😱omg I'm still alive!? I can't believe it's been freaking 6 months since I last updated!?!!? I'm so sorry!!!!!!!! You can thank my friend for nagging the heck out of me to update 😂

I'm so sorry it took so long so here's a longer chapter for you guys!

 Also, we having a bit of a time skippy here cause there's not really much excitement when Tom's bed-ridden 😂 so:

Time skip 8(ish) days

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Y/n's POV

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"Y/n?" I turned around to see father standing behind me.

"F-father?" I whispered.

"Y/n!" 

"FATHER!!" I yelled with tears of joy blurring my vision as I quickly ran as fast as I could to him, "D-DAD!!" I yelled again, running as fast as I could. But it seemed like no matter how fast I ran, I just couldn't quite reach him, and slowly he started becoming further and further away, "NO! FATHER! WAIT!!" I screamed and kept running, the tears of joy quickly replaced with fear.

"Y/n!" He his faint voice echoed, "Don't forget me..." was what I heard before a bomb suddenly landed between us and exploded sending me flying back.

"FATHER NO!!!!" My voice screeched.

"Y/n..." my father's voice echoed, "Y/n...." the pitch started changing as the voice got louder and soon I recognised it as Tom's voice instead, "Y/N!" He yelled.

Suddenly my eyes snapped open and I shot up in bed, panting and shaking. Sweat was dripping down my forehead and tears were running down my face.

"Y/n!" A firm hand shook my shoulder sharply and I gasped again, my lungs crying for oxygen.

"T-Tom?" My voice cracked when I spoke. I saw Tom sitting on the bed to my left. 

It was a dream.

It was a dream.

"It was a dream." I huffed and shakily wiped the sweat off my forehead. My breathing was uneven and I could feel my heart pounding by through my face.

"Y/n..." Tom's voice brought me back out of my panicked thoughts, "Breathe... calm down. It's ok." He moved his hand from my shoulder to wipe away the tears and sweat on my face.

"S-sorry." I stuttered, the dream still fresh in my mind.

"Don't apologise y/n. You need to breathe ok? Lie back down." He softly pushed my shoulders back for me to lie down again, "Jack, can you get her some water and a wet towel please?" Tom spoke and my eyes widened when I looked and saw that Jack and Kay were standing at the door with concerned and panicked looks on their faces. Damn it!

I quickly sat up. I can't let them see me like this, "No Jack-"

"Y/n lie down." Tom started.

"No. I'm fine. I'm fine." I flicked the sheets away and stood up.

"Y/n-" I ignored Tom's call and walked over to them. Kay was crying and quickly wrapped her arms around me tightly, Jack followed.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that. It was just a bad dream. I'm fine. Sorry for waking you. Can you two go down stairs and I'll be down in a minute for breakfast?" I spoke softly. Kay gripped my night gown tightly signally she wasn't going anywhere. 

I pulled away from the embrace and crouched down a little to be level with them. I wiped the tears away from Kay's face and cupped Jacks cheek too. They were still too distraught. I need to calm them both down...

"Hey hey..." I spoke soothingly, and turned to Kay, "Remember that dream you had a while back with the talking tree?" She nodded, "It was pretty scary while you were asleep, but remember how it was fine the second you woke up?" She hesitated before nodding, "That's all that's happening. I just had a big scary tree in my dream too. But I'm ok now. See?" I smiled as genuinely as I could. Luckily I was used to some fake smiles.

Kay nodded and hugged me again, "I love you y/n." She whispered, "I wish I was big enough to scare away your tree like you did with mine." I almost cried again at that. I knew I would start crying if I spoke so I just squeezed her tightly before letting go. She pulled away and went to go downstairs. I looked at Jack who I knew would take some more convincing.

"It wasn't a tree... was it..." he gulped and looked at me sadly. I put my hand on his cheek and rubbed my thumb on his face softly.

"You know how scary some nightmares are when you get bigger?" He nodded, "Well even though they're a little more scary, you still always wake up. And suddenly they aren't so scary anymore." Jack looked down at the ground.

