Zaria's Hair color - kinda. She's just darker than this ^

https://youtu.be/j7xedmvJTzk

"So you're like what? My half uncle or something?" I was still totally confused as to who this guy says he was.

He says my dad's mom was his mom and she left his father and married again a few years later but nobody knew she had a son again -  nobody. She never told them.

My Dad lived his life never knowing - he had an older bother?

That was actually kind of sad and - I didn't really want to feel that emotion so I just turned it off and stared out at the street, it had started to rain now and we've been driving for an hour or so. Where the heck did this guy live?

"Yes, basically. Half uncle - you don't have to see me as a family member though." He says carefully, as if unsure as to how I would react to this information. "I never knew my brother and the only reason I knew he existed was because I found some of his pictures in my mothers things after she died. You're father was abroad at that time and they couldn't reach him, so they called me. He looked like a nice man - I wish I could have known - " He stops and I notice something suspiciously shiny in his soft blue eyes.

I swallow - "Why didn't you?" I know it sounds mean and insensitive but - I was not emotionally stable right now.

He sighs. "Life is complicated Zaria - we do things that seem alright and justified at the time or avoid things that seem too hard and later we realize - none of it mattered. I just wish I knew that before." He turns the truck down a gravely road. I'm surprised to find us not even in San Francisco city anymore - where was he taking me?

"Yah - whatever." I slouch in my seat and stare out the dripping window.

We fall into silence after that.

I don't know but - I must have fallen asleep a bit afterwards because the next thing I know Mr. Skilton is shaking me gently and it's dark outside.

I groan awake, my throat dry as I blink at the darkness. "Where are we?" I croak, my body stiff from falling asleep in a crouched position.

"Almost home little Ms. I've got us some rooms here - we'll stop for the night and should make it back by tomorrow afternoon."

"Back? Where?" I'm still a bit disoriented as he helps my short self out of the high truck.

"To home. C'mon."

The next thing I know I've been put into a relatively soft bed and tucked in like I'm four. I sigh and fall into a half relaxed sleep- not really sure where I am and not really caring.

I just stare and stare and stare.

I've been hijacked! Kidnapped! Cheated! This was an atrocity! A catastrophe! A - a -

"Do you want some breakfast?"

I jump and tear my disbelieving eyes away from the scene in front of me. There was nothing - nothing but straight, flat road and- and - I see cacti!

I struggle to breath. "Where did - did you take me?" I'm afraid of the answer.

"Welcome to Arizona sweetheart!" Mr. Skilton smiles, big and wide and - what!

"You - Arizona? But that's like - nobody lives here!" It may have sounded stupid but for a girl raised in a packed city filled with asphalt and rare tree sightings - this was a deserted area!

He laughs at me. I swallow down my anger and fear -his laugh reminds me of - never mind.

"People do live here little Ms. Just - not right here, it's true, this state has a lot of open land in it but don't worry there are cities here, beautiful ones at that." He assures me and I can see him trying not to laugh again.

I still can't believe this.

Arizona?! Why on earth would anyone want to live here?

I decide I don't want to ask and settle for looking disgruntled at the scenery. The mountains and canyons - it was - so - so different from the sky high buildings and tight streets.

I don't like it. It's too open - there's nowhere to hide or run and - seriously? How did outlaws live here? There was literally nowhere to go!

"Sandwich?"

I turn and see a nicely wrapped sandwich in his hand. I look at it, suspiciously - "Is it normal?" I ask rudely. I know I'm behaving dumb but - Arizona.

"Chicken and mayo. Their my favorite." He smiles and places the food in my hand, the paper crinkling as his eyes flicker back to the endless road.

I sigh and decide I'm hungry. If I don't die from this, Arizona's ghost towns will kill me.

I open it and it smells - really, really good. My mouth waters and I realize I've barely eaten anything in - weeks. I bite, the sauce and mayo melt with the perfectly cooked chicken and there's a hint of something spicy and - mmmmh, I think I just fell in love with a sandwich.

