Shudder

5

The car ride home wasn't dull in the slightest. Cole continued questioning me about things, simple things like my hobbies and my favorite things, whether I liked cats or dogs better.

I would've asked him questions, but at the Adoption Clinic he had basically told me everything about himself and so I had nothing to ask and was helpless to answer his questions.

Claire was silent, but I could see her smiling as she drove.

But she spoke once, when I didn't. I couldn't speak when Cole asked the one question I had hoped he wouldn't.

"Rori?" Cole said, that same pleasantly hopeful tone in his voice that I was beginning to associate with as his 'curious/questioning tone'.

"Hmm?" I murmured, noticing we were almost home. Finally.

"How did you end up with Claire and Dean?"

His voice was so soft. It was gentle because he knew the pain of having to have a new family, but I had helped ease some of his fears. Still, it threw me into a state of shock and I clamped my mouth shut tight, a whirl of memories assaulting me.

The sound of gunshots.

His innocent looking face covered in splotches of my parents' blood.

'I'm sorry.'

"Rori?" Cole's light voice yanked me back to the present.

I shook my head.

"That's enough, Cole," Claire said, her voice surprisingly firm. Claire was rarely an angry person or relatively stern; that duty fell to Dean mostly, but when she was you listened or felt her anger.

Cole shut up immediately, mumbling an apologetic sorry my way.

I never answered though, I was struggling against another onslaught of memories. Claire's hand squeezing my knee was the only thing holding me onto reality until we arrived home.

**

"Oh, hey, you're home!" Dean said, as we walked through the front door. The aura around all of us was slightly better, but Cole was still nervous of upsetting me and hid away from me.

"Did you finish the bedroom?" Claire asked, smiling again.

Dean grinned and nodded. "Ready to see your new bedroom, Cole?"

Cole nodded enthusiastically, but his hazel eyes darted to me in panic. I had been closer to him than Claire and Dean in the past hour and twenty minutes than they had in however many visits they made to him, but I simply needed to be alone after my memories had re-emerged.

I stood by, watching as Claire ushered Cole after Dean who now carried Cole's suitcase and then jetted up to my room.

I shut the door softly behind me and flopped onto my bed. Cole's bedroom was obviously downstairs because besides my own upstairs, it was just Claire and Dean's room.

I shook my head for beginning to feel bad about leaving Cole alone. I'd make it up to him later, we'd see each other plenty and he had to get used to Claire and Dean anyways.

I dug in my bag for my phone, remembering my conversation with Bree and thinking of Roman.

Roman and his damn blue eyes...

I tapped my phone screen to life and clicked on the message icon, revealing Bree's message.

He'd be damn lucky to have someone as gorgeous as you, Ror! I don't know why you let everyone's words bother you so damn much. Just think about it, maybe he does.