“Alright.” Amber said from the front seat of the van, looking back to see the kids, who were all silent in the back of the car. “So our address is 1330 Willow Avenue. So remember that if you need. It can be good for emergencies.” She told them, hoping that there wouldn’t be any emergencies, but making sure to take precautions. “Did you get that? 13-“

“1330 Willow Avenue.” Naomi repeated. “Got it.” Amber nodded.

“Good. Great. Uh, we’re coming up to the house now.” The woman motioned out the window to a house in a line of other houses. They were fairly new houses, and they all looked similar, but their house was the end of the row and right on the edge of a small forested area. “There’s a trail in the woods, so you’re all welcome to go out there. Just don’t get lost.” Amber told the kids as she parked the van. “We just moved in before I came to get you all, so there are boxes everywhere still.”

“We?” Derek asked.

“Me and Brian.”

“Who’s Brian?”

“He won’t be living in the house, but he’s going to be helping out. “ Amber explained. “He’s pretty great. We were just bringing in some extra furniture and some books and dishes and stuff. Alright. Let’s go inside?” She climbed out of the car, and opened up the doors for the kids to climb out. They all had their backpacks still and Derek was fiddling with the sheets of paper he had been given.

They all headed inside the house, and Amber gave them all a smile. “So, we thought organization was really important, so you all have your own box in the foyer and hooks.” She motioned to the row of hooks with names above them. “All of your rooms are upstairs. You can choose who rooms with who, but two in each room, alright?”

The kids all nodded and Savvy grinned, grabbing Naomi’s hand and pulling her upstairs. “We call one!” The girl shouted down the stairs, excited. The rest of them followed shortly behind, choosing rooms as well. Amber insisted that there would be no co-ed rooms, but after Derek insisted that she would have to separate Naomi and Savvy because they were dating, the woman gave up.

So Derek and Claire ended up sharing a room, and Amelia and Sam ended up sharing the other.

After everything was set, Amber got them all together to head downstairs to explain what everything was going to look like.

“Basically, you’re going to be getting used to living a stable life. This could be considered rehab. There will be regular meals, no drugs other than what is prescribed, and you will all have individual therapy sessions as well as group therapy.” The woman explained, looking around at all six of the teenagers. “We are going to keep fighting to a minimum, and there will be structured activities, alright? But you will get free time, and plenty of it, so don’t worry. Okay?”

There was a general murmur of agreement in response. Amber shrugged. “Good enough. The other thing is you will all have responsibilities to do. They can change each week, so that everyone does the same amount of work. Things like helping cook, or cleaning up or doing laundry or helping with shopping.”

“What if we dunno how ta do all that?” Sam spat.

“We’re going to help you. That’s the point of all of this.”

“Whatta ‘bout the police? Aren’t we supposeta get them so they can get-“

“The police are dealing with it. We have a court case, but it’s been pushed off so that you can all recover so that the trial will be legitimate. But yes, you will all be testifying against the people who hurt you, so don’t worry about that. For now, what is important is getting your lives back in order. We can do that, right?”

There was once again a mumble of agreement and Amber smiled. “Alright. You can all do whatever, but bring me all your medicine, so we can get that all organized.” The kids all nodded as they headed back upstairs to their new rooms, talking amongst themselves quietly as if they were afraid that someone might hear them.