Eric screamed into his pillow before tears spilled from his eyes. He couldn't believe his luck.

Ten years ago, when he was brought home with...them, he had no idea that they were terrible people.

He had been abused both mentally and physically. He was thirteen by the time he found the willpower to report them. Then he had been taken back to the orphanage with an absurd hope to see his only friend.

But that hope was stupid because he would have been twenty-two and no longer at the orphange.

Eric jumped to his feet when he heard the bedroom door open. "What is it this time?" He snapped in anger.

"There's a man that wants to meet you." Mrs. Laje's voice explained in a calm manner.

"Why?" Eric spat. "I'm too old for families."

Mrs. Laje smiled at that. "Don't be so sure, Eric. There was another young man years ago that said the same thing yet he was adopted. He was sixteen at the time and has since been donating to my orphanage the moment he was able to."

Eric rolled his eyes in anger as he pushed himself off his bed. Without a word, he followed Mrs. Laje out the door and down to the first floor.

Instead of going to the meeting room, Eric was surprised to be led to the living room where an old man sat waiting.

He smiled when he saw them enter. "Laje, it's a pleasure."

Mrs. Laje smiled. "How're the girls doing?"

The man's face lit up in happiness. "They're doing great. And it helps that their older brother is so family oriented."

"That's good to hear," Mrs. Laje replied with another smile. She turned to Eric and waved him forward. "This is Eric." Without further explanation, she left.

Eric watched her leave with narrowed eyes before glaring at the old man. He didn't even know why Mrs. Laje bothered. It was true that he had turned seventeen three days ago, but that didn't mean he couldn't wait one more year before moving away from this hellhole.

He didn't need a family.

"Eric?" The old man asked in a warm voice.

"Old man." Eric snapped.

He let out a chuckle. "This old man would like to tell you a story."

Eric raised a blonde eyebrow before taking a seat on the couch opposite the man.

"Quite a few years ago I had the sudden urge to get coffee from the café at the corner of the block," the man started in a fond voice. "It was a gorgeous winter night and my wife was away on business so I didn't have to worry about being home. On the way back to my car, a young boy ran into me, spilling coffee everywhere. I didn't even have the chance to apologize before he started crying. I offered to take him back to his home before shortly realizing that he was running away from this very orphange. Without a second thought, I offered to bring him home that same night."

"Why are you telling me this?" Eric snapped in a harsh voice.

The man met his angry glare with kind brown eyes. "Because the boy that spilt my coffee and became a son to me was sixteen going on seventeen."

Eric's eyes widened in shock but he tried to hide it. "That has nothing to do with me. I'm not a sappy wimp that needs a family."

"Perhaps," the man allowed. "But I'd still like you to join my family. It would be nice if my little girls would have a brother closer to their age. An eighteen year gap between the oldest girl and my son just seems too wide right now. He's a grown man with his own business and I don't want to put more stress on his shoulders."

"Shouldn't you be looking at my file or something?" Eric demanded in anger. "I could be some crazy psychopath that will kill you all in your sleep."

The man let out a booming laugh before collecting himself once again. "I did take a look, Eric. Since I now have daughters, I can't take the risk of putting them in danger."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I never looked at my son's file. Not even after adopting him. I don't know anything about his past except what he's told me. Plus, after the sudden adoption of him years ago, my wife demanded that the next time I adopt, to properly go through the motions rather than saying to hell with it." The man responded with humor lacing his voice. "I know what you've been through and I simply want to offer you a safe place to call your own. You don't even have to think of us as mom or dad, brother or sister. I'm offering you a place to call your own."

Eric met the man's eyes with confusion in his own. "What's your name?"

"Roth. My wife's name is Susan. I'll introduce you to the others should you decide to come home with me." Roth replied in a gentle voice.

Eric's eyes narrowed at Roth. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that, should you agree to join my family, you can come home with me today." Roth explained with a smile.

Eric stared at the man in amazement. He must have started the adoption process months in advance since the rules and regulations changed a few years ago. Which meant that he was serious about giving him a place to call his own....

"I'll..."

***

Two hours later, Eric found himself seated in the front seat of Roth's super nice car, a smile threatening to form on his face.

"Our home is about thirty minutes away so you'll have to change schools for your last year in high school," Roth began in a happy voice. "Thankfully you still have two months before the school year begins."

Eric didn't say anything as he looked out at the city flashing before his eyes. He didn't have any friends at his old school so it didn't bother him moving to a new one.

