The next morning Bethany found her and her siblings seated at the breakfast table, lined up from oldest to youngest. Aunt Laura was very precise with who sat where. At the head of the table was Aunt Laura herself, then to her left sat Bethany, Frederick, Theresa,Victoria, and Sabrina. Then to her right sat Frances, Allen, Timothy,and Mariah.

Aunt Laura was silently reading the newspaper while Mandy served everyone and Bethany kept having the urge to get up and walk away. Liam still had not given her a straight answer as to whether or not he had told her Aunt, but even if he hadn't, it still would not make the meals more comfortable.

"My goodness," Aunt Laura murmured, flipping the newspaper page.

"That's why I object to having any kind of animal besides a domestic dog or cat in town."

"What happened?" Fran asked.

Bethany and her siblings all silently agreed that people should be allowed to have animals in town. Just as long as they kept them fenced in.

"A young girl got attacked by a hen yesterday morning while gathering eggs."

"Maybe the hen wanted to keep her eggs," Theresa piped in, taking a large bite of omelet.

"Well that just shows you can never trust a wild animal," Aunt Laura said, folding the newspaper and placing it on the table.

"Chickens aren't wild," Allen said matter-of-factually.

Bethany silently ate her breakfast, not wanting to take part in the discussion that was undoubtedly bound to follow, and noticed someone standing by the gate talking to Liam. It was a girl, a rather tall one, with a dirty blond braid and bangs carrying a newspaper. She was dressed in a plaid shirt and clay colored cargo jeans, looking rather out of sorts and shoe-less.

"Who's that?" Bethany asked, accidentally interrupting the conversation.

"Don't interrupt Bethany. Now what did you say?" Aunt Laura said.

Bethany glanced at her Aunt with an apologetic look then pointed towards the gate.

"The girl Liam is talking to? Who is it?"

Aunt Laura looked to where Bethany was pointing and saw Liam sweeping the driveway, completely alone.

"All I see is Liam," Aunt Laura said.

Bethany looked back to the driveway and much to her astonishment, he was alone.

"But I-"

"Bethany,in the future please take care of what you say."

"What do you mean? I didn-"

"I'm sure you meant no harm, but it is a strict policy of mine that the help cannot have any visitors outside of family coming onto my property. If Liam had been talking to someone, which I'm sure he was not, he would have been fired."

Bethany shut her mouth, grey eyes still wide open, and went back to eating her breakfast. She was sure that Liam had been talking to someone but she also did not want to get him fired. It was strange to think that Aunt Laura would sack somebody for such a small thing. Maybe punish them for disobeying the rules, but all together kicking them out just seemed like a step too far. Every time Bethany looked at her Aunt she felt sorry for her. She had everything. A good job, a big house, lots of influence, but her life was still lacking. It was dreary and uncomfortable to sit with her through every meal and Bethany wondered why she even sent for them if she was going to spend all her time away.

Fran and Freddie felt the same way. They were always the optimistic ones but even they could not find a bright side to Aunt Laura. It was strange to think that their father, a wonderfully happy and energetic man who thought the world of everyone and everything, was related to such an obviously miserable and aloof woman like their Aunt.

"Well I must excuse myself," Aunt Laura spoke, standing up tall and straight like a spire.

"There were some complications at the office this morning and I have to go and fix them."

She straightened her stiff jacket collar and walked briskly out of the room, leaving the children behind to their own devices. Sabrina had raspberry jam all over her face and Timothy was playing with the bit of omelet that was left, the others just staring at one another with perplexed expressions.

"Are you really hallucinating, Annie?" Mariah asked, deeply concerned.

Bethany smiled and drained her glass of water to the last drop, finishing with a great sigh.

"No I'm not Mariah. But that doesn't matter. I don't want to get Liam fired and Aunt Laura doesn't want to believe me. So I guess that's the end of that," she answered, getting up from the table. "Now let's help Mandy with the dishes."

