The girls were playing in the park, the clouds in the sky making them wear coats in the cool breeze. Maddie ran back and forth along the playground, and other kids tried to tag her through the bars. Eva was trying to climb on top of one of the roofs of the playground, giggling. "Evelyn, get down from there," Edd calmly warned, "Yes, sir, sorry!" she said. In that moment, she was tagged, "Aww! No fair, Dillian!" she shouted, laughing, "Y-You snooze, you lose!" the boy shouted. Eva soon joined the other kids on the ground, trying to tag others on the playground. They were playing their own version of infection, laughing and running off the excess energy. That was until Maddie was tagged, "No!" she shouted, "You cheated!" she added, stomping her feet, "What! No, I didn't!" another child said, "Yes! You! Did!" Eva tried to de-escalate the situation, "Maddie, just come run around with me. It's more fun to tag, anyway," Maddie shook her head, "No, no, NO!" the child sighed, "You know what, fine. You're right, I cheated..." he then walked off, "Where are you going?" Maddie called out, "I'm done playing," he replied. Maddie rolled her eyes, then ran off to keep playing. Eva sighed, a bit tired. She walked off to, "I'm on timeout, guys! Getting some water!" she called out, "Ok!" another girl called out, "Eva's on timeout, guys!" she went to go tell the others. Eva found the bench Edd, Tom, Tord, and Tara were sitting at, Matt at a grill nearby with headphones on. Eva sat on the bench, tiredly leaning against Edd. Edd softly grabbed hold of the girl around the shoulder, "You ok, Eva?" he asked, "I'm tired..." she said, "You've only been playing for 5 minutes. Do you need your inh-" Eva stopped him, "Not that kind of tired. Maddie's always yelling and bossing people around, and I have to be the one calming her down..." she said. Edd thought for a moment, "Says who?" Eva looked up at Edd, confused, "What?" She asked, "Says who? Who says you have to de-escalate things with Maddie?" Eva opened her mouth to give a reason, but no reason came to her, "I..." she started, "I don't know," she said. Edd let go of the girl, grabbing hold of the cola sitting on the bench table and taking a sip, "Ok, so if no one said you had to watch Maddie, why are you?" he asked with a soft smile. He wasn't asking these questions to be rude, or to push blame onto anyone; he simply wanted Eva to come to the same conclusion he had herself, "Um...c-cause..." she thought for a moment, "Cause she's my friend?" she asked, "Hmm, I see," Edd said, "You wanna know what I think you should do?" he asked hypothetically, "Take a break from Maddie. Stop taking care of her; that's Matt's job. Maybe play with Tara more, too. She's been lonely without someone to play with, and you play with Maddie all the time." Eva stayed silent for a moment, "...For how long?" She asked, "As long as it takes for you to rest." Eva sighed, putting her head on the table, "Ok..." she said. Eventually, Maddie came back, crying until her face turned red. She walked up to Matt, hugging his leg, "Oh-!" Matt said, startled, before pulling off his headphones, "What happened, Maddie?" He asked, "No one wants to play with me..." Maddie said, "Aww, sweetheart..." he said, before looking at Eva, "Don't you want to play with Maddie?" he asked. Eva shook her head, "Not right now...I don't feel good..." Matt sighed, "Alright then," he turned back to Maddie, "Why don't you just hang out with me, for now?" he said, smiling, "Ok, daddy..." Maddie said, leaning against him. Soon, Matt was done cooking, and everyone was eating burgers. Maddie sat next to Matt, rambling about her current hyperfixation. Eva and Tara sat quietly next to each other, eating their food. Tara looked over to Eva, eyes wide open, before speaking with her mouth full, "Wanna see what I can do?" she asked in the innocent way a child would, "Sure...?" Eva asked, burger held in both hands. Tara put her food down before swallowing it, pulled her inner elbow to her mouth, and blew as hard as she could, making a loud fart noise. Eva laughed, "What the heck?!" Eva semi-shouted, "Eva farted!" Tara shouted, "What?! No, I didn't!" Eva said, laughing, "Gross!" Edd stated, pinching his nose, "Noo! Not you too!" Eva said. The girls were soon back to eating their food, but they were now talking in between bites. Maddie watched them, feeling kinda...'bad'? She didn't understand what she felt. She felt kind of...mad, almost. Maddie stared at her paper plate, an angry look scrawled on her face.
