When Jackson squeezed my body closer to him I held my breath. I could feel the heat from his body radiate into my skin.

"Let go..." I think at this point I was half-immersed by his touch, but the other part of me knew this wasn't right.

"Be careful..." he whispered.

I thought my sanity was slowly slipping away. I exhaled and with another shove I was finally able to detach his arms that were around my waist...

"What are you saying..." I laughed while looking up at him. There was a grin at the corner of him mouth before he said: "are you alright?"

"Yes."

Jackson then picked up my portfolio and passed it over to me. I held onto it, but before I had the chance to leave he passed by me first. I stood in place. After he left, I slowly made my way out of the swimming pool area...

I was a little stunned. My cheeks felt warm.

Cool down... I kept telling myself.

I must have looked like a drenched animal walking back to my room.

When I closed my door I heard my phone ring. I had left it in my room to charge.

I walked over and saw that it was from an unknown number again. I ignored it and decided I would block another number from this phantom person... at some point I did need to reach out to the police so that someone in the cyber department could figure out who it was?

After I dried myself properly and changed my clothes I went back downstairs again to grab a snack to eat. While I did I could hear Kenz laughing in one of the main living rooms. So I took a small detour and saw her and Charlie playing a board game together. I smiled. I was happy she was getting to spend more time with her family...

I then proceeded to the kitchen and grabbed a container of fruit in the fridge. I sat down to eat first and then cleared up and washed the dishes afterwards. On my way back to my room I saw Gerald and Cassandra together. They were standing in the middle of the foyer. Gerald was fixing his tie and Cassandra was texting someone on her phone.

I didn't want to walk right past them without saying anything... and since I couldn't avoid it I approached them. Cassandra looked up and then away immediately. I expected that much from her.

"It's been a while since we last saw one another..." Gerald looked up at me and smiled candidly.

"I've heard from Nathan about your contributions to the company. Thank you for all your hard work..." Cassandra rolled her eyes. But Gerald wasn't paying attention to her at the moment so he reached his hand out to shake mine.

"I'm just doing what has been required of me..." after shaking each other's hands Cassandra spoke up in the background:

"Of course you have dear and that's all we expect of you" she was grinning now. It was definitely forced.

"Thanks Cassandra..." I smiled back at her possibly too enthusiastically. She looked angered by my response...

"Alright, honey... I think it's time for me to head out..." Cassandra added and Gerald nodded in my direction before wheeling his luggage forward. Cassandra looked like she wanted to say something but she just gritted her teeth together and turned around to follow after Gerald.

I exhaled and shivered in place before walking towards the staircase.

There was something different about Gerald. He seemed to be diplomatic... but with Cassandra around it was probably difficult even for him. I was glad he decided to greet me despite her being here... I didn't want to read too deeply into their affairs... so when I got back to my room I continued working on the painting I was completing for Rae's cousin in New York. I wanted to give her something for her new apartment. She was starting anew after getting a new job in the city.

I was inspired by a few photos that Rae had given me so I wanted to create something special for them... a few hours had passed by and Edna was calling me down for dinner. When I went downstairs I was pleasantly surprised to see Charlie and Kenz waiting for me.

When Kenz saw me she smiled and waved me over to the table.

"Over here!" I chuckled and then walked over to them. I also heard someone approaching the table from the other side... it was James. He was walking in from the front of the kitchen. I was surprised to see him here. He walked by me and sat next to Charlie. Kenz leaped out from her seat.

"Kenz wanted us to order in tonight..." Charlie said and I smiled.

"You did?" I looked down at Kenz.

"But Edna told me it had to be from a restaurant that we could all agree on. So we're getting pasta and salad."

"Sounds good..." I said and Kenz leaned forward and hugged me. I then patted her back and smiled again.

"It was a surprise..." Kenz said.

"Did someone say pasta?" I turned around to see Jackson walking into the kitchen. Edna lightly patted his arm when he passed by her.

Suddenly, I thought... that this family was finally becoming more complete.

***

I was standing with Edna watching over Kenz, Jackson, James, and Charlie. They were talking happily and having a good time in each other's company. I hadn't seen and image like this since I arrived here. I couldn't describe what I was feeling... I had the urge to look down at the bracelet that Henry gifted to me... he would definitely be proud of his grand kids...