Thirty minutes later and Eric felt his mouth drop open as they drove down a long driveway before coming to a stop in front of a three story building...well, what seemed to be three stories. The third floor looked a smidgen smaller but still...the house was huge and beautiful. There was a wide open yard that stretched on for a few acers before merging with the surrounding woods.

Before Roth exited the car, he met Eric's awestruck gaze and said, "Your bedroom is on the third floor. My son's office and bedroom is also up there as well, so on days he's working at home, you won't be able to blast music from your room. You can feel free to do that anywhere else in the house should you wish."

Eric let out a startled laugh when he realized that the old man was trying to jest with him. "Okay...you have a beautiful home, sir."

"Thank you. This is also your home now. And call me Roth. Sir makes me feel old." Roth stated with a chuckle as he got out of the car.

Eric quickly followed and was surprised that the inside of the house looked normal. It didn't scream wealth. Sure, it was big, but the carpet looked like any brown carpet and the cream walls were decorated with family pictures and a variety of other decorations.

He was surprised to feel a humble aura to the place.

"The living room, kitchen, dining room, game room, my room, two guest rooms, laundry room, and first bathroom are all on the first floor." Roth explained after closing and locking the front door. "The girls' rooms are on the second. We also have two more rooms being saved for two siblings from Japan. The adoption process for that is a bit lengthy and they're only five so by the time they arrive, it'll be a nice age gap for my girls. There's also a bathroom on the second floor. The third floor has two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a large office."

Eric looked at the old man in shock. "Why...?"

Roth let out an amused laugh and a gentle smile. "We've always wanted a big family. But the two siblings from Japan will be the last that we adopt. They're technically Japanese-American but moved back to Japan when they were infants. Their story is a bit complicated."

He let out a fond sigh as he continued, "As much as we want to, we don't have the ability to give homes to all the children in the world. But my son is determined to adopt as many unwanted children as he possibly can. He'll take time to look at their files to see how long they've been in the system before finding a loving family to match them to."

"Where does he keep his adopted children?" Eric asked as he followed Roth to the living room.

Roth let out a booming laugh before settling down on one of the couches. "He hasn't adopted yet. I explained how he'd never be able to take care of every unwanted child. So he took it upon himself to start up a business where he finds unwanted children and puts them in homes where they'll be loved. He also has a few other businesses but his main one is Wanted."

Eric nodded in understanding before sitting down on the couch. Roth's son must feel very strongly about orphanages and unadopted children to end up making a business out of it.

"Susan also took it upon herself to buy you a new wardrobe which is why I asked that you only bring what you valued the most." Roth continued before glancing at his watch. "The rest of the family should be arriving any second."

As if on cue, two little girls ran into the living room, giggling in happiness. The older one was African American and the youngest was Mexican. Both looked extemely happy.

"Angela is the oldest at eight. Sam is five," Roth stage whispered before introducing them.

Despite his anger at life, Eric couldn't help but let out a smile when he met their excited eyes. "Hello," he greeted in a surprisingly soft voice.

"Hi!" Angela gushed as she grabbed one of Eric's hands in both of hers and shook it. "I can't believe I have another brother. Kay is always so busy! But you aren't an adult yet so we can have tea parties and sing."

Eric stared at her with wide eyes before nodding and quickly agreeing.

Sam only offered him a shy smile before she dashed away with Angela to somewhere in the house.

Roth let out a happy laugh. "They never stay still for long."

"Right you are, dear," a sweet voice replied from the doorway.

Eric looked over and was surprised to see an elegant woman leaning against the door frame. He could tell that she was around her husband's age. She had chocolate brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was a little pale but it wasn't offputting. If anything, it made her seem more motherly despite the fact she was dressed in jeans and an overly large shirt.

"Hello, I'm Susan. You must be Eric." She held out her hand and Eric was quick to shake it.

"It's nice to meet you." He muttered.

Susan smiled but before she could say anything else, another person walked through the door.

He was over six feet tall, had inky black hair, a toned body, and was also a bit paler than average. But what caused Eric to gasp in surprise was the man's eyes. Those eyes that he had clung to from his childhood. The eyes that chased away so many bad dreams. Eyes that he never thought he'd see again.

One piercing ice blue eye and one emerald green eye set in an older face of Eric's childhood friend.

"Kayden, meet Eric, the newest addition to our family." Roth stated with fatherly warmth in his voice.