We were silent on the drive to her house. I didn't say anything mostly because I was enjoying watching the scenery go by. Eleven years of seeing nothing new and not driving in a car. I closed my eyes and fell asleep. When I woke up, Everest was just pulling into a driveway. At the end of it sat a yellow mansion. I stared. "You live there?" I asked amazed.
She smiled. "Yes."
"Wow."
She parked the truck and got out. I got out too after grabbing my bag. A dog ran over to us. "Sunshine!" Everest exclaimed dropping to her knees and hugging the dog.
I watched and realized the dog was a German Shepherd. "It's a beautiful dog," I said.
Everest nodded and stood. She brushed off some dirt. "She's protective too. Come on. We'd better get inside." I followed her and we found her family in the living room. "Ben, Lizzy, Mary, Mama, Papa, I'm home!" Everest said hugging them all.
Her mom smiled. "Oh, Everest! We missed you."
"I missed you too, Mama!" She turned to me. "This is my friend Sapphire Hemlock. She ran away from the Slade Orphanage."
"Hello," I said shyly. Yes, I was a little nervous about living here and seeing them.
Her dad stood. "How did you manage to get away? I've heard of people trying but not succeeding."
"I spent eleven years planning it all out, sir. Miss Slade was starting to get forgetful too," I replied cautiously.
Her mom now stood up. "Eleven years? Oh, you poor thing!"
Ugh, I don't need pity. I shook my head. "The beatings and starvation were the only difficult parts. I'm planning to close down the orphanage when I have some money." I say 'beatings' but really she only smacked us.
"Well, I'm Gene Lockwood. My husband's name is Owen Lockwood. You're welcome to stay with us as long as you need," Mrs. Lockwood said. "Bennet? Will you show Miss Hemlock to a guest bedroom?"'
A boy with brown hair and brown eyes stood and shrugged. "I guess," he said. He led the way down the hall and opened a door. "You can stay here. Dinner will probably be done in an hour." He walked away.
I blinked. Dinner? Did it take us that long to get here? I slept that long? I'm not going to be tired tonight at all though I might still fall asleep. I unpacked my bag and hid the money in the back of the closet. As for the food and water, I'll leave those in the bag in case I need to leave. I took a hot shower and looked at the scars on my arms from when I had cut myself. I got dressed in a blue T-shirt and jeans then put my hair in a ponytail. I just like wearing it up.
I walked through the hall and found the kitchen after a few minutes of searching. They were just sitting down and I quickly joined them. We all started eating. "So, Miss Hemlock, what type of job are you looking for?" Mr. Lockwood asked.
"Anything," I said as I thought, as long as it had nothing to do with monsters.
"Would you like to work with me then?" One of Everest's sisters said.
"Um, what do you do?" I asked hesitantly.
"Elizabeth owns a clothing shop. She makes all the clothes she sells," Mrs. Lockwood said.
"Oh." I thought about it. "Sure. My mom had taught me how to sew." She taught me a lot of things actually.
Elizabeth nodded. "Then you'll come with me tomorrow."
"How much will you be paying her, Lizzy?" Everest asked.
"Fifteen dollars an hour," Elizabeth said. "Don't you have somewhere to be, twin?"
I blinked. Everest and Elizabeth are twins? Elizabeth had blond hair and gray eyes. Everest saw my confusion. "We're fraternal twins," she explained.
"Oh," I said.
Everest turned to her twin. "The meeting isn't until eleven tonight, Lizzy. Are you coming tonight too?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "I've got things to do, my dear sister."
"Alright."
The girl with blond hair and blue eyes snorted. "You mean one of your stupid monster meetings?" She said.
Everest scowled. "We all have our own interests, Mary."
"Monsters don't exist."
"That's your opinion."
"How was your meeting you just came back from, Everest?" Bennt asked.
She sighed. "Sadly, they didn't actually have a monster. It was a mountain lion that was killing their livestock."
He wrinkled his nose. "That's stupid."
She smiled. "They know better now, Bennet."
Okay, I know we're all thinking it so I'm just going to say it. Bennet sounds like a dog name. Not that I'm planning to say that out loud. "Mom, are you going to homeschool Sapphire too?" Mary asked.
I shook my head quickly. "There's no need to. I've already graduated."
"You have?" Mrs. Lockwood asked.
I nodded. "By the time I was put in the orphanage, I was in third grade and I just went through the rest of the grades quickly."
"You must be super smart," Everest said.
My mouth twitched. "Nah. It was just something interesting to do." It got my mind off where I was a lot too. I just never got much time to myself because we all shared a bedroom. So we were always in each other's business.
"So it was a distraction from all the terrible stuff that was taking place," Bennet said.
"I guess you could say that." It felt like he read my mind.
"May I ask what happened to your parents?" Mr. Lockwood asked.
Time to half lie. "They were killed," I replied calmly.
"By who?"
I shot a warning look at Everest. "I don't know."
"A monster killed her parents," Everest blurted.
"Everest!" I exclaimed. So much for keeping that a secret.
"I'm sorry, Sapphire. But they should know."
"Why? I doubt they believe in monsters." Mary sure didn't.
"Actually, we do," Mrs. Lockwood said. "It's why we're supporting Eve with her job. Mary is the one who thinks they are fake."
"You see, we've all seen one," Mr. Lockwood added.
"Oh," I said.
"I haven't!" Mary said. "And that's because they don't exist."
"They do but you probably haven't seen them because you're a girly girl," Bennet said.
"I am not!
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too."
"Take it back!"
"No." He ran out of the room with Mary chasing him. Everest then left along with Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood.
Elizabeth started picking everything up. "Would you like some help?" I asked.
She smiled and shook her head. "Go get some sleep. We leave at eight."
I nodded and went to my room. I changed into my pajamas and got under the covers. Day one of my new life is complete.