Liam quietly brushed the driveway, removing the trimmed grass that he had cut earlier from the small cracks and making a small pile of debris off to the side. He was deep in thought, pouring over what he had read in the newspaper that morning. So a girl had been attacked by a chicken. So what? Things like that happened all the time, right? Those were things Liam kept trying to tell himself, but it did not work. He had a gut instinct that this was not some ordinary hen protecting her eggs. There was something else going on. Something that would not just disappear with time.

"Hey!"a voice called from behind.

Liam spun around and saw the blonde girl, standing on the other side of the gate, a newspaper in one hand.

"What are you doing here? I'm not suppose to talk to people on Miss Goode's property," Liam said, looking back to the mansion.

"Oh that trashy ploy again? Why do you even work for her anyway?"

"Never mind that. What do you want?" Liam asked, dismissing her question.

"Have you read the newspaper?"

"Yeah...I'm not sure what to think though."

"That was the same thing with me, until I heard that Dean got attacked by a mouse yesterday evening. Said he had to kill it before it stopped,"the girl said.

Liam leaned on the broom and pushed his hat back, trying to piece everything together.

"A mouse you said?"

"Yup.I thought I'd better tell you...Ya know...Just to make sure you keep that sawed-off handy," the girl said, smiling mischievously.

Liam shook his head and adjusted his hat, going back to his work.

The girl ran barefoot through the trees and down the hill, biting her lip when she stubbed her toe on a tree root. It was another hot day thankfully and her toes were not numb, so the pain was only a short burst of excruciating agony before it subsided to a dull throbbing.

"Have you seen her?" a squeaky voice said, coming down a back street.

The girl quickly climbed a nearby tree and, perched on a high up branch,peered through the thick canopy of leaves on the street bellow. The two peacocks from the park were trotting by, their frizzed and fluffed attire shimmering in the morning sun while they clucked like a flock of hens.

"If I had, do you think we would still be looking?" said one with navy hair.

"We've searched the entire town. I don't understand how we could have missed her with that disgusting mop of blonde hair," the other one said,her brown hair dip-died purple.

The girl sat up in the tree and frowned, subconsciously tugging at her ponytail which forever stayed in uncontrollable waves, making it look very similar to a mop. She knew they were looking for her and almost wanted them to find her, just so she could give them a piece of her mind. But then again, it was best to remain unseen for the time being. She was sure that Gwen knew who had come to town by now, that was easy enough to get across, but now it would be difficult to stay in the dark with the peacocks looking for her.

The two of them strolled down another street back to the residential area and the girl slid down the tree, making sure not to stub her toe again, and walked out onto the street, running across to the other side and in the back door of the General Store. She quickly slammed the door shut and leaned against it, her feet burning from the hot pavement.

"Hey Blondie!" Dean said, his back turned to her while he wrapped some pork in brown paper.

"Hey,"she breathed.

"What happened? Did you talk to Liam?"

Blondie tightened her ponytail and opened the fridge, grabbing a jug of milk and filling a mug to the brim with the delicious white liquid. She took a long gulp and sighed, sitting down on a stool and hugging the cold cup with her hands.

"Yup,"she answered. "But there isn't much he can do. I just hope those relatives of yours are smart enough to listen to him when the time comes."

Dean grabbed the roll of twine and cut a long piece, wrapping it around the package of meat several times and tying it off, putting it on the top shelf of the walk in freezer.

"Well,if I had my way they wouldn't be here in the first place...Laura was a fool for having them over. She's just trying to prove to everyone that she was right," he said, grabbing an unfolded box and assembling it.

Blondie stared into her mug, thinking about what Liam had said the day before. He was right about one thing, she did not have to do any of this. She could leave now and no one would know. No one would blame her and no one would care. It was awfully tempting. She could go home and continue to live her life without the worries and cares of some kids that did not even know she existed.
No. No, Blondie could not convince herself to leave. She thought of how awful it would be, trying to live with herself knowing that there was a possible chance that she could have prevented a terrible happening and did not have the guts to stick it out till the end.

"How are you related to them, Dean?" Blondie asked, tracing the rim of her mug with one finger.

"Their mother is my sister, Roberta. I usually go down to their farm for Christmas."

