The frozen feeling was fading. But in its place, the ache I had grown accustomed to over the years flared up like in an angry fire within. It was like numbing solution on an injury wearing off. The desensitized feeling slowly melting away, taking away the comfort it provided leaving you with pain and no way to combat it. Without that frozen barrier, I felt defenseless, exposed. What had kept me together for the last 24 hours was that icy feeling I had clung onto. Because feeling nothing is easier than feeling everything.

Pictures littered the floor, memories of better times. I was meant to be putting them away but I had gotten distracted. Sucked into the world of my past. She was beautiful. 6 years older than me, with red hair that was as fiery as her soul. Brown eyes, that always sparkled with a degree of mischief and kindness. In every picture Marley was smiling. And in every picture it was genuine.

It was still hard to swallow that she was gone. I always thought a soul like Marley would live far longer than anyone could anticipate. But she always did like to be unpredictable. If only she knew what a shock she caused. I couldn't help but think she would love the uproar the town was in during the months following her death.

"Who is she?" I jumped at the sudden voice, not having known anyone was in the room with me. Logan stood in the doorway with a candy bar in his hand, watching me curiously. I was quick to gather up the photos and put them into an unorganized bundle. 

"No one." I muttered. Marley was the past. And the past deserves to stay there. Especially when the past hurts like this.

"Um, okay..." He seemed to want to press but the sharp look I sent him, made Logan reconsider. "So, Ty wants to talk to you about school and stuff." He said taking a bite of the Twix bar in his hand. I had no idea how he could eat candy this early in the day, or this soon after eating breakfast but maybe that was just me. "C'mon, he's in the living room I'll show you where." I nodded and stood up from my place on the floor, brushing the dust off my jeans.

As we walked, I caught a better view of his tattoo I had seen earlier that he had tried to cover up. The words were still hard to read as they were small and in cursive writing, but now I could clearly see the moon and sun were intertwined, almost opposite with one another. "Your tattoo, I like it."

Logan's eyes widened for a second, before he nodded slowly as if I had seen something I wasn't supposed to. "What does it say?" I asked curiously. 

He looked up at me, contemplation clear on his face. "Nothing important." It was an answer meant to placate me, but it only spiked my curiosity. What could be so secret that he couldn't tell me about the tattoo? Why would he keep such a trivial thing hidden?

Walking into the living room, Tyler was sitting on the couch, waiting for me I assume. Logan gave me a little smile, taking another bite of his Twix bar. "See ya later Iz." he said squeezing my shoulder. Tyler patted the seat beside him, which I hesitantly took.

I felt like I had been called into the principal's office, Tyler's smile doing nothing to ease the nerves coursing through my body. "I just wanted to talk to you about a few things." My nervousness must have been evident on my face as Tyler quickly tried to soothe me. 

"Oh okay." I wasn't completely mollified but allowed myself to take a deep breath and relax slightly.

"So, you're going to be attending Harlan High school, where grades are from 7-12. So Emma and Fin also go there." The last school I had gone to was 6-8 so that was a change but I guess that didn't sound too bad. "Jace teaches 9th grade at the school, so you'll see him there and he'll drive you to and from school everyday." Jace seemed very nice this morning and after breakfast, everyone, but me, him and Tyler had left the room in a rush and he told me that he was impressed I had stuck around to help with the dishes.

It seemed logical that if you ate you helped clean up, but Tyler said the others avoided chores like the plague which I didn't really understand. "I work at my father's company, and Nolan works at a music shop downtown. Liam is a doctor and Logan is in college. So if you need one of us you can go to Jace or go to the office and they have all of our numbers on file." Tyler told me. 

"What about Henry?" He had listed off all the boys but the least friendly one I had met this morning. 

"He's unemployed." Tyler grumbled. It was obvious that he was bitter about that and I thought perhaps it was a point of contention between the two. Meaning it was better not to push. Better not to upset, or irritate. 

"Okay so here's the less fun part." Tyler sighed continuing our talk. "I have a few easy rules I would really like for you to follow." I had expected as much so I just nodded for him to carry on. I wasn't a stickler for rules in any way but I also wasn't what you would call a 'rebel' either. Like most areas of my life, I was considered average in that way too.