"No, no, no, no!" a shriek came, "I don't want waffles, I want pancakes!" Maddie shouted at her father, "B-But you just said-" she shook her head, "Pancakes!!!" she demanded, slamming both fists on the table. Tara passed by the kitchen, ignoring the yelling as she went to join her friend, Eva. The girl was currently playing Animal Crossing: City Folk, decorating her bedroom. "Hey," Tara said, sitting with her, "Hey," Eva replied, "They fighting again?" Tara nodded, "And Matt's caving into Maddie's demands?" Tara nodded, "Sounds about right...Maddie's been getting meaner and meaner," Tara nodded, "She stole Tomee bear from me," Tara said, "Maddie destroyed my Lego Ninjago set," Eva stated, "I wish she would just stop..." Tom listened to the conversation as he passed by the living room, shaking his head as he went to the kitchen, seeing a flour-covered Matt serve the impatient child her food, "Hey, Matt, can I borrow you for a moment?" Tom asked, "Oh! Yeah, sure!" Tom led Matt to the back door, making sure the door was shut so the kids couldn't hear, "We need to talk about Maddie, Matt..." Tom said, arms crossed over his chest, "Maddie? What's wrong with Maddie?" he asked, a bit concerned, "She's getting out of hand, Matt. She's stealing and breaking the girls' stuff, she's broken into my room when I'm not home and tried to steal my drinks, and Tord can't deal with the custody thing he's got going on because Maddie thinks it's funny to start screaming bloody murder while he's on the phone," Tom sighed, "You need to get her in line, or she's going to have an even rougher life then she had before." Matt crossed his arms, "I'll have you know I have been keeping her in line, thank you very much!" Suddenly, a Barbie doll shot out the kitchen window, shattering it, "Daddy!!!!" the little monster screamed. Tom's look softened, "Look, I get it, Maddie's home life before all this wasn't all that great. Hell, I've caught myself saying yes to everything Tara wants a couple of times, but if you don't learn to tell that child no, she's either going to end up alone or with the wrong crowd." Matt sighed, "I-I just-" Tom put a hand on Matt's shoulder, "Tell her no, before I do it for you," he said, before going back inside. Matt sighed before swallowing his pride and going back inside and meeting with Maddie, "Daddy, I wanna go to the park today," Maddie said, smiling sweetly, "I-I..." Matt started, "It's -11 outside, Maddie, we can't go to the park." Matt sat at the kitchen table, waiting for the whining from Maddie, "But I wanna go now!" Maddie demanded, "You will freeze out there," he reasoned, "I said I wanna go, NOW!" Maddie demanded, crocodile tears welling in her emerald green eyes. Matt looked Maddie in the eyes, sternly but calmly, "Madeline, the answer is no." Maddie stopped in her tracks, staring at Matt momentarily, before speaking again, "Oh, ok," she stated, "You are not changing my mi- wait, what?" Maddie shrugged, "You said no," Maddie shrugged, before leaving her chair and running to the living room, "Eva! Tara! Wanna play Jenga?" she asked, "Sure, but you still owe me for my Legos," Eva said, still upset at Maddie, "I said I was sorry!" Then Tara spoke up, "You never gave back Tomee bear. He's Tom's, and I was borrowing him, so he has to go back at some point!" Matt sat in the chair, silently, before flopping onto the table, sighing with relief. Tord passed by, stopping for a moment, "You...good...?" he asked, confusion being his motive, "Yeah...just realizing how stupid I've been..." Tord smirked slightly, a sarcastic remark leaving his lips, "You're just realizing that?" Matt suddenly straightened himself in the chair, "Hey!" he said as Tord laughed lightly. Suddenly, his phone rang. He sighed, "Hang on...gotta take this..." he said, tiredly, before retreating to his room. For once, Maddie didn't rush off to bother Tord. She simply minded her own business. Tord eventually came back, grabbing a snack from the fridge and sitting with Matt, "What was that about?" Matt asked. Tord sighed, shaking his head, "The sound of me fucking around and finding out..." he said, "Watch your mouth! The girls can hear us!" Matt said, "Yeah, yeah," Tord waved him off before continuing, "A woman I used to date has a kid. Keeps claiming I'm the girl's father, but unless I get proof, I'm fighting it," he said. "Huh, that sucks," Matt said, "Hope you get that cleared up," Tord nodded, "Hope it blows over soon, too," he then shrugged, "Anyway, Matt, how's it going with the job hunt you were on?" he asked, casually. As the two chatted, Tom went to join the kids in the living room, watching the girls play, "Be careful, it's going to fall on you," he warned, "But this block is soooo loose!" Tara said. She swiftly yanked the block out of the tower, causing it to tilt over and cover her in wooden block bruises. Despite the purple splotches swiftly making their appearance on her skin, Tara began to laugh, "I warned you, kid," Tom said, shrugging, "Shush! SHHHH!" Tara said, laughing still. The other girls laughed as Eva rebuilt the tower, "Again! Again!" Eva said, "Mind if I join? I'm bored," Tom asked. Eva looked over, not taking a