My breathing was short, and the room was spinning. My father was on the phone right now.

"Sunshine, I need to talk to you in person," he said, and I licked my lips, nervously.

"I-I c-can't," I replied.

"Campbell, I just want to see you. I haven't seen my little girl in years. Please, just for a hour," he begged.

"I got to go. Please, don't ever call this phone ever again," I said, sternly.

I hung the phone up before he could answer. I tossed my phone on my bed, and I walked out my room with Winter following me.

I quickly walked down the stairs and towards the kitchen. Ross and Lisa were watching a movie together, and I walked quietly, so I wouldn't distrub them.

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw the sliding door which led outside. I slid it open, and the chilly air attacked my legs. I was wearing shorts and a sweatshirt.

I sat on the porch swing, and I brought my knees up to my chest. I didn't know how he got my number.

My heart tightened when I thought about the night everything went down. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I heard somebody walk out on the porch.

I looked up to see Ross, standing there with a blanket.

"May I join you?" He asked me.

I nodded, and he sat on the swing with me. He wrapped the blanket around me, and I mumbled a thank you.

"You know, I used to go outside every night, when I was a kid, just to look at the stars. They always made me belive that darkness has light. Even at the darkest times there is always light," he said, looking up at the sky.

"What if there isn't no light? What happens when you're stuck in darkness for the rest of your life?" I asked him.

"Well, that is up to you. Everybody has a choice in life, and only you can choose what happens," he replied.

"Ross, I try to have a happy life, but my past keeps catching up to me every chance it gets," I said, looking at him.

"Then confront it. Once you confront it, it will leave you alone. Does this have something to do with Malcolm?" He asked, and I shook my head 'no.'

"My father called me a few minutes ago. He wants to see me," I said, shaking my head.

"Is that a bad thing? Where is he at? We can go visit him, anytime you like," he said, and I bit my lip.

"Prison. My father is in prison. He has been there for a couple of years, now."

"Oh, Campbell, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

I shrugged. "It's not your fault. I didn't tell anybody about him."

"Is that why you're crying?" He asked, and I nodded.

"My father did terrible things, but the one thing that killed a part of me was the night he got caught. H-He lied to me, and he hurt somebody," I told him.

"Campbell, I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I think I just need to go to bed. It's has been a very long night. Goodnight, Ross," I said, getting up.

"Goodnight, Campbell," he replied.

I walked back inside, and I walked to my room. Once I was in my room, I climbed into my bed, and I turned off the lights.

Hopefully, this is just a dream. But deep inside, I knew that it was real.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I stayed in my room all morning, and nobody has check on me. Come to think about it, the house has been really quiet.

I got out of my warm bed, and I opened my door. All the doors were shut, and I didn't hear any noise from downstairs.

Weird.

I walked downstairs to see nobody was down there.

"Lisa? Ross? Boys? Anybody?" I called out.

No answer.

I walked into the kitchen to see a bright green sticky note on the fridge. I grabbed it off the fridge, and I read it.

Campbell, the boys had to go to the school to help with the field, and Micheal is at a friend's house. Ross and I are at the store grabbing stuff for Thanksgiving. You were still asleep when I left, and I didn't want to wake you. Breakfast is in the fridge.

Xoxo, Lisa

I opened the fridge, and I grabbed the chocolate milk. Then I grabbed a glass, and I poured the milk in the cup. I put the milk back in the fridge, and I took a sip of the milk.

Yum!

My phone started to ring, and I looked to see who it was. It was Anna. I pressed the green button, and I cleared my throat.

"Anna, hey," I said, setting my drink on the counter.

"Campbell? I thought I was calling Nichole. I'm sorry," she said.

"It's alright. Are you okay?" I asked her.

"No, not really. Can I come over?" She asked.

"Yeah, of course. It's just Winter and me," I told her.

"Okay, I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

"See you when you get here."

She hung up, and I walked upstairs. I walked into my closet, and I pulled out a pair of light blue jeans and a pastel orange sweater with a pumpkin on it.

Once I was dressed, I brushed through my hair. I brushed my teeth, and I put some deodarant on myself.

When I was done, there was a knock at the door. I walked down the stairs, and I opened the door.

Anna was standing there in leggings and a large hoodie. Her red hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she looked like she didn't sleep well, either.

"Come in," I said, letting her in.

We sat on the couch in the living room, and I gave her a glass of coffee.

"Anna, you don't look okay," I stated.

"I know, I look like a wreck, but I need to tell you something," she replied, putting her coffee on the glass table.

"Okay, go on."

"Before I met Elliot, I was the biggest nerd. I didn't really talk to anybody. That was in the tenth grade. But one night changed everything. I was walking home from the library, and my phone went dead, so I couldn't call my mom to come get me," she said, taking a deep breath.

"There was a group of guys from another school, who were really drunk, that started to follow me. They called me 'sweetheart', and one had the balls to touch me. I, on instinct, kicked him in the balls. Then, I took off. Since they had longer legs, they caught up to me without no problem," she continued the story.

"You don't have to tell me," I said, but she shook her head.

"No, you deserve to know. They wanted to have 'fun' with me. Before they could touch me, Elliot came. He was heading home from the gym when he found me. He beat the crap out of all of those guys. There was four of them, and he knocked every one of them out."

"Elliot made sure I was okay, and he took me home that night. The next day, he walked with me to all of my classes, and he even ate lunch with me. I thought he felt sorry to me, but I found out that he wanted to become friends with me. A couple of months later, we were official a couple."

"Is that why you just froze last night?" I asked her.

She nodded,"Yeah. It just brought bad memories back, and I freaked out. I'm okay now."

"Then why don't you look like it. No offense, but you look like you haven't slept."

"After the party, Elliot and I had an arguement about what happened. It was the first time in a long time that I saw him like that. I haven't talked to him since he dropped me off at my house," she finished with a sniffle.

"I'm so sorry, Anna. Do you want me to talk to him?" I asked her.

"No, it's fine. We will work it out. Thank you for listening. It means a lot," she thanked me.

"It's no problem. Thank you for sharing your story with me," I told her.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Anna and I looked at each other in confusion.

"Coming!" I yelled, and I walked to the door. Anna stayed on the couch.

I opened the door to reveal a lady with black hair and brown eyes. She looked like she was in her forties, but she looked amazing. She opened her mouth in surpise when she saw who opened the door.

"Hi, can I help you?" I asked her, kindly.

"Yes. Is Ross here?" She asked me.

"No, he went to the store with Lisa," I replied.

"Okay. Let me introduce myself, I'm Bella, Ross's younger sister."

"Oh, does he know you're in town? Lisa nor Ross told me anything about your arrival," I said.

"I wanted it to be a surpise, but, as you can tell, it didn't work as well as I thought it would."

"Would you like to come in?" I asked her.

"Sure, but you never gave me your name," she said.

"My bad, I'm Campbell, the foster child," I introduced myself.

"Foster child? Ross never told me about a foster child," she stated, looking at me.

"I didn't know that. Well, come on in. Everybody should be home soon," I said.

She walked in, and she walked into the living room. Anna was shocked, and she hugged Bella.

"Omg! When did you get back?" Anna asked.

"Yesterday. I missed you guys," Bella said, hugging her back.

"I'm confused," I stated with a humorless laugh.

"Bella works as a medical nurse in the military. She hasn't been around for almost eight months," Anna explained.

"Oh, that makes a lot more sense," I said.

"Campbell! Can you help us with the groceries?" Ross yelled for me.

Well, here goes nothing.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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