Madeline POV

I woke up with a groan.

My head hurt a lot. My body felt like I'd been hit by a train.

My stomach rumbled, making me groan.

I was hungry.

But I wasn’t going to ask for food. I couldn't ask for food. Everything I knew went against asking for it. Food was a reward. I haven’t done anything to deserve it.

I could go ask them for a glass of water. That wasn’t such a big deal. Water wasn’t a reward, it was a necessity. Even my foster parents knew that.

I removed the blanket and stood up.

My body was sore. My stomach was hurting.

I couldn't even remember the last time I ate.

I walked to the door and opened it. I peered into the hallway.

Where were they?

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the room. I closed the door behind me, and started walking down the hall slowly.

Were their parents still here? Did they come back?

I stopped walking and felt fear wash over me. I didn’t think of that earlier. Why didn’t I think of that?!

What if they were here? What if they came back to hurt me?

My heart raced.

I walked closer to the stairs, trying to hear if anyone was in the house.

I heard soft voices, and I immediately recognized them all.

I could hear my brothers and my cousins. I couldn't hear anyone else.

I took a deep breath and started walking down the stairs. I walked slowly so I could run back upstairs if I heard new voices. I kept glancing around, trying to see if anyone else was in the house.

"Maddie!" someone exclaimed as I descended the stairs.

Milo rushed toward me and pulled me into a hug.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, rubbing my back gently.

I relaxed into his arms and took a deep breath.

"I am a little thirsty." I mumbled quietly.

"Are you hungry?" Sam asked. "You haven’t eaten anything since you woke up."

I froze.

"Oh, shit, we didn’t even feed her." Max mumbled.

My heart raced.


I didn’t want food. I didn’t deserve food.

"What would you like to eat, love?" Milo asked as he let me go. "We can make anything."

My palms started sweating.

"I am not hungry." I mumbled, trying to stop my voice from shaking.

My brothers and cousins furrowed their eyebrows. I could feel their eyes on me. I could tell that they were studying me carefully.

What did I do wrong? What did I say?

"Does your stomach hurt, love?" Sam asked. "Is that why you aren’t hungry?"

I looked at him, and my eyes widened a little.

My stomach did hurt. It hurt because I was hungry.

"When was the last time you ate, Addie?" Ryan asked me.

I clenched my fists. I couldn't remember.

"We didn’t give her anything to eat since we found her yesterday." Max mumbled, and I could hear guilt in his voice.

I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.

"I am not hungry." I repeated quietly.

Milo pulled me back into his arms.

"When was the last time you ate?" Milo asked quietly.

I could hear the pain in his voice.

I couldn't answer his question. I didn’t remember.

"I am not hungry." I said one more time.

Someone approached us, and I looked up. Sam was smiling at me. He caressed my cheek and pulled me away from Milo. He sat down on the couch and pulled me beside him.

"Can I ask you something, love?" Sam said softly.

I nodded, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

"How often did your foster parents feed you?" he asked, making my heartbeat quicken even more.

I didn’t answer.

"Did you get food only after you behaved?" Sam asked.

I could feel his arms around me tighten.

I looked up at him. The tears started to burn my eyes.

"Oh, love." Sam mumbled as he pulled me into a hug.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and tried to take a deep breath. I couldn’t, though. The lump in my throat was too big.

"You will always get food here, love." Sam told me softly. "You don’t have to behave to get food."

I felt a hand on my back.

"Are you hungry, Maddie?" I recognized Max’s voice.

I gulped and nodded.

"Okay, love." Sam said. "You can always tell us when you are hungry. You don’t have to be afraid."

I clenched my fists. It was going to be so hard to do that. I wasn’t used to getting food. I wasn’t used to eating. I wasn’t used to asking for food.

Sam let me go, and Max pulled me closer to him immediately.

"Was food considered a reward, Maddie?" Sam asked me.

I nodded.

I could see anger flash in his eyes.

"What did you eat while you were living in a tent?" Ryan asked.

I looked at him and saw that he was as angry as Sam.

"Power bars mostly." I mumbled. "I would buy an apple once in a while when I could afford it."

Max’s arms tightened around me. I heard Milo sob quietly.

My heart broke for them.

"Did you have a job?" Ryan asked.

"I did." I nodded. "I worked in every town I’ve been to. I used to work in a librar…"

Oh, shit. I stopped talking. My eyes widened.

"What’s wrong?" Sam asked, panicked.

Max placed a finger under my chin and made me look at him. His eyes were wide, and I could tell that he was panicking.

"I have a job at the local library." I said. "I have to go. Anna will be worried."

I tried to stand up, but Max pulled me back.

"No way." Max said. "You are not leaving the house."

"But…" I tried to argue, but Sam stopped me.

"We will talk to Anna, love, don’t worry." Sam said, taking my hand in his. "You are sick. You can’t go to work. Also, there is no need for you to go back to work at all."

An uneasy feeling washed over me. I couldn't let them pay for everything.

Sam gave me a small smile and caressed my cheek.

"Let’s go eat." Milo said, making me look up at him. "Maddie is hungry."

He smiled at me and took my other hand in his. He pulled me up and started leading me toward the kitchen.

"How about pancakes, love?" Sam asked me as soon as we walked into the kitchen.

I don’t remember ever eating pancakes. I made a lot of pancakes, but I never ate them.

Sam opened the fridge and looked inside.

"We have some fresh fruit as well." he said as he started taking the food out of the fridge.

Ryan kissed the top of my head and approached Sam to help him cook.

"Do you need any help?" I asked, feeling very nervous.

I wasn’t used to standing and doing nothing.

"We need you to sit down and rest, Addie." Ryan said, looking up at me.

Max and Milo led me to the table and made me sit down on the chair between them.

"After breakfast we are going to the hospital, love." Sam said, making my heart race.

I hoped that they forgot about that.

Max placed an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer.

"Everything is going to be okay." he said softly. "You won’t go alone. Milo and I will be there."

I looked at him and gave him a small smile.

It made me feel better knowing they would be there with me, but I still didn’t want to go.