second to think, "Don't see why not!" Maddie sighed, "But I wanna play something eeelsse now!" she whined, "But we played one round, Maddie," Maddie sighed, "But I wanna play Twister!" Tom sighed, "Kid, I can't play Twister, I'm old." Maddie rolled her eyes, "You're not old, you're just lazy," she said, crossing her arms. Suddenly, Matt called over from the other room, "Maddie, behave," Maddie stomped her feet, "I. Want. To. Play. Twister!" she demanded, "Madeline Rosemerry Collins!" he warned. Eva gasped, "The full name!" she whispered, "Maddie, choose your next words very carefully..." Tara warned. Maddie didn't listen, "What are you gonna do? Ground me?" she taunted. Matt got up from his chair, "Hang on, I'll be back," as he went to deal with Maddie, "AH!" Maddie shouted, beginning to run, but she was very quickly stopped by Edd, who had just arrived home from grocery shopping, carrying too much in at once and knocking Maddie over, "Oh, sorry, Maddie," he said, before Matt swiftly scooped her up, "NO! NO! AH! NOOOO!" Maddie flailed. Matt put her in her bedroom, speaking to her through the door, "I want you to cool off in here for 10 minutes, Madeline. You're not being nice," he then shut the door as she threw a tantrum in her room. Edd and Tord stared at him wide-eyed, Matt being an actual parent instead of a permissive one being foreign behavior, "...Are...Are you feeling alright, Matt?" Edd asked, "Finally grew some backbone..." Tord muttered, "I'm fine, just...had some advice given to me," he said, the weight of his mistakes finally weighing on him for a moment, "I'm...gonna take a second in my room, if anyone needs me," he then disappeared up the stairs. The girls sat there, before looking at each other, "...10 pounds, Tara," Eva said, "Dang it...Tom, do you have 10 pounds?" Tom shook his head, "Nope. Why are you betting money you don't have?" Eva groaned, "Taaarra! I said you have to have the money you're betting if you wanna bet money!" Eva sighed, "There goes my cola fund..." she mumbled, "Anyway, where were we?" the girls and Tom continued their game while Maddie spent her timeout in her room sobbing.
The girls were playing in the yard, running around with toy planes and cars as the adults sat on lawn chairs near the house, chatting...except for Tord, who was on the phone in the house, "Mayday, mayday, we're going doooownn!!!" Tara yelled, "Oh no!!!" Maddie called out, "Never fear, PowerKid is here!" Eva shouted, running over to the group...before Tara plopped them into the mud, "Oops, they're all dead," Tara said, "What?!" Eva called out, "But what about PowerGal?" Maddie asked, "Sometimes stories are sad. It also gives PowerGal a cool backstory," Eva thought, "I guess that's true..." As they played, they heard a familiar voice call over the fence, "Well, well, well," Eva sighed, "Here we go again..." Eva quietly said, "Edwardo..." The kids turned only for a moment before going back to their playing, each child rolling their eyes. As they played, a group of voices was whispering from around the fence, "B-But what if they..." one said, "They're nice, c'mon!" another spoke, and soon a group of four, three girls and one boy, walked over, "Oi! Neighbors!" The leader of the pack, Ellie, called out, causing the three girls to turn, "You guys wanna play hopscotch with us? Uncle Jon got us a pack of chalk!" The three girls looked at each other, "Well? What do you think?" Tara asked, "Hmm..." Eva thought, before turning to the group, "Lemme get my inhaler first!" she yelled, before running inside, "Yes! Millie, can you get the chalk?" Millie nodded before rushing off, and the remaining three joined their neighbors. "Who are they?" Maddie asked, having only met Ellie, "Oh! They're my friends! This is Camille, or Millie," Ellie said, gesturing to the girl who ran back from their yard, a blonde, slightly tan girl, dressed in a stained, striped jumper with frilly, lightly tattered tanktop sleeves and sandals covered in butterflies. She then gestured to a taller Dutch girl with bright red hair, wearing a tank top with holes in it, and a pair of jean shorts with sandals, "This is Hailey. She doesn't speak English properly, but Todd's teaching her when he's around," Hailey awkwardly waved her hand, smiling, "Hallo!" Tara didn't seem to like Hailey, still remembering being pushed to the ground by the older child. Ellie turned to the boy in their group, "This one over here is Tes-" the boy quickly stopped Ellie, "N-No, not my dress up name, El..." he quietly said, "Er, um...Dillian! O-Or Ian," the nervous reck of a boy wore cargo pants and a gray shirt, along with a pair of brown shoes. He wore the nicest clothes of the bunch, but his clothes were oversized and ill-fitting. "And you already know I'm Elenore," she said, smiling brightly. She wore black shorts and one of Edwardo's old