"Here..." Edna passed me the last drink for the tray I was holding onto. I insisted I would bring over something for them. I told Edna to relax for the rest of the night and that I would take over from here. Although I insisted she sit with us she told me she rather they sit together... since it has been a while...

I walked over with their drinks and passed them to each person.

"Let me go and turn on some music..." Jackson said and I nodded.

"NO EDM," James said while sipping on his Iced Tea.

"No fun, as usual..." Jackson laughed. Charlie shook his head and Kenz laughed with him.

When the dinner arrived everyone got their order and we all sat down. Our dinner was not short of good conversation, laughs, and connection. James brought up more of Jackson's 'embarrassing' stories as a kid.

I learned that when Jackson was 6 he was very obsessed with Superman so he would refuse to leave the house without wearing his 'superman suit' underneath his clothing. I also learned, because Jackson fired back with another story of James, that one time when he peed in the swimming pool at the age of 8 he tried to convince people that his parents secretly installed heating tanks in the pool...

I learned about Charlie's unrivalled love for watermelon growing up. He would eat so much that at one point Edna was buying 5 watermelons a week for him. I learned about Kenz's difficulty saying the letter 'C' so she used to called Charlie, 'Arlie,' when she was younger.

I also learned that Jackson used to be in a punk band. I saw photos of him in middle school with fake tattoos and spiked hair. I saw a photo of James when he was in track and field in high school and then images of when he won a series of awards for being a track star. At one track meet, although he had a fever of around a 100, he still persisted to take the 'gold' before passing out on the celebration platform.

I learned about Kenz's fear of spiders and the time when Charlie broke his father's favourite vase James and Jackson desperately tried to find a secret replacement. They did at a thrift store and their father couldn't tell the difference...

The more they spoke about their past the more I realized how they had such a precious and positive family environment... and I wondered what I had been able to experience and miss out on all in one go. I was happy to look at their sincere expressions when they were reminiscing about their past. But a piece of me felt left out.

After dinner I went to my room quietly. I walked into my bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I don't know how long I had been standing there but when I finally gathered my senses, I walked back into my room and went over to my desk. I lit some candles and then crossed my arms. This wasn't the time to be like this.

When I felt a tear roll down my cheek I quickly wiped it away.

I shook my head and decided to turn in early for the night. So I walked back to the bathroom again. I took a long hot shower before heading out. When I emerged back into my room I noticed there were more missed calls from another unknown number. These calls had been increasing lately. I needed to talk to Nathan about this. It was time to get help...

The next morning I read a message from my Boss. He asked me if I could cover another teacher's shift. I let him know I could so I got ready and then headed downstairs to start my day. It was still pretty early. Just after 7am.

I ran into Kai after walking downstairs. He was standing in the middle of the foyer looking at his watch.

"You're up early."

"My boss called me today. I'm standing in today for another teacher."

"I see..."

"Will I be needed at the office today? I just assumed--"

"Everything will be alright for today," I nodded and Kai looked over my shoulder. Out of the window at the front I'm sure Kai saw that the car had pulled up to the front already. I thought about telling Nathan about my problem today... but I thought it would be best to wait since I was called in.

"But... are you alright?" Kai asked and I looked over at him. We were facing each other now.

"Everything is fine."

"There have been times where it seemed like you wanted to say something..."

Should I tell him?

But what would it come across as?

What if this all turned out to be someone who was old and was hard of hearing and kept calling the wrong number? But that wouldn't explain the different numbers... if it was something serious... what could Kai do? I didn't know what else he could do for me aside from helping me make a police report... but that was something Nathan could do with me as well. So it didn't seem necessary to involve him.

"Everything is alright..." Kai looked at me seriously for a few more seconds and then nodded.

"If you... just let me know if you need anything." I nodded while he opened the door. He looked over his shoulder once before he left.

Maybe that was for the best? I wasn't sure...

After taking a few steps forward I texted Nathan. I told him I needed to talk to him about something important later. He answered back and asked me if I needed him right now so I told him that I would call him after work.

At least I had said something now...

After quickly grabbing a hold of my bag I headed out. It had been a while since I commuted on my own. It took a while of course but I enjoyed the longer ride. I listened to my music, did a few sketches, and then enjoyed the warmth of the sun on my walk to the studio. Since I was there early I spent some time painting...