Mr. Skilton chuckles softly at me as I basically devour the thing like a starving wolf. Truth be told I was starved - there just hadn't been anything good enough to make me feel like eating recently.

That and my insides were still a void black hole.

"That was good." I lick my fingers nosily and reach for a bottle of water, my eyes flicker back to the terrifyingly huge mountains ahead made the giant cacti flashing by. "Does it snow here?"

Mr. Skilton laughs a bit. "As a matter of fact, it does. Some places more than others. And the places with most snow have mean winters." He explains as I stare outside.

It's weird seeing cacti instead of trees or houses - I wonder what happened to Dads apartment. They probably sold it or something . . . I don't want to think about it.

"Kick back and relax Little Ms. We've still got a long way to go before we get to Tucson."

So I decide to take a nap. There was nothing else to do and - I was really, really tired.

We've been driving for nearly twelve hours all together and I am so not in Kan - San Francisco anymore. I'm instantly walloped by a pound of homesickness and - for the first time in a month my eyes actually water.

I'm not home anymore.

I look over at Mr. Skilton - he's got a warm smile, it grows bigger with every mile we pass. My heart tightens - he hasn't told me much about where we're going, just he has a family and he owns a nice land and he makes his money from cattle Ranching. He owns two and he really seems to love talking about cows and stuff.

I don't get half of the stuff he says I'm extremely ignorant in this part of life.

We drive on and then I notice something that surprises me. Buildings. A lot of them - the sun is shining down on my relief. Arizona has cities! And this one looks -I'll admit, it's not San Fran but . . . it's incredibly beautiful.

"Wow." I stare as the building whiz by, I see cars, not carts and cows - Man - I really need to update my mentality... people walking, malls, bustling streets, paved roads - I take it all in and feel slightly less uncomfortable, even if there were a ton more trees than I was used to and a bunch of random Cacti.

I can feel Mr. Skilton's eyes on me as I breath everything in with new interest. The kind I haven't felt since -

My mind twists around as I watch a school bus drive by. People dressed normal - some had cool hats but - it was all ok.

I was gonna be ok - for the first time in what feels like forever I really thought I would be ok.

We drive through the city and I start to notice the buildings start shrinking and we turn into what has to be the suburbs of this city, we turn down a dirt road and the houses become scares but they are huge. I look around, the sandy street shaking us in our seats. I hold on and Mr. Skilton chuckles at my over dramatic face.

"Where - " I don't finish as we finally pull up a paved drive way lined with palm trees I think? And a few Cacti thrown in between - they looked less prickly than the wild ones I saw. Ahead of us is a beautiful one story house that seemed to stretch across a huge piece of land, like it was two houses build together with an open pouched build out of colored stones surrounding the light sand colored walls.

There were red flowers and dusty succulent beds that I only know what they are because I saw it in school when we studied environments of different plants. somehow the colors of everything was muted greens and sandy yellows and pinks but - it melded together and made you feel comfortable.

I wasn't afraid of it at least.

Mr. Skilton finally pulls up to the house in front of the giant garage and I realize - I'm like the smallest thing out here . . . Coyotes are probably ongoing to mistaken me for a rabbit or something.

"Ah - home sweet home!" Mr. Skilton smiles wide and gets out to breath the dusty but fresh air of his land.

I swallow and choke, not used to clean air. "Yah - "

He stops and flashes me a sort of sad look that I ignore. Nobody was going to feel sorry for me here.

"Ready?"

No.

"Yah." I nod and follow him up the gorgeous porch that made me feel even smaller. I could see that the porch was a well loved place too, it had three person seat that rocks and tables and chairs and outside furniture with pretty red and blue flowers with mini cacti decorating around it.

Mr. Skilton opens the door and laughs. "Honey I'm hooooome!"

My stomach drops.

I'm about to meet this guys family and impose on their obvious happiness. I have the strange and almost crushing urge to turn and run - run as fast and as far as possible.