hoodies, with tears in some of the seams, and gray, oversized, plastic flip-flops, one of the straps of the shoes pulled out of the base on the left side, making it hard to wear. They were all wearing hand-me-downs, "Ohhh! Ok! Hiii!" Maddie said. Eva eventually came back, stuffing her inhaler in her pocket, "Ok! I'm here! Let's go!" They ran off to the sidewalk, Ellie drawing their hopscotch on the ground, going from one to 10. Each girl took their turn, tossing a stone from the side of the road and hopping, one foot, two feet, one foot, two feet, two feet, one foot. They laughed and giggled, until eventually one topped over, scraping his knee, "Ouch...you ok, Ian?" Millie asked, "U-Um...yeah...I guess..." he then stood, "I'm gonna go inside...sorry," he said, "It's ok, go sit down, Dillian," The kids stopped momentarily, before Maddie spoke up, "He seemed very sad," she said, "I mean, I would be if I scrapped my knee," Hailey said, shrugging, "Scraped," Ellie corrected, "Oh, scraped," Hailey corrected herself, "No, I mean, like...just in general. He seems sad," Maddie watched as the boy walked solemnly into the house, Jon following inside to make sure he was ok, "Oh, that..." Millie said, "I think he's just upset we stopped playing princesses," the girl added, causing all the neighbor kids to nod in agreement, "Princesses? Does he like dressing up as a prince, or something?" Tara asked, "Ooo! Or a dragon!" Eva stated, "No, dragons is my like. Dillian likes wearing dresses," Hailey stated. "He likes dresses?" Eva asked, "But dresses are for girls!" Maddie said, not purposely harsh, just confused, "They can be for boys, too! Dillian likes feeling pretty!" Ellie harshly defended, "Sorry, I wasn't trying to be mean," Maddie said, somewhat sadly, "Oh, I thought you were..." Eva came up with an idea as the others talked, "Why don't we do a fashion show, then? To cheer Dillian up!" Eva said, smiling, "Ooo! I like that idea!" Ellie said, before running off inside, "C'mon! ¡Vamos!" she called out to the other two, who followed dutifully. Tara, Maddie, and Eva quickly ran inside too, "I have a speaker we can play music on!" Maddie said, "Ooo! Good idea! I can plug my MP3 player into it!" Eva said, "Uh, guys? I don't have a dress...nor do I want to wear one..." Tara said, "What about my dinosaur costume from last Halloween? You can just be a wingless dragon," Tara nodded, "That works." As the girls got dressed up, Eva got dressed quickly, setting up her music before running outside, "Meet in our yard! I don't want Mr. Edwardo to yell at us in his yard!" Eva said. Shortly after the other two ran out, dancing to Disney music, giggling and laughing. Millie and Hailey joined them, Ellie trying to get Dillian's attention from the attic bedroom window, "DILLIAAAANN! LOOK OUT HEEERREE!!" the girl screamed, tossing stones up at the window, "What are you doing, kid?!" Edwardo called out, turning to the child screaming her lungs out, "Stop doin' that, you'll break the window. We ain't got money for that," he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "and why are you dressed in your halloween costume...? That thing doesn't even fit anymore," he added, frustration melting into confusion, "Dillian is sad cause he wants to dress up like a princess, but he doesn't wanna do it in front of the other girls, so we're doing a fashion show to cheer him up- DILLIAAAN!" she answered the man's question, before quickly screaming at the window again, attracting Jon outside to see what the comotion was, "Ellie- El- Kid, just go inside and get him," he said, not wanting he to be yelling across the whole neighborhood, "But then Dillian will see me in my Tiana dress, and then the jig will be up!" Edwardo sighed, "Jon, go get Dillian so my kid will stop tearing a hole in her lungs..." he commanded with frustration, "Oh, yeah! Sure!" Jon swiftly went inside, "Thank you, papá," Ellie said, running to the others. Mark and Matt supervised the kids, being the only two not arguing across the fence. They seemed to actually get along quite well. Dillian soon poked his head out the attic window, it creaking from it's hastely and handi-jobbed installation, before smiling softly, "You guys look pretty!" He called out, "Come join us!" Ellie called out, "U-Um..." he thought for a moment, "N-No thank you...I don't wanna dress up right now," he nervously said, "You don't gotta dress up, Ian!" Tara shouted, standing in an inflatable dinosaur costume, "Yeah, but if I join you, I'd wanna match as a princess," Tara nodded, "Makes sense." Millie cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice, "Then be our judge! Whoever wins the fashion show gets...uh...gets-" Hailey quickly spoke up, "I gotta bag of candy from the years last halloween still! Whoever wins gets it!" the girls cheered, chanting "Candy! Candy! Candy!" Hailey