text: There they go again , Lance thinks to himself. The empty but giant halls of the massive house echoes his steps from all sides, walking in a slow pace, seemingly all by himself as the other occupants are nowhere to be found. The question of “where are they?” doesn’t leave his lips. He has only been a resident for a month. A full month since his adoption, since the wealthiest family in the city took one look at him and said “Yes, you’ll do nicely.” Clad in all black when they stood on the doors of the orphanage, he briefly questions if they just got back from a funeral. He doesn’t know what to feel when they merely laughed when he asked. “You are something else, Lance.” They said, he caught a glint in their eyes that he can’t explain but startled him enough for him to take a small step back. “Would you like to go home with us?” They have said, warm expressions in contrast to their cold demeanor. Lance hesitated, a tingling in his neck when he saw the outstretched hand covered in a black glove that waited for his. But wracking through his mind of how his days go, he decided it’s better to go than to stay in a place where everything is awful. The orphanage treated him kindly, does not mean the people did. It didn’t take long for him to pack a bag and got in a black car that took all of them to a place outside city limits. “You’ll love it there, Lance.” The man said, a warm smile on his face that definitely didn’t creep him out. Maybe he should be calling him dad now? They took him to a mansion, a manor as they called it on the way, surrounded by electric fences and a giant stonewall. Lance jokingly wonders what they have to hide from that elicited a wall that rivaled the Great Wall of China. Lance doesn’t know how to describe it properly; the manor has a gothic feel to it, come to consider that it’s been around since Queen Victoria reigned the country, the architecture and the overall structure screams old. The inside doesn’t look better. There’s a touch of modernism, but parts of it are still kept traditional. An odd mix if you were to ask him. The particular thing that catches his eyes is the giant staircase in the middle of the room. He doesn’t understand why that would excite him, amaze him. Lance briefly considers asking if the manor is haunted, but he doesn’t want to get sent back to the orphanage any time soon. His brand new father and mother introduced him to his “siblings” and other occupants on the estate when they arrived. Three older brothers, a younger sister, two cousins who live there now, and one maid and a butler. “This is Lance. He’s your new brother.” The woman, mother, introduced. They seemed nice , Lance had thought, when his “siblings” all group hugged him to welcome him to the manor and to the family. His new sister gripped his hand tightly in hers, eager to be the one to give him the tour around the manor and the forest behind it while his new brothers followed closely behind them. His sister talked his ear off, Lance listened intently to everything she said. “The house is built on a hill, there’s a nice forest outside.” Lance laughed at her words, “Yeah, I figured.” They gave him the room next to all of theirs, insisting that their sister likes to keep her brothers at arms length, and helped him unpack the few things he does have. He liked it. “Welcome to the family.” said the eldest brother, before they are all due to their rooms for sleep. They are the only two in the hall where all their rooms are, theirs are next to each other. The eldest pats him in the back, giving him a smile, “Try not to get lost.” The first week went along swimmingly. He was always woken up by his new parents, pushing him to the shower so he could join them for breakfast. They would have breakfast together out in the gardens, Lance feels underdressed in his simple shirt when they all look like they are ready to have tea with the Queen, talking about plans and gossip of the week. Lance tried to be silent during them but it’s hard when they try to include him in everything he doesn’t know. Eventually, he lets loose with a few stories of his, he’s encouraged even more when they become engaged in what he’s saying. Some left before they could even finish their meals, with a solemn nod at one another, but Lance would be too wrapped up in a story about a thing he did back at the orphanage or a book he liked to notice. Or he did, but doesn’t mention it. Then they would spend the afternoon together as well, they’d read books from the massive library in the manor, watch movies in the movie room they had, all kinds of things in a matter of one week. They'd sit on the staircase and talk. They’d do all kinds of things in the garden, but never out in the woods. If it all goes well, maybe Lance could suggest they do some fun activities in the forest, it looked like a good place for hide and seek. Dinner is chaotic, but Lance liked it. It’s the first time he has witnessed the dynamic between this powerful family. He has witnessed first hand how they’re like a normal family, one that teases and mocks each other and still stays together. It’s like they never shut up and always had something to say about each other. There are some topics he didn’t understand, but he ignored it and continued with his own meal. And, at the end of the day, everyone retreats to their respective rooms and, one thing that he notices is that they basically lock themselves in there. But then again, with a family chaotic as them and a room as big as theirs, who wouldn’t? It was a very memorable week. A great first week with his new family. He likes this family, he likes to think that he’s starting to find a place in it--and it hasn’t been that long. Lance likes to think that this is it , they’re the ones he’s looking for. That is, until the second week mark hits and Lance can no longer deny the little things he’s starting to notice. Breakfast used to consist of all them, but his “foster” parents are nowhere to be found anymore. When asked, they tell him that they are off to work in the mornings. “They didn’t look like they were going to work last week.” He said. “Of course,” The eldest brother said, “They wanted to be here for you, so they took a week off.” “One that they need if you were to ask me.” The second eldest said. Which is fair. “Have to make a living for the family. Keep the business alive.” And he understands that. He’s seen the family’s massive empire in tabloids and news before, he understands. They would come home in the middle of the afternoon and he would welcome them as they hugged him. It’s when he would notice the faint smell of dirt on their clothes and glove-covered hands. He asks himself, “Does their office have a garden?” but smacks himself when he realizes that, duh, of course they don’t. He doesn’t have an answer for that. He lets it pass. With the parents retiring to the room after they come home, afternoons are now spent with the cousins, his new siblings are nowhere to be found. He’d search for them at first, the cousins telling him they went out. “I didn’t see them leave,” he’d told them. “Where would they go?” “They were in a hurry.” The cousins would reason. “They’ll be back.” And they did, and when they did, he’d ask where they went. He doesn’t ask about the wet spots in different parts of their clothing. “To the mall. Our sister was itching to be out of the house. We’re sorry we didn’t tell you.” The second eldest brother answered. “Don’t worry, we’ll let you come with us next time” But they didn’t. They make no mention of that after. To be fair, he has forgotten the first time. But then the second time. “Our eldest needed someone to take him somewhere, his license was revoked. We all decided to tag along.” The third eldest explained, “You were busy with the cousins, so we didn’t ask. That was our mistake.” It’s a different excuse every time. Lance lets it past, but doesn’t forget. He’s suspicious, even though he doesn’t want to be, but doesn’t say anything. Again. It’s fine. He doesn’t mind afternoon with the cousins, they’re fun to be around. Dinners are with the family, the parents and the siblings, but the cousins are apparently “busy” with their own things. They’re not around as often. Surprisingly, they don’t give him a reason as to why they are busy, they just say that they are. If that isn’t more suspicious than it already is. “The cousins may live under our roof, but they are not entitled to leave everything out in the open. They can do what they want, let them have their own secrets.” The mother said when he asked. Lance could list at least a hundred reasons why there’s so many things wrong with that. If he had another week, it still wouldn’t be enough. They do come back though, in the middle of the night at least. He sees them enter through the front door, but he doesn’t leave his hiding spot. It continues and it continues and it continues. Until he doesn’t ask anymore, he just ignores an absence. He ignores a lingering smell on their person that doesn’t make sense. He ignores the nonsensical reasons they give him. And it’s only been a month. A month and the manor is feeling way too big for him. The halls he walks on, the giant staircase he sits on... he’s only realizing that it’s way too big. Lance thought nothing of it--not anymore--a wealthy family must equate to a busy one, right?