But dying of dehydration in some Arizonian desert trail didn't make me feel to good. So I squish that notion down with a painful gulp. My stomach still dried to twist into a pretzel though.

Footsteps, light and fast - and a surprisingly small woman with pretty long honey colored hair that was twisted up in a braided bun greets her husband with a wide smile, her dark eyes sparkle as she reaches for a warm hug and - I have to look away.

I feel ugly for hating the warmth that came from those two - I was bitter . . . my thoughts turn bitter.

I'm pretty sure my face pinched rudely too.

All I could think of was - why couldn't my mom and dad be that happy?

It was mean to think that - but . . . I was aching.

Mr. Skilton put his petit curvy wife down and looks at me. I stiffen unconsciously.

"Is this her?" The little woman smiles at me and it's a beautiful smile - I feel jealous. I don't know why.

"Yes it is. Maylee, this is Zaria - Zaria, my wonderful wife Maylee." Mr. Skilton smiles warmly at her as he introduces us and I feel really out of place in my old blue hoody, messy short red hair and jeans - I'm ruining the beauty of their porch.

I shouldn't have come.

"H-hi." I mutter unable to look at either of them from shame.

Suddenly the woman is in front of me. I gape. She'd looked so short from afar - even so -she was still two or three inches taller than me!

Dang it. I am so cursed.

"Hello Sweet Red." She smiles at me, warmth seeps from her smile into my bones and I want - I want to except it but - something tugs painfully inside.

My black hole gets bigger - I know I should know what this is but - I don't.

I nod. I don't know what to say.

Mr. Skilton sees this and puts a large hand on my small shoulder. "It's been a long trip May - let's settle her in."

His wife nods eagerly. "The room is perfect!" She claps once and darts inside, I notice she's barefooted and Mr. Skilton laughs as he takes off his own shoes.

His eyes twinkle when I bend and do the same. Figure I should respect that at east.

"Don't let May scare you - we live a long way from any family she has or friends. She's just excited to have a young girl to talk to now." He says, while leading me inside.

I'm confused by his words for a moment but forget to think when I see inside.

Wow.

The place was giant - like it looks bigger inside than out - how . . . everything was beautiful, carved out of real wood chairs, polished tables, huge plants - living green plants- and dessert flowers litter the place tastefully, there's an incredible fire place with a mantle that's shining with pictures and some kind of vine flowers. The floor is polished tile, grey swirls that distort your reflection.

Everything smelled of warm spices - the kitchen and dinning room were all open and you could see it through arches made in the walls. There's another door at the end of the entrance room which I assume is their living room seeing as it has all the sofa's and tv and tables.

The door was double and I can only imagine what's at the other end of it.

"Zaria?" Mr. Skilton's voice startles me to attention as I color, realizing I was gawking.

"You're loaded." I blurt out then freeze as he blinks at me in surprise.

Woops - I forget - nobody but dad finds my honest thoughts amusing. My heart quakes. Don't go there -

To my utter surprise, the older man laughs. He honest to God laughs - like loud and from the belly - I gape at him - what was he -

"Oh - oh my, you certainty are honest aren't you." He gasps through chortles.

I feel tingly and weird and my eyes blur for some reason. He laughed - he really did -

"I'm sorry." I mumbled and blink rapidly to hide sudden tears. No - no - numbness . . . go back to being numb.

"It's fine little Ms. I enjoy you're commentary." He comes up and pats my shoulder. I have the sudden urge to put his hand on my head -

But I resist.

Nobody else did that except Dad - nobody else will except Dad. I gulp down a painful lump.

"Sorry." I say again as Maylee skitters in again.

"Come with me sweet Red." She says gently and leads the way through the beautiful room on pushes open the wonderful carved door.

Her nickname for me was weird though.

"Wow." I breathe as I stare down a long hall way with several doors on either side, a unique painting on each door.

I reach out to touch one of the sea in a storm - the paint feels slippery and sort of like rubber under my finger tips - I wonder what kind it is. The waves took big and ominous and there's even tiny ship being tossed around in there. I smile a bit and look at another one - Italy?