called out, "Oh! Ok!" he quickly disappeared before emerging with a notepad, "No biases!" Ellie shouted. As the girls had their fashion show, Dillian marked tallies based on non-existent categories, ultimately landing with Tara as the one with the most points. He thought she was silly, stomping around with the dinosaur costume, rawring, and 'attacking' the other contestants. Maddie came in second, having her hair done pretty, by Matt whilst Edd and Tom argued with the neighbors, things finally starting to settle, and her dress not actually being a Disney princess dress, but an actual ballgown with a hoop skirt, the dress covered in gems and such. Ellie was third, Tiana being his favorite princess. A little biased, yes, but she was also his best friend. 4th and 5th belonged to Eva and Hailey, Eva having on a dress slightly too small, and Hailey not really caring about dressing up, more just wanting to be with friends, "Who's our winner?" Elenore asked, "Hmmm...Tara in first, Maddie in second, and Ellie in third!" He called out, "Yes! Free candy! Cough it up, candy lady!" Tara said, fake punching Hailey with her dinosaur hands, "Gah! Ok! Ok! I'm going!" Hailey called out, laughing as she ran inside, "CANDDDYYY!" Tara shouted, rasping her voice quite a bit like a dragon roar, "Aww, but I wanted candy..." Maddie sadly said, "Good job, Tara..." but she didn't accuse anyone of cheating this time. She was still guilting Tara a little, but she didn't throw a tantrum this time! "Well, duh, I'm sharing with you guys! Why wouldn't I? goof." Hailey passed over the plastic shopping bag of candy to Tara, "Behold, candy of your own," Hailey dramatically said, "Why, thank you, your highness," Eva jokingly said. Tara then handed out a small handful to each of the kids in the group, neighbors included, "But you won this?" Ellie asked, "And? I can do what I want with my winnings. This handful is for Dillian, by the way." She passed a handful of candy to Ellie, "Thanks!" She said, smiling, "Kids! C'mon! It's too hot to be out right now," Edwardo yelled over the fence, no longer fighting with Edd and Tom, "Ok!" Ellie gave a quick hug to Eva, Maddie, and Tara, "Cya, guys!" Ellie called out, smiling, before running off, the others following, "Byeee!" The other girls shouted, "Bye, guys!" Dillian shouted from his window before shutting it, the latch hooking on quiet well despite the window's appearance. Tara began inside too, "Imma head inside, this thing's hot," Tara said, "Me too. I wanna watch cartoons," Maddie said, "Alright then, let's go," Eva shrugged, and they all went in together, hand in hand.
Crickets chirped into the warm summer air. Summer was coming to a close soon, and soon sweaters and light jackets would become the norm. Tara sat in the kitchen, eating birthday cake with the rest of the household, a birthday hat with the number 7 on it, and a purple birthday sash adorning her body. She never celebrated a birthday before, let alone her own. She sat there, quietly eating whilst the others talked, "And I said..." one voice trailed off as her thoughts slipped from her, "Oh, and what about..." Tara felt her mind slip into nothingness, staring off into the abyss as thoughts of earlier times tormented her momentarily, before a hand grabbed her shoulder, "You ok, Tar?" Tom spoke, noticing the child disconnecting from reality, "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm ok," she nodded, "Just thinking...too much..." she added, trailing off for a moment, "Why don't we do presents soon, yeah?" Tom asked the group, "Sounds like a good idea, it's getting late," Edd agreed. Soon, someone's phone rang, and Tord sighed, "Hang on, I gotta take this...again..." he sighed, wandering off towards the stairs. Edd sighed, "I'll go get the presents for you, Tara," then he left, "Even the girls got you something!" Matt said, smiling, "Daaad! You weren't supposed to teeellll heerrr!!" Maddie whined, "Oh! Sorry!" the man said, raising his hands. Tara laughed, smiling at the antics, "I had a feeling when Maddie started dropping 'hints' about a surprise she and Eva had," Eva started laughing, "Told you you couldn't keep a secret!" she shouted, pointing at Maddie, "I got excited!!!" Maddie quickly defended herself. The chatting, and mostly yelling, could be heard as Edd emerged from the living room with handfuls of presents. Most of them were small, one of them being a card from Tord. Speaking of Tord, Edd caught Tord grabbing his coat and key, somewhat frantic, "Something wrong?" he asked, "Need to head to the police station real quick," he quickly explained, "I-I'll call you later and explain, I just need to go. I'll be back," he swiftly rushed out the door, "Alright? Good luck then," Edd made his way to the kitchen again, placing presents neatly on the table, "Did Tord just leave?" Tom asked, "Yeah...he got