04 >< You ok?

"These are amazing!" I heard Mica call through the house.

I chose to wake up then and leave the room. Simone had bought me some clothes and a few things for her siblings but nothing for her. She would know to spend more money if she knew how much money I had, she'd at least try to put a dent in it.

She had no idea, and yet she was struggling. Why wouldn't she take the bait? Some random stranger offers her a credit card that had unknown amounts of money in it and she chose not to spend it for herself.

"Thanks sis." Mica continued, "this feels sooooooo good. The bullies at my school were giving me hell, like, it was getting annoying."

"I'm glad you like your new glasses. God knows you needed a new pair, I couldn't bear to see you struggle like that." Simone said.

I sat silently as I watched Simone's sisters shower her with thanks and all. She clearly had relief stamped over her face and exhaustion. A lot of it really. ... The exhaustion I mean.

"You should thank Mr Levi." she said, not wanting to take the glory for herself, "he's the one who had all the money to spend on you guys. I just knew what to get you."

"Thank you Mr Levi." the youngest one, Lila, said, giving me the prettiest green eyes ever.

"Yeah," the eight year old, Coco, said, throwing herself at me in a huge bear hug ....... as huge as her little arms could wrap around me.

"Coco he's injured." Raven said, lifting her sister off me "you don't want to go around hurting the man, do you?"

I chuckled.

"Like an eight year old could end my life. Right." I said.

Raven rolled her eyes at me whilst Mica burst out laughing. Simone busied herself with setting the table, Lila scurrying around helping her.

"Just call me Levi." I said to Raven and the others.

"Dinner, people." Simone said, then we all shuffled to the table. Raven and Mica helped me to my seat, Raven elbowing me as payback then sniggering when I grunted.

"I'll get you back." I said to her as we sat down to eat.

We had our meal then Simone helped me to her room to change my bandage and all.

"I'm still going to pay you back for all the stuff you got my sisters. I owe you one." She said as she took off my bandages. "Thank you by the way."

"Anytime." I said, wincing as she stripped off the old bandage and stuck on a new one. "being shot hurts." I said, drawing a small smile from Simone.

She made the bed and helped me into it before going off to change into a pair of pyjama shorts and a tank-top, tying her hair up in a messy kind of topknot puff, loose curly bits framing her face. Simone had curly brown hair. Lots of it. It went down to her shoulders and framed her face like a mane.

She sagged into the mattress as she exhaled, letting go of the pressures of her day. She yawned then turned on her side.

"Goodnight Levi." she said, pulling the blanket up a little. I murmured in response, my medication pulling me under.

Once again, in the early hours of the morning, I was woken by Simone drowning next to me. I was seriously concerned for her. What was going on?

This time, she lay on her back, panting harder, covered in a sheen of sweat as usual. She gasped then woke up as she rolled to her side and cried, placing a hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face. She took deep breaths as she tried to calm down but she was shaking too much.

I wanted to roll over and help out but I felt like she needed a little time on her own first. I knew how it felt to get yanked out of a nightmare, and it was hard. Confusing really.

With wobbly legs, she got out of bed and went to check on her sisters again. She spent a good 20 minutes there before coming back. She lay on her spine and stared at the ceiling, her eyes red and swollen, her body still shaking. Whatever she was facing, it was tough.

She turned to me to see if she had woken me and clearly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that I wasn't awake. She kept looking up at her ceiling, not bothering to wipe the tears off her face, soaking her pillow as she went. She finally cried herself into exhaustion, her eyelids drooping against her face and sleep taking over her body. I opened my eyes properly as she closed hers then I watched her fall more into her sleep. I pulled the blanket up to her neck for her, she was too tired to do it herself anyway.

The next morning as usual, Simone got up to prepare her siblings for school then sent them off. She left me instructions on how to take care of myself ............. not that I even needed them ............. then got dressed and headed out.

I spent most of my day asleep or awake and thinking but I was pretty much disinterested with everything. Late in the afternoon, Simone's sisters got back home from school.

"Hey Levi," Mica said, doing her homework on the kitchen table and snacking on an apple. "had anything for lunch?"

"I made myself a sandwich." I said.

"I'll start on dinner then." Raven said after getting Lila and Coco changed.

"Anything I can do to help?" I asked.

"Maybe entertain these two." she said, dumping Coco and Lila in my lap. They were immediately interested in all the features of my face and arms, groping at everything and asking me a million questions.

We had all settled into some comfortable groove around each other, them easily adapting to having a total stranger in the house, and me learning to live with so many humans at once.

Ten minutes later, Simone burst through the door, red and panting.

"Hey guys," she said, hugging her siblings quickly. "sorry I'm late. I had to run."

"No biggie." Raven said, "I was just starting on dinner."

"Well I'm here now." Simone said, dropping her bags, "you can go bury your nose in your books and do whatever it is that teenagers like to do. I've got supper covered."

"You don't have to ........" Raven argued, "you already do a lot and ............."

"I know you'd rather be in your room. Go. I'm in the mood for dinner today." Simone encouraged as she rolled up her sleeves and got to work, taking over from her sister.

Raven threw her arms around her sister then sped off to her room, Simone smiled after her and worked on dinner. Coco and Lila continued to crawl all over my body, aimed at tiring me out so I decided to humour them. Lifting them into the air and letting them hang from my arms, earning piercing laughter and giggles from them, causing me to smile in turn.