It was - Venice I think - or at least a kitchen that overlooked Venice - it was a beautiful kitchen view though - oddly enough, but the foods looked real enough to pick up off the door.

Another was a picture of a starry mountain night. The fourth one was an awesome illusion of several cars lined up going inwards. There were four other doors too, two of them had painting of what looked like music - a violin playing in a huge stage and his neighbor door had someone playing clarinet on the same stage.

I almost feel like I could jump in and join in with my meager piano lessons.

The third one was a jumble of different pictures and papers scattered on a tabletop. The polaroid's were so real I feel like I could have picked them up.

Then the last door was blank. Just solid dark wood and I feel cold suddenly. It's like a light goes out and the worlds I saw in the other doors were gone as I'm hit with the harsh blank reality of an actual door.

"Here we go." Maylee smiles at me and opens the boring door to show a big but bland room. It was spacious, with a nice queen sized bed covered in white sheets but - everything was white and smooth and clean and - I hated it. It was cold. It feels like a hospitable room. A room for a crazy person without he padding.

"This will be your room." Maylee says cheerily, not noticing my dismal ungrateful look. "You can do whatever you like in here." She turns to me and brushes a stray strand of shiny hair behind her ear. "Think of it as a canvas for you to fill up." She explains.

I immediately feel better and my mind lights up. Canvas huh? Mhh - my brain starts conjuring the things I could do with this nice space. It'll take a while but - I figure I could use the money the state would be sending for me to do it.

"Thanks." I say quietly and give her a broken smile. My face feels weird when I smile.

"You're very welcome dear. Get some rest - you have your own shower over there," she points at a side door, "clean up, we'll see you in the morning."

I nod. "Thank you." I'm afraid to say anything else.

She leaves me, thankfully before I make things awkward and closes the boring door behind her. I sit down on the edge of the fluffy white bed and just look around.

Then all at once my brain catches up.

I'm an orphan.

I'm in foster care.

I'm in Arizona with my Dad's apparent half brother.

I'm in a rich man's house.

I don't know why.

I don't know if I should be glad, scared, angry, happy - horrified. My dad is gone and -

I fall numb.

Better - numb was good - numb was safe - like anger but - I don't think anger will be well received here . . . besides I let out most of my abusive juice on the foster kids back in -

I stand up quickly and rush into the bathroom, a set of p.j's that look a tad too big for me - probably Maylee's, she's a bit taller and has curves. I just have an ass - not much of anything else.

Just take a shower and - try to sleep - to that I would but still -

The shower was nice - clean without fearing a roach would pop up any second. The bed was sinfully soft and - before I know it I'm drifting of to sleep. Real sleep - not the broken type of sleep.

I haven't sleep so soundly in so long -

"What the actual heck?"

I mutter in my sleep as an unfamiliar voice filters through my half asleep state.

"Shhhh - you're gonna wake her up."

"Hey, hey - lemme see!"

"Cut it out ya Nork - just - "

I groan louder -

The noises stop.

Hmm - must be the stage of waking in a dream - but the pillow is soft and smells like nutmeg and I don't wanna get up and -

"This is so rude guys - we really shouldn't be here - "

"Shut up ya prude - this is cool, an actual girl in our house!"

"Yah! She's kinda pretty too!"

I gasp.

The voices are real.

I shoot awake and find fourteen blurry eyes staring back at me just as wide as mine.

I shriek.

They shriek.

We all shriek.

Loud footsteps are heard and Mr. Skilton bursts into the room, face pale and worried as his eye take in he scene.

A moment later he deflates and his lips twitch as I stare at the intruders who are huddled in the corner of my room daring to look like innocent scared deer.

"Who the heck are you!" I shriek, pulling the fluffy blanket up to my chest, my shoulders bare as I suddenly turn angry at these - these - boys?

Huh?

"It's alright Zaria -" Mr. Skilton tries to placate me and flashes a look at the huddled group of boys - seven of them!

"Zaria, meet my sons."

Huh?!