Does Your Lack of Conscience Tell You Everything's Alright?

The car ride to the Gaskarth household was silent. Alex drove with August sitting in the passenger seat. I sat in the back, in between Jack and Aaron, the latter of the two playing with my hair the entire ride.

Being in a car made me a little nervous. The only times I've ever been in a car since my kidnapping were for dance competitions and I slept through those rides.

With Aaron's obnoxious singing, that is a huge feat.

I sit on the couch in the living room, knees curled to my chest. Aaron is seated comfortably on the coffee table while Jack and August share a seat on one of the chairs. Alex is talking to his mother.

I don't know if she'll let me stay. It's not like I can expect her to. It's not like she's my mother.

No, my mother is dead.

Tears run down my cheeks.

They're gone forever. I'll never see them again.

My silent tears escalate to sobs.

"Elizabeth, what's wrong?" asks Aaron.

My sobs harden. My body shakes.

"Elizabeth?" August asks.

I hate that name.

"My name is not Elizabeth. Don't call me Elizabeth. It's Alice; my name is Alice," I yell, clutching my ears.

"Calm down," Aaron coos.

A hand rests on my back. I flinch away. I can hear Aaron sigh.

"Someone get Alex," he says.

I can't understand why I'm acting so irrational. I know Aaron won't hurt me. I know they didn't mean anything by calling me Elizabeth. That's the only name they knew me by for years.

But I can't help acting like a complete psycho.

My life has been ripped from me. I have no family; I'm broken into this thing that can't function in society; I have no where to live.

What the hell am I going to do?

"What's wrong?" Alex's voice floats to my ears over my sobs.

He's not close but he's somewhere in the room. I can't hear Aaron's words. I know he's talking though.

"Alice, I need you to calm down," Alex instructs.

Alex's voice seems to calm my senses. My sobs die down to sniffles and hiccups. Shakes still run through my body. I refuse to look in his face. I feel a little ashamed at the way I'm acting.

But I can't stop myself.

"What's wrong?" Alex asks.

"My name's not Elizabeth," I state, "its Alice."

I sound like an idiot.

"I know that. We all know that. You're going to have to give us time to adjust to it though. You were introduced to all of us as Elizabeth."

I nod.

"That's not why you started crying is it?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong."

"My parents are gone. I have no family. I have no one. I have no where to go. If Jeffery comes back and finds me, he'll kill me. Or make me stay with him for longer just to torture me."

"That's not true. You have us and mom said its okay for you to stay here. Jeffery is going to jail for a very long time."

"I can’t stay here forever."

They would get fed up with me.

"Look at me," Alex instructs.

I do so, meeting his beautiful eyes. I could get lost in those.

"You're staying with me for as long as I can keep you. You need to trust me. I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

His eyes hold sincerity.

"Okay," I answer.

"Good," he moves closer to me and envelopes me in a hug. "I promise, everything is going to be okay."

And I believe him.