"W-was it about Mother and Father?" He asked and my hesitation to answer was all he needed as confirmation, "I-I miss them too..." he stuttered. He could tell exactly what my dream involved.

"I know you do." I hugged him and he pulled away shortly before turning and going downstairs. But not before making eye contact with Tom for a moment. The look in his eyes was a little bit different from what it usually was towards Tom. I looked over my shoulder to see Tom nod at him once in some kind of mental conversation. Jack left and I stood up straight and turned to Tom.

"That's the second time this week y/n..." Tom looked at you sadly once Jack was out of hearing range. He was right. It happened again earlier this week. Luckily I only woke Tom up instead of Jack and Kay that time.

"I know..." I sighed, "It's not the first week this has been happening though Tom..." I sat down next to him and look at the bandage on his shin, "How's your cut doing?" I asked before Tom could ask me about the nightmare.

"It's fine. It's healed up really well thanks to you." Tom could clearly sense my reluctancy to talk about the dream and I was thankful at least to his understanding, "Lucky the bone didn't bruise huh?" He half smiled and I returned it.

"Yeah. If it had, you would've had been stuck in bed for another two weeks or something." I nodded, "Imagine how bored you would've gotten. All that reading would probably drive you insane." I joked and he chuckled a little.

"Probably." He looked at me and I met his gaze. I could tell he wanted to say something, and when he opened his mouth I prayed he wouldn't start talking about the dream. But he hesitated as if changing his mind, "You know, you're an amazing person y/n." He said instead and I tilted my head to the side in confusion, "I don't know how you do it. You put everyone else first every second of every day and I just-" he sighed, "You always have a smile of your face when you know people are looking.... But I know that you're still hurting a lot. Just now that if you ever need someone to level with you, I'm here... Plus I kinda owe you one. The least I could do is listen if you need to talk." He smiled and gestured to his leg.

I could tell he was trying to lighten the mood for me. But those words really meant a lot. So I nodded in response and offered a half smile, "Thank you." I sighed. I suddenly felt Tom slip his hand into mine in a comforting manner, "Sorry again for waking you up."

"Y/n-" Tom warned.

"I know." I cut him off, "But it must not be very pleasant to be startled awake by me having a nightmare twice a week-"

"Yeah well 'it must not be very pleasant' having a nightmare that bad y/n." He countered. I gave him an unhappy look and he returned it, "I'll be here to wake you up as many times as you need me to y/n." 

I sighed and look down at my hand in his, "...I know." There was a small pause, "You hungry?" I asked suddenly. Tom sighed at me deflecting the topic again but he nodded both in understanding and as an answer, "I feel like pancakes, don't you?"

"Have you got any blueberries?" He smirked.

"Ooo. Do I?" I stood up excitedly. I dragged Tom behind me down the to kitchen to make blueberry pancakes. Hopefully it'll help bring up everyone's mood.

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Tom's POV

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"Ok let's have a look at this..." y/n muttered as she unwrapped my bandage. The scab had formed a couple of days ago. It wasn't fully healed yet but it wasn't too far from it, "Looks pretty good. I think we can leave the bandage off now." She smiled and went to chuck the bandage in the wash.

I sighed and looked out the window, I hadn't stopped thinking about y/n's nightmares. It was scary enough the first time I heard her scream from the other room. My leg wasn't as healed as it was now, so I had to quickly limp into her room. I thought something horrible was happening but I turned on the light and just saw her lying there, sweating and turning over repeatedly.

She was crying and yelling out for her parents. My heart had clenched when I realised she was having a horrible nightmare of her parents... when I had managed to wake her she was shaking and crying hysterically. Luckily she hadn't woken up Kay or Jack like earlier today.

It had taken a while, but she eventually calmed down... I wish she would just talk about it. I know that she clearly needs to. But she promised in that bloody letter that she wouldn't.