"So first off, I would really appreciate respect for me, and everyone else who lives in the house. I don't think you should give me respect me just because I'm older but I hope to earn it from you as we get to know each other better. Along with that, no swearing, that's a rule for everyone, but the older boys tend not to follow it despite how many dirty looks I give them." He chuckled and I smiled softly.

"Obviously, there is no drinking or drugs allowed in any way. You will be allowed to go out as much as you want but curfew is 7 o'clock on weekdays and 10 o'clock on weekends. And every Sunday night you have to be here for dinner unless you talk to someone first." He rubbed his hands together in thought.

"What else? Um, try your best in school, as long as you're putting in all the effort you can, I don't mind what the actual numbers are. Don't leave the house without telling anyone. Try to eat 3 meals a day, they don't have to be big but just eat something and that will do. Oh and one more thing, no boyfriends or girlfriends. You can be friends with both but you're too young to date just like Emma is."

Okay, those weren't bad at all, I could handle that. Following rules was easy when you never stepped out of you own comfort. "Um, would I be able to go for a run in the mornings?" Back home I had been on the cross country team and found a love for all things running and track and field related. It has become my release over the last 6 months. I get to set the pace when I run. I get to be in control of how fast or slow I am. And for someone who feels out of control most of the time, it's nice to have a choice in some things.

"You like running?" Tyler seemed baffled by this information. 

"I love it." I shrugged. 

"How are you and Emma twins?" He laughed. 

"Does she not like running?" I assumed by his reaction, we were very different in that area. 

"Oh god, Em hates any kind of physical activity." He was finding this very amusing for some reason. 

"Oh." Was all I said. Running isn't for everyone. Not everyone needs the release like I do.

"But yeah, you can run if you want. I go running most mornings as well so maybe you can join me." Tyler gave me a cheerful smile. 

"Cool, thanks." I would actually love to go running with Tyler, especially given that I didn't know any routes and would likely get lost. 

"One more thing Iz, then I'll let you go." He said getting serious again. "So, I don't want to make a big deal about this but I noticed all you had was that one back pack that had more things than clothes in it." I blushed deeply at his observation. I wasn't a materialistic person, I didn't need lots of clothes, and could never really afford a lot of things besides food and bills.

Tyler sighed like he was nervous about what he was going to say next. "Here's the thing. I would say you could take some of Emma's clothes and we could buy you stuff later on, but you are smaller than Emma and her clothes would be too big on you, and any smaller clothes we have in the house will be stuff that's made for little kids."

I'll admit that hurt a little. I knew I was smaller than Emma, but I hadn't realized everyone else had noticed it as well. I mean I guess it wasn't hard to notice but still. "Izzy, no matter how big or small your body is, you're beautiful. Remember that okay?" He certainly had a knack for knowing what to say, even if it was a touch cheesy. I didn't mind. It was nice to hear the words from anyone, after so long without it.

"So here's what we're gonna do. Liam and Henry have agreed to take you shopping to buy some clothes and other stuff you need for school." He explained regaining that smile that had faded earlier. "Looking at your health records, I noticed that you hadn't been to the doctors in a while." He said the airiness in his voice gone. "A long while." The bitterness towards I assume my mother was evident in the way he spoke.

"And like I said Liam is a doctor so when him and Henry take you shopping on Monday since it's a 3 day weekend off school, you're also going to stop by the clinic he works at so he can check you out and make sure you're healthy." I hadn't been to the doctors in close to 3 years, so I was a little unsure of what to expect but I supposed it couldn't be too bad. Hopefully anyway.

Tyler's eyes locked on mine, holding warmth and something I thought might be love. "I missed you Izzy. A lot. We looked for you but Mom didn't want to be found for whatever reason. I just want you to know how happy me and your siblings are that you're with us." Emotion overwhelmed his expression and he pulled me into a tight embrace which I  happily returned.

It had been a long time since I had anyone hold me. A long time since Anyone told me they were happy I was with them.

The world is an unfair place. While some people got this kind of love and appreciation their whole lives, others like myself have struggled and fought to receive any kind of fondness towards us.

So be careful when you give your love to someone like me. Because chances are, once I know I can trust you, I may never let go.

But unfortunately trust is rare in this world.

A/N-So I lied. I will only be updating once a week from now on. I just think it's more sustainable for when I start school and stuff. Would you guys rather I update on Tuesdays or Sundays?