"These people must be more insane than me if they actually want me," I grumbled, staring out the window at the cracked road and the white lines painted on it. I didn't want to look at the woods we were passing by, afraid I would see something leering at me from inside of them like I did in my nightmares and visions.

"You're not insane, Onyx," my social worker, Annie, said, her voice soft and sympathetic. I winced at the use of my full name. No one but my mother had truly called me that up until she passed away, then suddenly everyone was referring to me as it. I opted to remain silent when they called me it, deciding it was easier just to go along with it. Luckily, in the psych ward, the nurses called me by sugary sweet nicknames instead of my actual one.

At this point, it was just Annie who called me by it, but I was too nice to correct her. She had done a lot for me in the past few months, and she was one of the few who was nice enough to pretend I wasn't a lunatic. There weren't many people left who regarded me like I was normal, but she did, and I appreciated that.

"Whatever," I said, leaning my head back against the seat, sighing. "They're still not right in the head if they agreed to taking me in. No one wants the girl who's had several psychotic breaks and witnessed her family getting murdered, but can't remember it." I paused then added in a whisper, "Not even my own dad wants me."

"Your dad is a fool," Annie's voice was charged with anger as it always was when we spoke of my dad. She had hated him from the moment that she found out he had abandoned my family. When we were alone, she had informed me that she thought he was a coward, and that was when I had decided I liked her. She'd been fighting for me since day one and had been the only person I could rely on since my life got messy.

I appreciated her more than she really knew.

I looked at her, my lips drawing down into a frown. Her sun kissed blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and her eyes with laugh lines around them were concentrated on the road. Her lips were drawn tight, the only way to tell she was worried about me, and her thumbs were drumming against the side of the steering wheel.

I swallowed hard before asking, quietly, "You'll check in on me, right?"

Her eyes darted over to me for but a moment, yet I was able to catch them softening at my words.

"Of course," she said, her voice still soft. I'd heard it hard before, sharp enough to cut through rooms and make people wince, but she had never used that tone on me. She had always spoke to me as if I was her own child; it made me feel loved. "Onyx, I'm not going to just abandon you. And you're going to be okay. I hope you know that."

I managed to shoot her a weak, but thankful smile before turning my attention back to the cracks in the road. I had my head rested against the glass, and every time we went over a bump, my head smacked against the window, but I barely flinched. The throbbing against my skull hurt less than the constant emotional pain that was stabbing at my chest.

When we pulled into the gravel drive, I lifted my head again, observing the house we were closing in on. I sat up straighter in my seat, my eyes shooting up at the sight of a wood and brick house that was rather big. I hadn't expected something like this. And even though the house was really nice, the woods surrounded it, caused me to wince. That part of living there was not going to be fun, but as soon as they knew how psycho I was, I was sure they wouldn't keep me long.

"Annie..." I breathed out, my breath catching in my throat and cutting me off. It was better I didn't express my concerns, anyways.

"Don't worry, sweetie," Annie chirped, her lips spreading into a comforting smile. "They'll love you."

"Doubtful..." I whispered to myself as she got out of the car. I took a deep breath before climbing out of the car too, wrapping my arms around myself. My teeth sank into my bottom lip as I continued to observe the house, forcing myself to keep my eyes away from the tree line that was taunting me. "Do they have any other foster children?"

"Mhmm," Annie nodded, walking at a fast pace towards the house. "A few teenage boys your age and a couple younger kids."

I stumbled over my own feet at her words. "Wait, what?"

Annie didn't seem to hear me, because she didn't respond, striding up to the front door and delivering two hard knocks to the dark wood. I stood behind her, arms wrapped around myself as a shield from whomever answered the door. Part of me didn't want to like the foster parents or foster kids, knowing that I would only be sent back the moment they realized how psychotic I was. I almost leaned into Annie, just to find some semblance of comfort, but I resisted.

The woman who answered the door had a beaming smile and shining blonde hair that fell around her like a waterfall. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, and I marveled at the way her eyes shone with a childish light as she took in Annie and I. She didn't say anything at first, stepping aside and waving us inside. I was hesitant at first, but when Annie walked in, I followed behind her closely.

"Welcome welcome," the woman chirped. "I'm so glad you're here! I'm Jessica, my husband, Ben, isn't here right now, but the some of the kids are. You're Onyx, right?"

She was so cheerful that I was thrown off for a minute, but once I regained my composure, I replied honestly, "I prefer Nyx."

Annie looked at me, her eyebrows shooting up questioningly, but I continued to watch Jessica, waiting for her reaction. Her smile only broadened and she nodded, a silent sign that she understood and would abide by my wishes. My lips quirked up towards the left in the slightest, finding myself liking her already even though I didn't want to.

"We have a room for you already set up," Jessica told Annie and I, taking a seat at the breakfast nook, her eyes inviting us to sit with her. Annie sat across from her, but I remained standing, slightly uncomfortable. My shoulders were tense and my teeth were still worrying at my bottom lip. "I'll show it to you once Annie and I finish talking, sound good?" I nodded, averting my eyes from them.

I zoned out as they talked, my mind drifting back to the night of my family's death, as it often did. Glassy eyes, sticky blood, a throbbing skull. I began to shiver, unwillingly, the images causing the pain in my chest to intensify.

"Are you okay?"

