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“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” she scoffs. “What do you want?”
“They will have what I’m having. Mom, this is my new security, Raffiel, Astro, Cillian, and Dal.” I introduce each one, and they smile and shake her hand softly. Dal even kisses the back of it, and she practically swoons.
“Fine, I like them.” She turns her gaze to me. “You eat, then we’ll talk.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I nod, sitting upright. While she hurries to the kitchen, I giggle, watching Pop try to get around her to come see me, but she pushes him back in.
“Mom and Pop?” Cillian asks, his eyebrow raised.
I shrug. “It’s what they’ve always told me to call them.”
“How long have you been coming here?” Dal asks knowingly.
“A long time.” When they just stare, I sigh, looking out of the window. “They were the only people who cared,” I admit, looking around. “When I first came here, I couldn’t even afford a meal, so I ordered a drink. I was hungry and cold, and they offered me a slice of home. They fed me and looked after me, and every time I’ve come back since, they do the same. It never bothered them how famous I became. To them, I will always be that skinny girl practically living on the streets, trying to make it.”
I can see the questions in their eyes—after all, not a lot of people know about my past—but I smile and change the subject. “The food here is incredible though, all homemade and healing.”
Unlike normal people, they don’t bite.
“It smells amazing,” Astro says. “You lived on the streets?”
Sighing, I pick up the napkin and cover my lap, feeling four sets of eyes on me. “For a little while, when I first came here.”
“I didn’t know that,” Raffiel murmurs.
“Not many people do. I was a nobody then, trying to make it,” I reply. “I did what I had to do to survive. I hardly had any money, and I spent what I had on recordings and sending out my music. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. You kind of get used to it. I started working two jobs to pay for a tiny, shared apartment, and I was eventually noticed.”
“Wait, you were seventeen right when you started, right? So how old were you when you lived on the streets?” Astro questions.
I hesitate. I don’t often share my past and for a very good reason. I’m not ashamed of what I did to survive, but some people in the industry don’t understand, especially those who came from money and privilege.
“I just turned fifteen,” I admit.
I ignore their swearing and scan the diners to make sure no one is listening to sell my story. A lot of it isn’t public knowledge. I’m not ashamed, but my past is my past. Nobody else’s. I don’t want my pain dissected and reported on.
“What about your parents?” Raffiel snaps. “They didn’t care that their daughter was on the streets?”
I flinch. They aren’t a subject I like to talk about, but I know I’m not getting away with it. “Hard to care when they are dead.”
“You had no family?” Astro starts.
Sighing, I meet their eyes. “No, I had no one, okay? I lost everyone I loved, and that’s all I want to hear on it, alright? It’s my past for a reason. Yes, I lived on the streets. It wasn’t easy. Yes, it was scary and I was in some bad situations, but look where it got me.”
“You don’t have to be defensive,” Astro murmurs, and Cillian takes my hand. I want to snatch it away but he won’t let me, curling his fingers tighter around mine.
“We all have our pasts. We are just trying to understand,” he says softly. I ignore their eyes, not wanting to see their pity, but when I spare them a glance, they seem worried and angry, and there’s no pity in sight.
“So you’re going to rip my past open when I know nothing about you guys?” I ask, knowing I’m being defensive, but it’s true. They are learning everything about me, and I don’t even know their last names. I see the hit land, and Raff opens his mouth when Pop appears.
He walks back and forth, placing down drinks and food, and when the table is covered, he leans in and kisses my head. “Mom says to make sure you eat it all or you’re in big trouble.”
“I always am.” I grin up at him, watching his face soften.
“Glad to see you back, kid,” he murmurs, leaning down to kiss my head again. “Now eat, all of you.”
When he leaves, I focus on filling my plate, knowing they are both watching me, and Mom is scary as hell. If she thinks I’m not eating properly, then who knows what that woman will do, so you damn well bet I’m eating, especially since it’s so fucking good.
I pile my plate high, and when I look up, I freeze. They haven’t moved and are watching me carefully.
