Girl Next Door (Complete)

Chapter 15-Sang

**A/N: So, this week I had a deal with @JalizaBurwell, her last 10 chapters of Finding a Ghost, for my last 10 chapters of Girl Next Door. But, since I didn't have 10 chapters left, she allowed me to use Twisted to finish the chapters. Enjoy!**

Playing this awesome prank on Owen taught me something. Well, two somethings. The first, playing pranks are really cool. The second, no person is an island, and no matter how much I may want to do things on my own, sometimes it's ok to have a little help.

After breakfast is over, I try to help clean up, but none of the boys are having it. Kota keeps me at the table while Luke and Gabriel clear it, and Nathan and Silas do the dishes.

"Kota," I pout. "I really should be helping. I made most of those dishes in there."

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't be in there," he responds. "We have a system in place."

"Yeah," Luke comments. "The cook doesn't clean. That's like, double duty."

"And why should you have to when there are so many of us?" Gabriel adds.

"You're not alone anymore Sang," Kota tells me in a soft voice.

"I get that," I respond to him. "It's just..."

"Difficult to accept help?" North voices.

I look towards him, expecting to see his usual scowl in place, but am pleasantly surprised when his face only shows understanding.

"Yeah, that."

"Pumpkin," Sean says with sad eyes. "I understand if you don't want to share just yet, but why are you in that house all alone? Why fix it up by yourself instead of getting some help?"

They all look at me with curiosity in their gazes, and when Nathan and Silas come back in the room, their expressions tell me that they've heard the conversation and are curious about the answer as well.

Can I really tell these boys, who I barely know, what's happened to me? How could they ever understand what I've been through? They're so...put together. I mean, I know that they say not to judge a book by it's cover, but could they really understand my struggle? Would they judge me for it? Pity me? The last thing I need is their pity. We may have becoming friends over pranking their brother, but what do I really know about them?

My silence must last for too long, because Owen clears his throat, causing me to look up from where my haze has been burning a hole in the table.

"Sang," he starts. "I understand that you don't know us that well, but we are here for you. We only want to help you, and the best way for us to do that, is to understand what brought you here. We've all dealt with difficult situations, be it our own, or someone else's that we've come across. Please trust us."

I look around the room and take a deep breath at all the understanding faces before deciding to give them a chance.

"I didn't have the best home life growing up. My sister and I weren't allowed to do a lot of things, and if we got caught, we were punished. We couldn't have friends, couldn't leave the house outside of going to school. It was...difficult. At the time, I didn't think much of it, but as I got older, I saw how different our lives were.

"The woman who raised me, who I thought was my mother, I later learned that she was my step mother. She died of cancer when I was sixteen. At the time, I couldn't help but feel like I was the ungrateful child she always claimed me to be. Here I was, happy that she was gone. The punishments would finally stop and I was free of her. I hated that I felt like this. This was the woman who raised me, and for all intents and purposes, was my mother, but I was just so glad that the punishments would stop that I couldn't find it in me to be sad for her.

"After she was gone, my father, who had left us the year before for another woman, moved us in with his new family. I was naively optimistic with this turn of events. There was no doubt in my mind that they would be nothing like my step mother. Unfortunately, they were worse. His new wife already had two teenage kids of her own. Both older than me and my sister at eighteen and nineteen, and as much as I wanted to be invisible, they wouldn't let me. My older sister, Marie, clicked with them immediately, and they made it their mission to make my life hell.

"Up until that point, I was a good kid. I kept my head down, I stayed quiet and got good grades, but after that first week in that house, they broke me. And out of that brokenness came a harshness that I didn't even think I was capable of. They changed me into who I am today. But even being not as nice as I once was, I still managed to get a few odd jobs around the neighborhood. I knew that I couldn't stay in that house, so I started saying for my escape."

I stop for a moment, taking a deep breath and gauging the faces of those around me before putting my head back down and continuing.

"A few weeks ago, things got...rough, more so than usual, and I just needed to get away. I started running through the woods behind the house, and before I knew it, hours had passed and I came across the house next door. I knew that it was the break I was looking for and took down the number to call the realtor. The day I moved out, my father wasn't too happy about my new-found freedom, and his kids decided to teach me a lesson. The reason I didn't want you to help me Owen, was because I was still recovering from leaving. I didn't want my new neighbor, a virtual stranger, to see me like that. For that to be your first impression of me. And now, here we are."

I look up from the table after my story, and see rage and sadness reflected in the faces of the guys around me. While I'm glad there's no pity, I'm surprised that they've seem to take my story to heart.

Owen must register the surprise on my face, prompting him to speak up. "Sang, thank you for trusting us and sharing your experiences. The looks you see around you, this rage and sadness, it's because we've all been through similar situations in our own lives. None of our family lives were perfect, and to see that the same has happened to you... Please don't think that any of this is pointed towards you."

"Thanks," I nod at Owen, slightly shocked. "I'm not going to ask you all to share your stories right now, but if you ever want to..."

I let the statement trail off, leaving it up to them to decide if they want to share or not. After a few moments of tense silence, I decide to break the tension.

"Well, now that share circle is over, I should probably get back to my house. Silas, Nathan, you guys are almost done, right?"

"Sang?" North calls. "If you don't mind, we're all free today. We could come and help out."

"You guys don't have anything better to do than to help me paint my house?" I chuckle.

"Fuck no!" Gabriel exclaims. "I don't know if anyone's told you this, but fashion and art are my things. Phulease let me paint your house!"

"Oh, ok." I chuckle. "If you guys really want to help... I'd appreciate it."

With a light cheer from Luke and Gabriel, smiles from Kota, Sean and Victor, and ahead nod from North, the guys all leave the table to get changed into things that won't get ruined by manual labor.