I stepped into a small den area of the house we had stopped at. It wasn’t anything special, nothing like my uncle’s manor although this seemed like a step in the right direction in my mind. One move closer to normal. 

My uncle and apparently my cousin (his daughter) had been arguing in hushed whispers for 30 minutes straight. My cousin glared at her dad. She hardly had any resemblance to him, while he was dark haired and brunette, she was pale, ginger and had bright green eyes. “I have my own kids to look after! I can’t be taking care of some orphaned 19 year old I’ve never met! There’s simply not enough room!” The tall red headed woman seethed. “You can’t just show up and drop off things you can’t be bothered to handle!” 

“Look Sara.” My uncle whispered thinking I couldn’t hear him. “Just keep him for a few weeks till I figure out how do fix things, I know my grandchildren are probably hungry and I know you refuse to take money from me..” he paused as he pulled out a thick wad of hundred dollar bills, the size of a humans fist, a creepy grin settled on his face as he stared down at my cousin. “I know you need the money Sara. Take it. Go ahead.” Sara glared at her father then stared at the wad of cash. She reached out and grabbed it from him then pointed at me. 

“One week. Got it? And you need to go get her something to sleep on, maybe an air mattress. I’m not spending a single cent of this on her, Cousin or not.” 

“Very well Sara, I’ll have one of the thralls drop off something tonight.” My uncle grinned, knowing he’d gotten his way. Sara scowled at him and turned on her heels, quickly walking up the stairs of the little two story town house. “Stay out of trouble.” My uncle glared at me then swiftly left, slamming the front door behind him. 

I stood there awkwardly, looking at my surroundings. Sara’s house was small but cute and comforting. She had plush pillows and throws over every piece of furniture, including the chairs at the dining room table. 

The entire house smelled like cinnamon and pumpkin spice, almost as if she had an actual bakery in her tiny townhome but I knew that couldn’t be possible. Although I’d seen a lot of impossible things in the last few days so I decided not to rule out the possibility of a hidden bakery somewhere in the house. 

I moved to the living room and set my shoulder bag down, 

I reached inside and pulled out my phone, plopping myself down comfortably on the couch. I tried messaging a few of my old friends. Not a single one of them had replied for days now and I was starting to get my feelings hurt just a bit. 

I sighed as I put my phone away and stared at the wall in front of me. It was covered with weird clocks and ornaments I had no idea how to read but they all seemed to serve a particular purpose. I was deep in thought looking at my surroundings when the front door opened. 

“Mom we’re home!” A tall ginger girl who looked to be about my age yelled as she walked through the door, followed by a short blonde teen.

 Sara came down the stair’s quickly to greet her kids, she looked over at me and sighed after hugging her two daughters. “Girls this is your cousin, she’ll be staying with us for a bit till we sort out where she’s going to live.” I awkwardly waved at the two of them. The redhead gave me a bright smile while the small blonde glared at me. 

“Why is her hair that color mom? What’s wrong with her eyes?” The blonde asked. Sara gave her daughter a harsh look before replying. “Anna that’s very rude. She can’t help how she looks.” Sara said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

 I sat there awkwardly and stared down at the floor. 

I didn’t think there was anything wrong with my appearance.. although I couldn’t blame her for saying anything. Not many people had purple eyes and hair. “Go upstairs and get ready for dinner girls.” Sara stated briefly while walking into the kitchen. 

The mention of food made me realize how hungry I was and I winced slightly as my stomach gave a growl of protest from its neglect. I was still staring at the floor when Sara cleared her throat. I looked up and saw her staring at me impatiently. “That’s means you too hun.” She said quietly. 

“Oh right sorry.” I said standing up and walking towards the stairs. “Beth’s room is on the right, that’s where you’ll be sleeping.” Sara stated. I nodded and started my way up the stairs. Once I reached Beth’s room I reached up to knock but stopped as I heard voices from inside. 

“I don’t understand why she’s here. Grandfather is already creepy enough, why is there another freak like him in our house!” I heard Anna whisper in a frustrated tone. “Anna! That’s horrible to say! You don’t even know her!” Beth’s voice echoed from inside the room. 

I backed away from the door and stared down at my feet as I heard the two arguing further. After a few minutes the door clicked open and Anna walked out, her face red from anger. She glared at me then swiftly brushed past me, walking to the opened bedroom door opposite of Beth’s. 

She turned around and looked at me once more then slammed the door behind her, locking it. I stared at her bedroom door then shook my head, not allowing myself to get upset over something so trivial. 

I sighed and pushed open the door to Beth’s room. 

She was sitting on the edge of her bed looking like she was about to cry. She quickly hid her upset look once she saw me and turned away to clear her throat. “You heard didn’t you..” she said quietly. 

I nodded and looked at her. “It’s okay. I understand where she’s coming from. I’m a stranger to you guys.” I said softly. Beth shook her head and looked down. “Still.. she shouldn’t have said all those things about you. I’m sorry.” She looked up at me. I laughed a bit. “It’s fine really. I’m not upset.” I said with a smile. 

Just one week, I thought to myself. Then maybe my uncle would find a way to fix things. This wouldn’t be so bad.