Soren

Chapter Thirteen

Soren loved French toast. She had decided it was her favourite food so far. Having only eaten pasta the day before however, James claimed she had tons more things to try. While they were eating, he had pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and began writing a list of things for her to eat.

"What about yoghurt?"

"No."

"A burger."

"No."

"PB and J?" He sounded exasperated.

"No."

He had given up then, choosing to jot down every new food that came to his mind, knowing that if it wasn't meat or the occasional berry, she hadn't tried it or didn't remember what it tasted like.

Soren had also begun to answer him with words. His speech had hit her hard, she knew he was trying his best to make her comfortable, and she also knew that her silence had made him uneasy, she had felt it deep within her bones. Now that she was speaking, no matter how little, she could feel his joy as clearly as if it was her own, and she loved knowing that she was the source of his happiness.

After eating, James announced that they were going to have a visitor,

"Margot's gonna pop by with some clothes for you. I know you said you like mine but maybe if we go out, you'd prefer something that actually fits.

Soren didn't know how she felt about meeting another person. Already James and Matt felt like a lot to handle, and she had never talked to a female that wasn't her mother, were they nice? James sensed her discomfort and placed his hand gently on her cheek,

"You'll love her, and she'll love you, I'm sure. I would never put you in a situation I didn't think you could handle and if it's too much, just tell me and she can leave."

Soren managed a small smile, she didn't doubt any of what he had just said,

"Okay."

"She should actually be here pretty soon, she was really excited when I asked her to come."

True to his word, James had been smiling as much as he could, and now was no exception. Soren loved when he smiled, it made her feel warm inside. Running upstairs she put her hair up into what James had called a bun, tying it in a large knot with no thoughts as to how she was going to take it out. Hearing the door open downstairs and the low murmuring of voices she knew Margot had arrived.

When she went back down the first thing she saw was the back of James' head, descending the stairs she tucked herself close to his side. Talking to James was Matt, and next to him stood a tall brunette woman with a large bag at her side.

"Hi, I'm Margot, nice to meet you." The woman, Margot, stepped out from her place beside Matt and held out her hand to Soren expectantly. Soren just stared at it, what was she expected to do? Uncertainty filled her and her breathing shallowed out. Margot quickly realized she wasn't going to get what she had been wanting and dropped her hand. James was looking down at her with concern, and despite the fact that Margot's face was filled with understanding, Soren was getting agitated. James tucked her in close, but unlike James, Matt was unhappy, a low growl came out from between his clenched lips and Soren had to bite her lip to stop herself from whimpering in fear, this was not her home, there was no escape for her here.

Margot elbowed Matt in the side roughly before placing her hand on his bicep,

"She didn't mean any disrespect Matt, you know that. She just doesn't know yet. You have to calm down."

Her hand ran up and down his arm, she rested her forehead against it and Soren watched in fascination as Matt's anger diminished almost instantaneously. Tucking Margot against himself, just like James had to her, he faced Margot with a sheepish smile before turning to acknowledge Soren with only a nod of the head. She returned the gesture and just like that, all was forgotten.