a call and then rushed off to the police station for some reason..." Edd said, "Huh...odd," Tom commented, shrugging as he didn't really care, "Hope everything's alright," Matt commented. Tara was staring off again, wanting to just get away from this situation. Something was making her breathing heavier and her thoughts cloudy...a memory she really didn't want to remember, "Here, Tara," Edd said, passing one of the presents. She tried to focus on the gifts, one after the other, but it didn't even feel like she was there, just observing outside her own body. First was a toy from her favorite TV show, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, just an action figure of Raphael with movable joints, from Edd, "Heck yeah," Tara said, smiling, "Knew I was Right about Raph," Edd said, "Eva kept saying Leo," Eva crossed her arms, "I thought she liked Leo more!" Tara giggled, "No, you like Leo more, Eva," Eva faked a scoff, "Rude." The next was a plush unicorn, but it was one of those purple 'edgy' ones with spikes and such, from Maddie, "Cute," Tara commented, "I know, right?" Maddie said, smiling brightly. As she and Maddie talked, Edd left to take the promised call from Tord, "Oh, hey! ...You alright? You sound tense..." they heard as he left. One from Eva, being a graphic novel collection of the Baby Sitters Club, "I know you like the chapter books, but you struggle with reading them, so I thought you'd like the graphic novels a bit better," Eva said, "Th-Thank you, E-E-Eva," it was getting harder to breathe. What was stressing her out so much? She opened a present from Matt, just a kit of outdoor stuff: chalk, a jump rope, bubbles, etc. It wasn't super thought out, but Matt's reasoning was "You like going outside a lot more than the other two. With the weather getting cooler, I thought it'd be nice to enjoy it before it gets too cold." Just as she was about to open the last present, a car honked outside the door, making Tara jolt out of her dissociation, staring at the door in fear, like she was afraid of who was behind it. Shortly after, Edd left, somewhat anxiously. Tom got up and went to look out the living room window, "Oh jeez..." he mumbled before returning, "Why don't we pause on that present for a moment?" he said, collecting the toys, "I want you girls to play in Maddie's room for a moment," he added, passing the toys to Matt and whispering something to him, "...Oh, oh no..." Matt quietly said, "I can do that, yeah," Matt then led the kids to Maddie's room, "What's going on? What's happening?" Maddie asked, Matt, staying in the room with them for a moment, "Just someone who needs a little space is coming into the house...once she's situated, you girls can go say hi," Matt said, "OOO! Is it a puppy?!" Maddie hyped, "I don't think it's a puppy, Maddie. Ringo hates dogs," Eva said, smiling, "Most certainly not a puppy," Matt confirmed, disappointing Maddie, "Awww..." Tara was thinking for a moment, "Is it Tord's kid?" she asked, "How'd you figure that out?" Matt asked. Tara gave a shrug, "He's been on the phone on and off for ages, even after he started paying support. He then got a call 10 minutes ago, got super duper nervous, ran off, now he's back, and everyone's freaking out. Makes the most sense if it's the kid, and something bad happened to her," Matt quietly stared for a moment before shaking off the unease, "You are very observant," he said, somewhat unnerved. "Thank you, it's a curse of mine," Tara jokingly said, "Just try to play quietly for a moment, ok?" Matt said, handing the toys to Tara for the kids to play with before leaving to help with the others.
She looked at a clock ticking the seconds softly as she kicked her feet back and forth on a bench attached to the wall covered with chalkboards and drawings, nervously hugging a stuffed dog to her chest. Bruises, scrapes, and scars lined her arms and legs, covered in a red zip-up jacket and a gray t-shirt, long, matted hair covered her back, and her eyes nervously darted with fear. She heard many voices she couldn't understand, "Sri, a ntseol pizza si tno na ecemyren..." she didn't understand what the officer was saying in the next room. Another kid sat next to her, a little girl, her sister. Only a little older than two years old. They weren't going together, she had a different father, "...Aurora...?" the little girl, covered in patches of Vitiligo that decorated the darkened parts like large galaxies of colorless void, turned to her. "Holly!" she said, happily. Holly handed the child her dog, "It's gonna be ok," Holly assured, "What that mean?" the child asked, "It means you're going somewhere better..." the older girl said, smiling sadly, "Aurora Redwood?" a caseworker called out, causing Aurora to turn her head, "Sim?" the child asked, switching languages, "Está an hora de ir, ume emb, vamos lá." Holly