This is rewritten of Fragile Like Glass. I changed quite a lot, added in this and that. I'm sorry if you don't like it \ Please review and tell me if you do.
Evelyn Mercer stood by the window, thinking of the girl who was coming in two hours time. She had read her file and what Evelyn felt couldn't be explained in words. At the age of twelve, she had gone through things any other normal twelve year old girls haven't. She had witness her mother's murder, her father walked out on her two weeks later. She was then sent to a relative's house, only to be made a slave. She was brutally abused and from the pictures in the file, Evelyn had never seen so many scars and stitches on a child's body. In fact, she didn't understand how anyone could go through so much pain.
She sighed and went to stand by the stairs, and called down the boys. Doors banging were heard overhead, followed by loud footsteps as the boys trampled down the stairs. She smiled warmly at them. There was Bobby, aged twenty-two. He had a sharp tongue, and a short temper, but Evelyn knew, Bobby loved every one of his brothers and he would go all out to protect them. Then there was Jerry, aged twenty. A nice young man, who was considerate and cared deeply for all of them. Up next was Angel, the romantic one out of them all. Angel was nineteen, and he was often teased by Bobby for his taste in girls. Lastly, but not the least, was Jack. He was fifteen, and was different from his brothers. He was the quiet one. The person you'd see sitting alone in the corner or strumming his guitar while humming to himself during a party.
"Morning, Ma," Jerry grinned at her and gave her a hug, "She's coming today, isn't she?" Evelyn nodded. She was glad the boys were not upset for she had just told them last night. They had taken it very well. "Great, I can't wait to meet her then," Jerry squeezed Evelyn's hand gently. Bobby was checking his hair in the mirror, which was hung on the wall facing the stairs. Angel shoved him aside and began checking himself out. "Move it!" Bobby nudged him.
"You move it!"
"I have hair to check! You don't!"
Angel groaned, "Piss off, Bobby." He went into the living room.
Evelyn chuckled. Bobby was an expert on pissing people off. "Bobby, be nice," Evelyn scolded in a playful tone. Bobby grinned sheepishly and went into the living room to watch television with Angel. "Jerry! Get your ass in here!" he yelled.
"Excuse me, Ma," Jerry pushed through between her and Jack. Evelyn studied his face. Jack looked tired and had dark circles around his eyes. "Jack, did you get enough sleep last night?"
Jack gave her a small reassuring smile and nodded, "Don't worry about me, Ma."
"Oh, Jack, I worry about you the most," she said, her heart feeling heavy all of a sudden.
Jack shook his head and held a hand up. "Can we discuss this later, Ma?" he asked softly, scratching the back of his head, "I kind of want to go back up and play my guitar." Evelyn sighed and nodded. Jack leaned in and gave her a hug, then a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks, Ma," he whispered in her ear and jogged back up the stairs.
Evelyn then went into the kitchen to start lunch.
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Two Hours Later
888
"There's a car parked outside the house, Ma." Jerry called out from the living room.
"Hey, cool. It's a Nissan. I want one."
"I'm going to get myself a Ferrari," Bobby joked.
Evelyn wiped her hands with the cloth and went to look peek through the curtains. There they were. Agent Houston from the orphanage and Angel (Angie) Lynn McConnell were coming out from the car. She is a very pretty girl, Evelyn thought. She was wearing a black jacket which had a hood and was zipped up all the way. Dark blue jeans followed the shape of her legs and she wore black sneakers.
"Bobby, where is Jack?" Evelyn pulled away from the curtains as they walked towards the house.
"Probably upstairs, strumming that gay ass guitar."
"Well," Angel started, "You were the one who encouraged him to learn and you were the one who got him that guitar.""So?"
"So you're the gay ass dude who bought that gay ass guitar."
"Just shut up."
Agent Houston pressed the doorbell and Evelyn opened the door, smiling warmly at the both of them. "Good afternoon, Mr. Houston and good afternoon, my dear girl." The girl just stared at her with her grayish blue eyes and nodded, murmuring a soft greeting. "Afternoon, Miss Evelyn. This is Angie, and she's twelve." He said, in a very polite manner.
"I'm clearly aware of that, Mr. Houston. After all, I did read her file," she winked at Angie and she could have sworn she saw Angie smiled, but it disappeared as fast as it had appeared. "Well, Angie, why don't you go into the living room and get to know the boys, while I finish making lunch?" Evelyn asked her, and Angie just nodded. Agent Houston then said his goodbyes and left. Evelyn ushered her into the living room and left her there as she walked into the kitchen with Mr. Houston. Angie stood there for a moment, quiet. She observed them and saw one white guy and two black guys. The boys hadn't taken any notice or even realized she was there. The white boy with hair that was slicked back into a ponytail yawned and stretched his arms upwards. He titled his head a little and saw her from the corner of his eye. He saw she was just standing there. She must be nervous, he thought, as she had one hand in the pocket of her jacket.