"Are they good people?"

Dean looked over at her and saw the concentration written in her face and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Some of the best...They're hard workers too," he said, throwing several bags of dried cherries into the box. "Why? Having trouble justifying your reason to stay?"

Blondie looked up, confused by the way he had read her mind. Liam often did that as well. Always telling her what she was thinking before she even had a chance to say it.

"How did you do that?" she asked, standing up and rinsing the mug.

"Do what?"

"Read my mind?"

"Blondie,you're about as easy to read as a book," Dean told her, grinning.

Blondie sighed and looked in the mirror above the sink. Her face was nothing special. Not a particular shape, not a particular color. Just very open and honest. Like Dean had said, a book for all to read.

"Whelp,time to go to work!" Bethany sang.

She had wrapped her hair up in the back and wore a white button up shirt,paired with some denim jeans and sandals.

"Mmm, white. Very bold indeed," Fran said, leaning back on Bethany's bedroom recliner.

"Well it's the best I have. Hopefully I don't get it too dirty."

Grabbing her wallet and stuffing it in her pocket Bethany walked out of the room, Fran following close behind. Hearing the horn honk outside they slid down the banister of both staircases and rushed out the front door, Bethany diving into the passenger seat and waving to Fran as Liam drove out the gate.

"So I heard a girl got attacked by a chicken?" Bethany said, trying to make conversation.

Liam, who was looking strangely out of sorts, humphed a little without saying a word and continued down the hill.

"Before I drop you off we need to go to the vet and pick up Goochie," he said quietly, turning onto a street called 'Forester Lane'.

"Goochie? He's still alive?" Bethany asked, her eyes twinkling with pleasure.

Liam did not answer but pulled into the parking lot of the veterinary clinic, a small grey building with a sign of a dog saying 'Vet' on it in big letters. There was a big gate to the left and just when Liam got out of the car it opened and a big Bernese Mountain dog walked out on a leash being held by a man in a white coat. When Goochie saw Liam it barked loud and grinned, it's big pink tongue hanging out of it's mouth. The man took the leash off and Liam got down on one knee as Goochie ran towards him, giving the boy plenty of slobbery dog kisses while his tail wagged back and forth so fast you could barely see it.

"Ah, Goochie, I missed you too!" Liam laughed, giving the dog a good petting.

Bethany watched the scene from behind the car and smiled. She remembered the last time she had come and Liam and Goochie were practically inseparable, even though Goochie technically belonged to Aunt Laura.

Suddenly Goochie stopped licking Liam and stared at Bethany, letting out a loud bark and running around the car, his tail wagging even faster.

"Hi Goochie!" Bethany laughed, kneeling down and scratching the dog behind the ear.

"I didn't know if you remembered me."

The two exchanged some long hellos before Liam made them both get in the car. It was getting to be late morning and Bethany still had to get to work. It took a few minutes to get over to the General Store and Goochie did not want to let Bethany leave the car.

"Alright Goochie, goodbye! See you later!" she said, finally able to escape the dog kisses.

She waved as the Camero drove off and sighed, remembering her first trip to Blakewood and the hours she spent playing fetch with Goochie. Finally finished reminiscing she walked into the store, the bell ringing above the door.

"Good morning!" Uncle Dean called, coming out of the back room. "Ready for work?"

"Rearing to go!" Bethany replied.

She was about to tell her Uncle about Goochie when she caught something from the corner of her eye. It looked like someone was in the backroom. Walking over to the counter and peering through the door she saw the same blonde girl from earlier putting a mug away, but her back was turned and Bethany never got a good look before she walked out the door.

"Who was that?" she asked, putting an apron on.

"Who?"

"That girl in the back room?"

Uncle Dean looked through the door then went back to packing.

"Oh just some kid delivering a few things...Now time to get to work!"

- Well, here is the next chapter! I kind of had a slight writers block and I'm sure how well these next chapters turned out, but oh well! I hope you enjoyed them. Thanks =D - Anna

Also, I don't know why the font is different. I think it's because I wrote the chapter on Apache then uploaded it onto here.