In the morning I could hear silenced footsteps scruing about the house, if I hadn't taken a moment to think about where I was I would have paniced. Gaven was still asleep, drooling again. I laughed to myself and wiped the drool off his face with my jacket sleeve. I had done this so many times I couldn't look back on it and count. I put my head on his chest and waited for someone to walk by me to tell me good morning or something. I heard footsteps coming and I squeezed my eyes shut to make it look like I was sleeping. Someone was standing infront of us. "Don't hurt her!" I heard Ryly say in a hushed voice. I opened my eye just enough that I could see the old lady with a small sewing needle coming for my arm. Without even looking at me she stuck it in my arm multiple times.

After a while she would dip the needle in the bowl she held infront of her. When she was done she wiped her forehead off and looked at my arm. "Now for the boy." She said, heading for Gaven's arm. I flashed my eyes wide open and she stopped dead in her tracks. "Touch him. I'll kill you." The sterness and coldness in my voice was enough to scare away just about anybody. I could feel Gaven shifting as he streched out his legs beside me. We're on a couch? Well, when'd we get here? I thought. Gaven moved so his stomach was pressed against my back and he took his right arm and wrapped it around me. Pulling me in close for saftey. My eyes haven't left the old woman's just yet, before she turned away and disapeared somewhere in the house. I looked at Ryly, who was covering her mouth as if she had been caught doing something horribly wrong.

She looked down and walked to the end of the hallway, opening the black door and walking inside the room. My arm started to sting as I moved my head to look at it. It was on my low shoulder, and it hurt horribly. It was a blue swirly mark with dots surrounding it. I took my hand and tried to rub it off but it just made it hurt worse and didn't remove the mark at all. Gaven's cold nose pressed into my neck and he began to say something to me, since his lips were practicly on my neck I could feel them move. I laughed and asked him to start over, "We have to get away from here...it's not safe..." I looked around for a moment and then responded. "What do you mean?" "Hush! Keep your voice down, they'll hear you...They're dangerous Madelene. Trust me, I know who Ryly is." Without arguing I nodded my head and he kissed my neck. Gaven put one hand under me and began to turn my body, facing him. He smiled with his eyes shut and then pressed me against his chest.

"I love you." Gaven rubbed his nose into mine and waited for me to reply. After a moment of silence his eyes opened and he frowned at me. I began laughing as he wrinkled his nose and made angry faces at me. "So what! You don't love me back?" I almost died of laughter before I could spit out my answer, "Yes! I do! I just love not answering you! Because you get angry! And it's hillariouse!" I sputtered. Gaven rolled his eyes and leaned in for a kiss that I naturally gave him. Gaven made my day, every day. It didn't matter if he said he loved me or called me beatiful or simply just smiled. In school we would pass notes about loving one another. I have every note he has ever written me back at home in the wall. There is a hollow spot that only I know about. I keep my personal things there. And in that space there is a medium sized white, glass box that my father had given me for my first birthday. Tha's where all the notes Gaven has given me where.

I closed my eyes and thought of home, home. Home! The boys! Were they alright? Had mother gotten back home to feed them! I sat up in alarm and struggled to remain breathing as my heart began racing faster than ever. Gaven sat up after me and placed one arm around my shoulder and the other on my right arm that was closet to him. "C'mon Maddie, breathe!" I could feel my chest tightening as Gaven's face began to get blurry. He must have noticed something had gone wrong because he went into his startled mode. He began yelling my name and trying to open my eyes and keep me sitting up. "Madelene!" He choked out, I heard his voice crack and didn't have the energy to make fun of him for it. I let out a small laugh as everything went black and I felt my head hit the pillow.

When I woke up I was in an unfamiliar house. "Gaven..." I whispered, each time making my voice louder. I heard water running and a closed door with light coming from the inside. The door knob struggled to open but soon, Gaven stood at the door way with a smile on his face. "You're awake!" He said as he made his way over to the bed I was laying on. "Yeah...Where am I?" Gaven shrugged and then rolled his eyes, "Eh, you know. Just Thomas' house." Thomas...Thomas... "Who's Thomas?" Gaven's jaw dropped wide open as he looked at me like I had gone mad. "Thomas. Thomas and Lucy. My oldest brother and sister?" "Oh! Ha. Them. Sorry." Gaven rested his hand on his heart for reliefe and then blew out the air he had been holding in since I woke up. He smiled and brushed away the hair on my face with his finger tips. "Suffered from extreme ink poisoning and ya still look lovely!" He joked. "...I was poisoned?" Gaven nodded, "Yeah. That old lady tatooed your arm and used something called 'pen ink.'" I raised my eyebrows, I didn't even know what a tatoo was...