It's not like I can force her to talk or anything. But I just hope that she does at some point and that maybe I could help somehow...

Y/n walked back into my room and lent against the door frame, "So what's the plan for this afternoon?" I asked, rolling down my pant leg to cover the scab.

"Well, I'll do a little more cleaning... the gutters probably need a clean out as well. I was thinking of maybe doing some jumps with Missy too but I'll take it that you're not quite ready to get back on are you?" She tilted her head to the side. 

"Yeah. Not really to tell you the truth..." As much as I did like riding before. I really did not want to fall off again. That was not fun at all. The corner of my mouth twitched up in a half-hearted smile.

"All good. It's hard getting back on the first time you fall off. But it gets easier after the first fifty or so times." She smirked and my eyes widened.

"F-fifty?" I stuttered.

"Well I mean it really depends. I've fallen off maybe...." she paused to count, "Fifteen times? Sixteen counting last week though." She nodded to herself, "But then there's Jack, who's already fallen off at least twenty times and he's half my age." She laughed. I didn't find it funny at all.

"R-right..." I gulped. I'm no where near as experienced as them and I fell of on my first day. I'm sure I'm going to die before the end of this year.

"Don't worry. You're not a horse rider until you've fallen off at least ten times. Plus at least two of those has to be from a buck." 

"What?" I whined.

"Not going to lie getting bucked off is both scary and fun at the same time." I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was she insane? How is getting bucked off fun!? "But there's a very small chance of you getting bucked off with our horses. Their too tame to buck without a fair reason." I breathed out a sigh of relief, "Anyway. I won't make you ride until you feel like you want to."

"Thanks." I gave her a thin-lipped smile.

"No worries." There was a small comfortable silence until she spoke again, "On second thoughts we might want to start on those gutters soon because the sky was red this morning. That means it's going to rain soon."

"Really? You can tell from the sky?" 

"Well yeah. It's not always accurate but generally if the clouds and sky are red in the morning it means that it'll probably rain later that day or the next." She explained and I nodded. She sure knew a lot of random stuff, "Actually, you probably shouldn't be helping me with the gutters with your leg."

"Oh no, it's fine. It doesn't hurt to walk or anything anymore. It's practically healed. Doing a little cleaning won't kill me." 

"If you say so." She nodded. An hour or so later, we had finished cleaning the kitchen so we made our way up to the attic, "Now, for safety, I just tie this rope around my waist like this." She demonstrated, "I've nearly fallen off the room too many times to count so let's not risk anything with you. After all you seem to like getting into trouble." 

She quickly tied a piece of rope around my waist once we were on the roof and connected it to the chimney. We started clearing out the gutters from leaves and gunk that were in them. Once I finished I sat down and looked out to the seemingly endless property.

"Beautiful view, isn't it." Y/n spoke from beside me as she came and sat down next to me.

"Yeah. It's far nicer than out in the city. They're buildings all shoved together so even if you have a double story, the only view you get is your neighbours wall." I sighed.

"I think I would die of claustrophobia if I went back there." She laughed and I nodded.

"How long we're you in the city for?" I asked.

"Around... four years? A little more maybe." She recalled, "It was alright. The teachers at the school were nice but I just didn't fit in... people don't really expect a homeschooled girl to top classes and a lot of people didn't really like me because of that..." 

"Now how on earth could someone not like you?" I said sarcastically.

"Don't make me untie your rope and shove you off this roof." She threatened and I laughed.

"I was joking." I laughed and she rolled her eyes, "So I'll take it you must have missed it here a lot?"

"Oh absolutely. I almost went insane just from not riding every second day. I missed the horses-"

"Not your family?" I laughed.

"Shut up I was getting to them." She shoved me a little, "Yes I missed my family. A lot..." she went a little quiet, "I missed mother's cooking, I missed fathers quirkiness, I did not however, miss Kay's whining and Jack arrogance." She joked but I only laughed half-heartedly. Because I realised that y/n really mustn't have seen all of her family together for ages... and she'll never actually get to see them all together again.....