"You know, it is rather rude to stand there without saying anything," he said, not taking his eyes off the screen. One of the black guys shifted in his seat to turn to look at her. He smiled at her and got up and held out a hand, "Hey, I'm Jerry, and you must be…?"
"Angie," she whispered, staring down at his hand, not taking it in hers.
The other black guy nodded in her direction, "My name's Angel."
"That's my full name…" Angie said softly.
"Speak up, girl." The white guy called from the couch, his eyes glued to the screen. "Dude, stop it," Angel threw a pillow at him, "Give her and us a break, will ya?"
"Not my fault I was born an asshole," the white guy grunted.
A giggle escaped Angie's lips and she quickly clamped her hands around her mouth.
"Bobby, Angel, Jerry, Angie, time to eat lunch," Evelyn called out from the kitchen.
The guys went past her and the white guy stopped in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat when she realize they were only a few inches apart. He stared at her suspiciously, and his face broke out into a grin, "I'm Bobby. Come on," he held her by her shoulders and brought her to the kitchen. As they sat, Jerry suddenly asked, "Hey, what about Jack?"
"Oh. Angie," Angie turned to look at Bobby, "Go upstairs and bring down Jack. He should be in the last room at the end." Angie bit her lip, suddenly looking nervous. She slowly got up and went upstairs.
"Bobby."
"What?" he snapped.
"You're mean," Jerry teased.
She stepped over the things that were lying on the floor and was facing the last room at the end. She hesitated. Should she open it or knock first? Her ears perked up when she heard soft strumming coming from inside. She pressed her ear against the door and heard a guy's voice singing softly while strumming to the guitar.
'Cause I'm broken… when I'm lonesome, and I don't feel right, when you've gone away…'
She then heard him sighed. There was silence after that. She pressed harder against the door, wanting to hear more but then suddenly, the door swung open and she fell onto the floor. She heard a shocked gasp and quickly scrambled up to her feet, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she muttered, "Lunch is ready, Bobby told me to call you down," she turned and left, clutching her right side.
Minutes later, Jack joined them for lunch. They sat at the dining table in the kitchen, and ate in silence. The only thing that could be heard was the clanking of the forks and spoons against the plates and each other.
"So, Angie, when is your birthday?" Jerry asked, wanting to know more about her.
"Um… I don't know…" she murmured.
"Oh. Well… what's your favourite colour?"
"Black." Her response was short and quick.
"What about your favourite animal?"
She stopped playing around with her food and smiled sadly, and said, more to herself, "Mika."
"Mika?" Bobby asked, his features twisted in confusion.
"Yes."
"What's a Mika?"
"Mika is my pet mouse."
"Oh. Is he here?" Angel asked, raising a glass of water to his lips.
"In my pocket."
Angel spluttered, spraying water at Bobby's face.
"How lovely," Evelyn smiled at her, "May I see her?"
"It's a him." She gently reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a small, white mouse, not any bigger then her hand. "Aw, he is adorable," Jerry grinned, "May I hold him?" Angie nodded and gave him Mika. "Aw, ain't he tame!" Jerry exclaimed and handed it back to her. She smiled at it and stroked the mouse.
Bobby studied her. She seemed so… He didn't know what the word was to describe her.
Bobby put down his fork and spoon and drank his water. Angie gave Jerry the mouse, got up and took both his and her plate, and brought them to the sink while the other watched in silence.
"Angie…" Bobby started, a little shocked, "You don't have to do that."
"I always do it… where I used to live…" she mumbled, scrubbing the plates. She rinsed it, and wiped them dry. She gracefully slid the plates into the plate rack and sat back down.
"Why?" Angel asked, confused.
"Because they made me…"
Evelyn reached over for her and said, looking into Angie's eyes, "You don't have to do anything her for anyone else, ok? You're not a slave. You're my daughter now, Angie."
Angie merely nodded.
"Can I have Mika back?" she softly asked Jerry.
"Of course," Jerry handed him over.
"Thank you…"
Jack cleared his throat, "I'm going back to my room. I'll see you guys later for dinner."
Angel got up and cleared the table, and Jerry helped.
"I'm going to go out to the bar, Ma. I'll see you in a bit."
"The bar in the afternoon, Bobby?"
"Just going to meet up with some friends," and with that, Bobby was gone.
"Well, honey, it's just you, me and your little Mika," Evelyn smiled, "Do you want to help me make cookies?" Angie said ok and they got working.
Please tell me if you liked it or not. (And if I should continue)
xx