"That looks fun." Mica said, smiling as she got up from her homework, "aren't they going hurt you or anything? Your wound is pretty new."

"Its all good." I said. "they couldn't touch me even if they wanted to."

"Heeeyyy....." Coco whined, seeing it as a challenge to lunge at my bandage.

I gently tipped her arm to the side, causing her whole body to follow through, sending her flying to the ground. I placed my hand on her belly to steady her then lifted her back onto my lap.

She seemed confused at first, wondering how she moved so fast with no effort at all. Mica and I studied her whilst Lila was resting in my other palm, her fingers immersed in my hair. Coco looked like she was about to cry but then she yelled;

"Again! Again! Again!" She laughed, lunging at my bandage.

I laughed along with her as I continued to twist and shove her gently out of reach. Lila at this point had straddled my shoulders and was completely focused on my hair, her short soft hands buried deep into my skull, tugging and twisting. That admittedly felt good.

"Okay, enough you two." Simone chuckled, grabbing Coco mid-air. "time for dinner." she glanced up at me then smirked, "nice hair by the way."

I raised a hand to my head and felt it braided in various areas, random styles all over. I took Lila off my shoulders and gave her a look. She burst out laughing and wrapped her arms around me.

"Your hair is so pretty." she said, earning a laugh from all of us. Raven came down for dinner then but Simone didn't even sit down to eat.

"I have to go guys." she said, hugging and pecking all her sisters. "I'll be back late ............ sleep early. Raven is in charge."

"What about me?" I asked. Simone looked at me again.

"Raven is in charge." she repeated, "you should be in bed." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To work." she said, grabbing a jacket.

"You literally just got back." I said, trying to piece together the situation and make some sense out of it.

"And I have to go again." she said as she began to button the wrists of the new shirt she was wearing.

"At least have dinner." I reasoned.

"Don't have the time." I gave her a look. She caught my eye and gave one back.

"Sorry." she said "but someones got to pay the bills around here ............... and that happens to be me. So I gotta go."

She started walking out and I got up to follow her.

"Where are you going?" She asked, pausing by the door.

"I'm taking a walk." I responded. She gave me a look.

"Sit down and have dinner." she said, trying to shove me back, I didn't move an inch. "Oh ok, what is this about?" she asked as she lowered her voice, trying not to worry her sisters at all.

"Nothing." I said, glancing back at her sisters to make sure they weren't eves dropping, they weren't. "we should just go."

Simone started at me and I stared back at her in a silent showdown.

"Dial down the hormones would you?" Mica called from the table. We both turned to face her.

"I'm still trailing you for a while." I said ,"I need the exercise."

That was a risky move on my part, considering I was wanted dead and I also didn't want to paint a target on Simone's back, but I was beginning to worry about her at a concerning amount and I couldn't just sit in her home comfortable without helping.

Simone rolled her eyes but still allowed me to follow her.

"So where are you going really?" I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"To work." she said as we walked down the dimly lit path to the bus station. The sun was setting really fast.

"This late?" I asked again.

"I told you, I have bills to pay so I work four jobs. This is the last one for the day."

"And what do you do?"

"Im a waitress. I get off at two."

"What else do you?" I asked, referring to all her other jobs.

"I'm a janitor for Shakeaway Corp. I work early mornings there. From six to eight. Then I get to Quinn & Thatcher. I'm a secretary there on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from nine to six. I get off at six then from eight to two I'm a waitress at the royal. Every night. On Tuesday and Friday though, I head to the market and sell vegetables and fruit there. That's everything I guess."

I stared at Simone for a while.

"And you use this money for your siblings?" I asked.

"Yeah. School fees, clothes, food. When my tips are really great I give them allowances." I noticed Simone light up as she talked about making her siblings happy, "Coco and Lila are like, attached at the hip. They put their money together and then save half and spend the other on those lollipop rings and little sweets and such. Mica loves to buy books and little jewellery. I usually take some home for her when Mrs Chen from the market gives me some. Raven is into everything wrestling right now. Wrestling and culinary art, so when she can, she buys those ingredients that cost a little extra just to make us something nice ............." Simone sighed as she tied her hair up, getting all those stray strands. "they deserve the world you know. All I want to do is give it to them."

"That's nice." I said to her as we stopped at the bus station and waited for the bus. "so you don't have any relatives out there or something?" When I left, I really didn't want to leave them all by themselves.

Getting to know those four females stuck up something protective in me, something I didn't fully understand. They made me laugh, and kept me happy and fed, so I guess I was naturally inclined to want to do the same for them.

Simone looked down and tensed. Then she looked away from me.

"Our parents died in a car crash four years ago." She said, "we never really met our extended family because my parents had issues with their families. I do know we have an uncle and grandparents somewhere. My dads side. I have no idea where they are though.

"Sorry about your parents." I said.

"Its ok." she said, shrugging as she shoved her hands deep in her coat pockets. "how about you? Any family?"

"Uuuuhhhhhh.........." I started but the bus pulled up.

"I should go." she said, getting on the bus, "see you later. Don't forget to take your medicine."

I rolled my eyes at her and watched her smile brightly at me in amusement.

"Be safe out there." I said then she rolled her eyes at me. I smiled at her as she walked in and took her seat.

I started heading back to her house along the semi-empty road. I thought I noticed a shadow follow me. Scratch that, I did notice someone follow me. I had to leave Simone's house really quickly before I got her into trouble. Having people used against me was not funny.