"Sorry for bringing it up..." I mumbled after a long silence. I could feel y/n's mood drop afterwards.

"Don't be. It's fine. It doesn't bring me down. I still have Jack and Kay. We're still a close family so I'm happy." I knew she was lying... "Plus. Now we have you here too. You're an extra addition to the family."

I paused. She thought of me as family? A small smile crept onto my face, "Really?" I asked softly.

"Of course." She slung her arm around my shoulders and pulled me towards her in a sideways hug, "And you know that means? Since I'm the boss round these parts I'm your mum now." She teased and ruffled my hair.

"Aren't I older than you!?" I yelled, trying to get out of her old.

"But I'm more emotionally mature." 

"Are you though!?" I struggled. She laughed and eventually let me go and I joined her in laughing. I really liked her laugh... it made me smile. Especially when she's scrunch up her nose while doing it.

"Do you want me to make a cup of tea and we can watch the sunset? I used to do it all the time. It's super fun and the view is amazing." She suggested.

"That sounds great." I smiled.

"I'll get Kay and Jack too. By the way you can take off that rope now since we'll be sitting back away from the edge." I tried to undo her not but failed.

"Uh y/n? What kind of a knot is this?" I tried to undo it but it was a little difficult.

"It's a bowline knot. Here, let me undo it genius." She undid the knot simply and took the rope back to the attic entrance. She stood up on the roof and yelled out to Kay and Jack in the garden, "HEY! COME UP ONTO THE ROOF FOR TEA!" She called out loudly and I jumped a little. I had never actually heard y/n yell and her yell was loud. Jack and Kay put their thumbs up and came towards the house. "I'll be back in a minute." She said to me normally and went back inside.

Kay and Jack came out to the roof and sat near me, leaving a space between us which I guessed was for y/n. Either that or they just really didn't want to sit next to me, "So what did you guys do today?" I asked them in the uncomfortable silence.

"We just weeded the garden, brushed down the horses and I cleaned out the stables while Kay had a nap." Jack spoke. I nodded in response. Y/n sure was taking a long time... though it probably just feels longer in this silence, "Tom?" I turned my head to look at him, "I think you can tell that Kay and I don't really like you much..." I just nodded, "but... thanks for what you did this morning." I raised my eyebrows in surprise at him thanking me.

"No problem." 

"This doesn't change anything. I still don't like you." He quickly said and I nodded.

"Okay." Was all I said but I still felt like maybe he hated me less than he did before which meant I was at least getting somewhere. Y/n soon came up with a basket and sat down next to me. She got out our cups, the tea and some biscuits for all of us and we had a small picnic on the roof while we watched the sun set. Y/n was right, it was amazing from up here.

I snuck a glance over at her to see the sunsets colours bouncing off her face and a small smile came onto my face. I knew that I already liked her a lot...

"You're an extra addition to the family"

The smile flattened a little. Was that all y/n would think of me as? Like a brother?... 

The sky was now dark and we all lied down to look up at the sky. The sunset had disappeared completely into the night sky and I could see the thousands of stars above me. It was so much nicer out in the country. In the city you could barely see a handful of stars. But out here, it's amazing. We all sat in a comfortable silence until I heard a light snore and looked over to see Kay and Jack had fallen asleep.

Y/n turned her head to face me and I looked at her, "It's getting pretty cold." She muttered. I hummed in agreement. She sat up and looked at Kay and Jack before looking back at me, "I think we should go inside before the mosquitoes eat us alive." She concluded, standing up. I followed her actions and she woke up Jack and Kay to go back in side.

A/N: 

Oof there we go! Six months later we finally have another chapter! I'm so sorry it took this long 😂 what really pushed me to update was me reading other books and getting annoyed when an author wouldn't update for like MONTHS!......... and then I realised that I literally do the same thing 😬 so here you go! 😂 

I shall continue to update more frequently than at six month intervals 😂 

#1robinhood out! 🎤 🖐