I gave him Veronica to keep him company."

"Who's Veronica?" I ask confused.

"That's what I named my doll." She says seriously, looking up at me. "Duh." I snicker silently, at the thought of Nick holding that purple haired doll. She swings open the kitchen door, and a heavenly smell hits me in the face. Bacon.

"You must be Eva." I look to the left, to see a woman at the stove, stirring something. She has the exact same hair and eyes as Beth, with a warm smile. She's wearing an apron, and looks young, maybe in her thirties.

"I'm Emily." She says, taking me by  surprise, and trapping me in a hug. I quickly take a step back, smiling briefly at her.

"Hi." I say.

"Take a seat." She says. "Breakfast is nearly ready." I look at my right, to see Nick and Beth sitting at the table. I sit next to my brother, who is holding a small purple haired doll.

"Sleep alright?" He asks me. I nod.

"Can I have Veronica back please?" Beth asks politely.

"Oh, yeah." Nick says quickly, handing over the doll. "Here."

"Honey, can you go get the others?" Emily asks, placing a big plate of pancakes on the table, causing my stomach to ache. "That damn tractor is keeping them way to entertained." Beth skips off obediently out the front door, and Emily places more food on the table.

"This looks fantastic Mrs Samuels." Nick smiles. "We don't get this kind of cooking."

"Well." She chuckles. "I have plenty of people to cook for on this ranch, so you will never go underfed here. And please, call me Emily."

"This looks so good." I say, before I realize I said it. Nick smiles, as if he's won.

"Thank you." Emily smiles. "Do you like to cook? Maybe you can help me." Nick snorts, earning a jab to the ribs.

"I'm not the best cook." I shrug.

"I usually took care of that." Nicks grins. "But not ever to the level of this."

"Well." Emily laughs. "I cook for the whole ranch, we usually eat together."

"That's a lot of people." Nick whistles. "Why so many?"

"We're a family." Emily says, pouring juice. "We might not be related, but Keith and I open up this ranch to people. Of course, a lot of older people, who work here as a living. But also to teens who just need somewhere to be. We give them a job, food,  place to sleep. We believe in second chances." That's what Keith said last night.

I don't have time to answer, I wouldn't know what to say if I did. The door opens again, and Beth skips back in, followed by a stream of people. I recognize Keith, but everybody else is unfamiliar. They don't seem to be bothered by Nick and I, taking their seats at the table. 

"Hi." The guy says sitting next to me. "I'm Ollie. You must be the new guys."

"Fresh meat." Another says, ripping apart a bread roll with his teeth.

"Guys, please use utensils." Emily laughs, sitting at the end of the table with Keith.

"Hi." Nick introduces himself. "I'm Nick. This is my sister, Eva."

"Hey pretty thang, how you doin?" The guy across from me jokes.

"Ok." Keith holds back a grin. "How about you introduce yourselves?"

"I'm Jackson." The guy across from me grins. "Nineteen."

"I'm fifteen." Ollie says.

"Luke." One says down the line. "Twelve."

"Charlie." Another says. "I'm twenty four, my fiancee Madison is at work at the moment."

"Jackson, Ollie, Luke and Charlie are our sons. Along with Beth of course." Emily smiles. "We have another, Hunter. He's seventeen, he's working somewhere on the ranch this morning, I'm sure you'll meet him sooner or later."

"The rest are our foster children." Keith says.

"I'm Carter." A chubby red head says. "I'm thirteen."

"David." Another says. "Sixteen."

"Alyssa." A girl says brightly. "I'm fourteen."

"I'm her twin." An identical girl says next to her. "Camilla."

"I'm their older brother, Issac." The last one says. "Eighteen."

"There are a few more that work here on weekends, and stuff like that, but they live with their families in the area." Keith finishes.

"How old are you Eva?" Alyssa asks curiously.

"Seventeen." I answer.

"You'll be in the same class as Hunter." Beth pipes up.

"I'm sure you will fit in perfectly." Emily says. "I can take you shopping before Monday, get you sorted."

"Sure." I say, rolling my eyes slightly. "Sounds like fun." Emily falters slightly, but shrugs it off.

"Lets eat." She says brightly. I gratefully dig in, taking a little bit of everything. I may not want to be here, but the food sure is better than Nick's pathetic attempt of cooked food. This is fantastic. Bacon, fried egg, fresh bread, tomato, beans, sausages, avocado, fried potato. Orange juice. Pancakes.

"Hungry Eva?" Carter snickers. I smile slightly, before going back to stuffing my face. May as well enjoy it before Nick sends me home.