I looked up and was shocked to meet to meet stunning vibrant blue eyes. The blue eyes were full of concern, even though the owner of the eyes didn't know me. I blinked a few times, taking a small step back to put some distance between us. Taking the step back allowed me to take him in fully. He had short dark blonde hair, tousled slightly, and broad shoulders that had me feeling slightly intimidated. His lips were drawn into a soft smile, as if trying to coax me into talking to him.

He was taller than me, but not so much so that I felt like he was towering over me; it made him slightly less intimidating, as well as his inviting smile.

"Landon!" Jessica exclaimed, startling both of us and forcing us to look away from each other. I squeezed myself tighter, gripping the edge of my shirt to keep my breathing steady. "I'm so glad you're here, sweetie. I was just about to try to find one of you to show Nyx around. I wasn't sure any of you were home. Is Isaiah and Jase still out with the kids?"

"As far as I know, yes," the boy, who Jessica had called Landon, replied. He ran his fingers through his hair and briefly glanced at me. "Cassius is home. You didn't know that?"

Jessica's face crumpled slightly, her eyebrows pulling together. "I haven't seen him all day..."

Landon seemed to notice her distress and backtracked fast. "Maybe I'm wrong," he said, a reassuring smile appearing on his face. "Maybe I just missed him. But anyways, I should show Nyx to her room." He turned and addressed Annie. "Any bags in the car for me to collect?"

"Yes, actually," Annie was practically beaming and I wanted to shoot her death glares for leaving me alone with a boy I didn't know. "She has a couple bags in the back of my car. It's unlocked. Onyx, why don't you go with him?"

I forced words out through clenched teeth. "Okay, I'll lead the way."

I dragged my feet as I lead Landon outside and to the car, head ducked down the entire time. Landon seemed nice enough, but I wasn't sure how to act around him or if I should allow myself to make friends with him. Part of me thought I didn't exactly deserve friends.

"How old are you?" Landon asked, his eyes flickering over to me as he pulled my bags from the back of the car.

I squirmed, considering not answering, but aware it would seem rude if I didn't. "Sixteen. I'll be seventeen in December."

He grinned at me and I was momentarily dazzled by it. "One of my foster brother's is turning seventeen in December, too!" he exclaimed, seeming genuinely excited about this information. I blinked a few times, then spared a small smile, just because he was nice and I would have felt bad if I wasn't just as nice back.

He opened his mouth, seemingly prepared to talk to me more, but before he could a car was tearing into the gravel driveway. It was driving straight towards us, and I was too shocked to actually do anything more than stare. Landon's eyes widened, apparently comprehending what was occurring, and he wrapped an arm around my waist, dragging me out of the way. I stumbled into him, squeaking as the car swerved around us and into the grass before coming to a stop.

"Mik!" Landon growled.

The door to the driver's seat opened and a boy our age stepped out. He had a big grin on his face, as if he hadn't just almost driven over us. He had sandy blond hair that was ruffled and curling slightly, getting longer in the front and on the sides. His melted chocolate brown eyes were glowing with childish excitement, and he seemed rather unbothered by the fact that he had almost killed us.

"Whoops, sorry," he said, pushing his hair away from his face. "Didn't see you guys there. Are you okay?"

"You're not supposed to be driving," Landon was trying his best to sound scolding, but the amusement on his face was making it clear that he wasn't actually angry. "If Cassius and Isaiah find out, they'll kick your ass."

Mik, the reckless driver, shrugged. "They won't know if you don't tell them." He seemed to finally remember that I was there too, directing his bright grin on me. "Hi! You must be the girl that's joining our family. I'm Mik."

I eyed him up wearily, after all, he had almost just killed me. "Nyx... Nice to meet you."

"Nyx?" Mik's head cocked to the side, reminding me of an adorable puppy. "Like the Greek goddess of night?"

"It's not my full name," I replied, my shoulders tensing. I dreaded having to explain to people why my name was so peculiar. "My full name is Onyx. It's a long story why it's my name... Maybe I'll tell you it some other time." I paused and looked at Landon. "I'm kind of tired."

He jolted, probably remembering why we had come outside in the first place. He nodded understandingly and motioned to Mik to help him with my bags, and Mik flashed me a quick smile before doing so. I trailed behind them, glancing into the kitchen as we passed by it; Annie and Jessica were still talking, oblivious to how long we had been absent.

We stopped at the end of a long hall, the boys dropping my bags in front of the last door on the right. Landon pushed the door open, revealing a rather plain room. The walls were a pale blue and the bed set was white and blue. There was minimum furniture, basically just a desk, a bed, and a dresser. I glanced around, but really all I cared about was falling into bed and letting the ever lingering pain in my chest ebb away some.

"Thank you," I muttered, winding my arms around myself again, avoiding their eyes.

"No problem!" Mik exclaimed, shoving his hands in his pockets, a friendly smile on his face. "Anything else we can do for you?"

"Wake me up in an hour or so, please?" I asked quietly. Mik's smile slipped slightly, but Landon continued to smile widely at me.

"Yeah," Landon said, nudging Mik in the side with his elbow. "We can do that for you. Get some rest, Nyx. You deserve it."

They headed down the hall, bumping shoulders with each other and laughing. I watched them until they disappeared around the corner, then dragged my bags into my room. I shut the door and sat on the edge of the bed before allowing the tears to fall. 

A/N: okay so this is my first attempt at writing an original RH and my first attempt in awhile to write anything remotely supernatural or paranormal, so I hope you guys enjoy. I'm super nervous about this lol.

xoxo,

ry.