Dummy...

"Again?" Shelly asked as she walked into the room.

"Seems so dear. I don't know why these two are friends. They always end up making each other cry…"

"It should stop soon, I think. Lacey seems to be running out of breath…" Shelly shook her head in wonder at the two children.

Annabelle just stood where she was, shocked that they didn't ask anything. 'I don't want to know how often they do this, for Lewis's parents to not even care that their son is sobbing in the middle of the living room…'

Shelly noticed how the girl stood, hands folded in front of her, nervously looking from them to the children.

"Don't worry dear, they do this all the time. Would you like some soda?"

When the two had made it to the kitchen Annabelle couldn't help but ask. "Why do they hang out if they're constantly upsetting each other?"

"It's really not too bad, they only do it occasionally. Though, I'm surprised they don't cry more often…"

"Why is that?"

Shelly stops as she realizes that she almost spoke about Lacey being a Jinn to a child they weren't sure about.

"She's just a very sensitive soul. Would you like some of this?" She motioned Annabelle towards the twelve pack of Rootberry.

'What even is that? It looks awful…'

"No thank you, I appreciate the offer though."

Smiling Shelly went back to prepping the meal.

"Did you have fun today?"

"Yes, Lewis showed me the movie Aliens. It was… interesting."

Shelly laughed, surprised the girl had managed to sit through the thriller. "Well, I'm glad you found it 'interesting'."

They continued in silence for a few minutes until John came around the corner.

"Sorry you had to see that. Honey the kids stopped crying and I sent Lacey home. Do you mind if I steal Annabelle to the study so we can talk?"

"Nope, love you sweety. Don't be too hard on her." The last part Shelly stuck her tongue out at John in a teasing manner.

"Alright, Annabelle if you follow me, I need to discuss your situation with you. Lewis told me what you told him, but I'm afraid I still need to talk to you."

"Okay." She had been dreading this, but it wasn't something she could really avoid.

After they entered the study John sat down behind his desk and motioned Annabelle to have a seat in the chair directly opposite him.

'I feel like Lewis ends up in this chair a lot… Just great that it's my turn though.' She thought sarcastically.

Somewhere in the house Lewis's ears started itching.

"I would like you to tell me the exact story." He was a little bit irritated that his son had lost control of his transformation in front of an outsider, and the fact that she told his son instead of him. However, there was nothing he could do about any of that. Which meant it would be easier to focus on what he could do.

"The first thing I remember is being in the orphanage. No one knew who had dropped me off, so I was taken in. Without knowing anything I spent a few years there. Until someone pointed out that I wasn't changing in appearance."

"Why wouldn't they kick you out when you turned eighteen?"

'Why would eighteen be important?' Annabelle paused to think about what he was saying.

"They were told to take care of me until the police could figure out my identity. When I was left all, I could remember was my first name. The police asked the orphanage director, who was his friend, to take care of me while they tried to find information."

When John didn't say anything, Annabelle continued.

"When the trail went cold, they gave me a new last name and the director decided to let me stay until I could live on my own. Unfortunately, after a few years they started to notice my lack of normal human growth. Before I realized what was happening the other children near my age started bullying me, and due to how weird she thought I was the director turned a blind eye."

"I didn't really run away, more like the director finally kicked me out after cursing me and calling me a freak…" She tried to look as sad as her story.

John sat in silence for a few minutes before speaking carefully.

"Annabelle. I don't know why you don't want to tell us your story. But I need to know, where are you from, and what is your current last name?"

Giving up she answered. "I'm not too sure about the town, I'm horrible with directions and names. But my full name is Annabelle Seau."

'I knew my acting sucked… Plus how can I make up a story when I don't know anything about the culture? Who knew that people kicked orphans out when they turned eighteen, whether they were ready or not? How barbaric…'

"…Annabelle?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I've been asking you if you had any clue what you were? I know you don't remember anything prior to the orphanage." He didn't sound like he believed her. "But most clans have tells that can be mixed with what's told in human myth. Have you noticed anything?"

"Other than my lack of growth? No."

"Hmm." He thought for a second. "Do you mind if I use an old method to detect what you are?"

"Not at all, but can we go have dinner first? I think Shelly should be done by now, and it smells amazing."

"Alright… If you don't want to do the check, we don't have to. It's only my offer to help you discover your origins. "He gave her a small smile.

"Thank you, I'll definitely take you up on that when we have a chance."

'Yeah right. Great idea! Just tell him you're an alien, maybe he'd be more likely to believe that!' She sarcastically goaded herself for being an idiot.