vaguely understood the man. Despite the slightly different grammar between the two languages they spoke, Holly knew this meant goodbye, "Huh? Mas e a Holly?" the girl asked in Portuguese, "A Holly ãno oped ir, querida; ela está rpodsenae o iap elda," the younger girl started to cry, "Mas, Holly!" she called out again, "Rory, it's ok," Holly quietly said before her sister hugged onto her, "We'll still see each other, Rory, it's ok..." Holly comforted before the little girl nodded, "Ok..." she then finally left with the man, waving a last goodbye to her older sister. Holly waved back, "icfefOr Fritzgerald llwi emoc etg uyo sono nhwe oruy father msoce ot cipk you pu, hun," the caseworker said before the door shut. Holly waited, quiet anxiety brewing in her stomach before she heard a voice from the front desk, not entirely paying attention until she heard her name, "Im' eehr to pikc pu Holland Redwood?" Holly looked up towards a window, just barely seeing a nervous man standing at the front desk. He didn't seem to be as nervous as Holly was, but he was fidgeting a lot. She had only met him once, and they didn't even speak. It was just a custody hearing after all. Last she remembered, he didn't want anything to do with her, having relinquished custody. Now he stood at that desk, wearing a light red jacket over a black hoodie, hair ruffled from urgency. Soon, a woman came to her through the door, "Hello hterseeatw. Holland, htrig?" the woman asked, "...My name is Holly..." she corrected, glaring at the officer, "igtRh, oyu pekas Spanish..." the woman softly said, "You speaking other language?" the officer asked in broken Spanish, "...Norsk..." Holly responded, with an angry look on her face, "I not go..." Holly grumbled in butchered English. Tord seemed to notice the little girl from the front desk, the worry softening into lament, "oduCl I ryt...?" he asked the officer at the front desk, "oYu'er olemwec ot. hitMg hpel irecffo Fritzgerald tuo." The man made his way slowly over, the little girl's glare now turned to him, "Hey...Holland..." He softly said from the doorway. She seemed slightly surprised to understand him, "It's Holly," she sternly corrected, "Sorry, sorry, Holly..." he then turned to the officer, "knhTa ouy," he said. The officer nodded, leaving to stand outside by the doorway, "...You said you didn't want me..." she mumbled, "When did I say that?" He asked, confused, "At the court! Mama said you didn't want me!" she angrily shouted at him, "I-" he sighed, shaking his head, "I never said I didn't want you, Holla- ahem...Holly," he said, approaching slowly, "I said I couldn't take you because we don't have enough room. I was working on a way to let you come visit, but with how things are there just wasn't enough room," he explained, "...What else did she tell you...?" he softly asked, now crouching next to the bench she sat on, "...She said you smell..." the little girl lied, "I- When did she-" he then caught on, "You little liar," he said, smiling, making the child giggle, "...they took Rory..." Tord sighed, "Your sister, right?" he asked, "You'll still be able to talk with each other, right?" he asked, "...Yeah...but she was sad..." Tord sighed, "This is going to be better for both of you...what your mother did wasn't...wasn't ok..." she shook the memory of what happened out of her head, tearing up, "Are you ready, now?" he asked, holding out his hand to the child. Holly nodded, taking the hand, "Mhm...I guess..." the two soon departed the building, and the car ride back felt long as rain began to drip down from grayed clouds. She leaned her face on the car window, staring as trees and buildings passed them by, "...How do you know Norsk?" she asked, "Huh?" He called back, "We're speaking Norsk. How'd you learn it," She asked again, "I'm from Norway," he said, "Grew up there and moved to Britain after I turned 18. A friend of mine needed help with rent, I was going to college in Britain...never left after that." The girl thought for a moment, "Do you still live with your friend?" she asked, "And their kids...they're nice girls, I think you'll like them. Rowdy bunch, though." Holly nodded, "Is that why there wasn't enough room for me?" she asked, "Unfortunately...we only have enough room for the three girls. We'll figure something out for you, though. It's not up for negotiation anymore." Holly turned to the man driving, "But what about the other girls?" Tord looked in the rearview mirror, confused, "What do you mean?" Holly shrugged, "The other girls. Do they have to share a room now?" Tord shrugged, "If that's what works. That or we'll renovate...again..." he sighed, "What a disaster that was...the stairs caved in the night Tara was supposed to move into the room...poor kid was scared to death, slept on the couch for months!" he shook his head, "It's safe now, though," Holly swallowed nervously, "I won't let you get crushed by stairs, Holly, promise." Soon, Tord made a call to a friend, speaking in a language she didn't understand. Eventually, they got to their destination, pulling up by the curb. Tord exited the vehicle before opening the door for Holly, "C'mon, it's raining, I don't wanna be soaked!" he said. Holly hopped out of the car, cautiously approaching the house, the door opened for her by a man in a green hoodie, looking a bit sad for the child, "aWht neev phpedena ot het opor dki?" she couldn't understand, "lI'l llte yuo eltar, s'lte sutj teg her ituatdse irtfs." Tord led the child to the living room, gesturing to the couch, "Sit here for a bit, I'm going to go talk with the adults, ok?" She nodded, sitting herself on the living room couch whilst the adults discussed in the kitchen about...whatever adults talked about. She stared at the blank TV, before a small hand tapped her shoulder, making her jolt and spin around. Tara stared at the girl blankly, "Who are you?" she asked, clinging to the back of the couch, "¿Que?" Holly asked, confused, "Huh?" Tara responded, "U-Um...N-No speak...um...inglés..." the ginger child managed to get out, "Oh! Ok! I see!" Tara then pulled herself over the back of the couch like a little grimlyn, "What do you speak then?" she asked smiling. Holly thought for a moment, translating Tara's words before cautiously speaking, "Oh, um...Español y...a-and...um...Norsk...um..Nore...egin..." she struggled for a moment, getting frustrated with each word she struggled on, "Spanish and Norwegian?" Tara asked, "Darn, I only know French and Hawaiian..." Tara added with disappointment. Tara thought for a moment, "OOO! Wait here!" she then ran off to her room, "Taralani, Matt said to stay in Maddie's room. What are you doing, kid?" Tom called out, but Tara didn't respond. She then ran into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of microwave popcorn and tossing it into the microwave, "Tara?" Tom asked again, "Hang on!" Tara responded. She then ran to Maddie's room, poking her head in, "Blanket fort! Go, go, go!" she then ran back to the living room, the other girls soon following after Tara with handfuls of blankets. Tara then put a disk she grabbed from her room into a CD player, fiddling with the TV remote for a second, "HI!" Maddie shouted, "Maddie, quiet down," Eva said, "U-Um...Hallo..." she quietly mumbled, "She doesn't speak English," the other two nodded, "'Scuse us," Eva said, kicking Holly off the couch as they ripped off the cushions, "Qué vas a...?" Holly started as the girls made a blanket fort, "Movie time!" Tara started the movie, throwing herself into the blanket fort, "I turned on Spanish captions, so you can watch too," She told Holly, "Huh...?" Holly didn't understand until the film started up, seeing something she could actually understand. "O-Oh. Thank...you...." she joined the other girls in the blanket fort. Tord came to the living room with the forgotten popcorn, seeing the girls giggling and watching their movie. He sighed in relief, realizing Holly would be just fine here. Soon Tara left the fort, "I forgot the pop-" Tara then saw Tord, "Oh, thanks," she grabbed the bag from the man, turning to return to the fort before Tom called out, "Tara, come here!" Tara sighed, "Hang on!" she tossed the bag to Eva, "Don't eat it all without me!" before running off to the kitchen, "yeeeesir!" she said, jokingly saluting and standing at attention, "Meant to give you this before we had stuff happen," he said, holding out her birthday present, "Oh, yeah!" she ran over, grabbing the box from him and pulling open the gift. She stared at it for a moment before looking at Tom, then back at the present. "Th-Thank you..." she said, tearing up a bit. A little patchwork bear sat in the box, a small heart stitched onto it's chest, similar to one her mother had sown together late at night when Tara still knew her name, "I know you said your mum got you something simular, and I thought-" Tom couldn't finish his sentence before he was tackled with a hug so hard she knocked him and the chair over, "Woah!" He managed to keep himself from cracking his head open, "Oops!" Tara called out, getting off the floor quickly, but Tom just laughed, "You're getting too strong, kid!" As Tom pulled the chair back up on its legs, a childs voice carried into the air, "Oi!" Holly shouted, looking somewhat angry, "Huh?" Tara looked at the kid, who pointed to the living room, "Du går glipp av filmen, din dum!" she yelled, "Holly, bruk innestemme..." Tord said, but the child simply ignored him. Tara simply stared for a moment, thinking, "Du....filmen...filmen...film...OH! The movie!" She quickly ran off, Holly following with laughter. "Well, at least we know the kid will fit in great," Tom stated, brushing off a bruise on his shoulder.