My Name is Not Cupcake

The orphanage? And it seemed like this poor woman was running it by herself.

"How many kids live here?" I asked.

"Eight," she said. "Mostly toddlers and younger children, but there is a baby and a few preteens." She explained.

"Baby?" I asked shocked. Did these people give their children away? How did they end up here? I found myself wondering a lot of questions.

"Opal, she's about ten months old. Her parents died in an attack recently. She came with her five year old brother," Yana explained. I found myself smiling sympathetically at the exhausted woman.

"Well, I would love to help, and have some experience with children. Just point me in the right direction," I said. Yana gave me a tour of the house. It was honestly just a big house. There was a giant kitchen, multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a playroom, a media room, and a playground outside. The only thing that wasn't very house-like was the reception area.

After the children woke from their nap, we fed them lunch, which I helped prepare while they were still sleeping. Yana had me do story time while she cleaned up the lunch from mess. She wanted me to get to know the children, and I did too. I picked up a random book off a shelf full of fairytales and tried to get them all to sit still so I could begin. There was Opal, the baby, with her big brother, Oliver. They both had jet-black hair and hazel eyes. Oliver, I noticed, was very shy and protective of his sister. He insisted on carrying her, if we let him, or he would try to teach her how to walk, but more than likely, he just had to have an eye on her. There was a set of twins Alana and Anya. They were bubbly, bouncy six year olds with long, curly light brown hair and green eyes. Matthew was three years old. He was the reckless type who seemed to accumulate a different scar on the hour by doing something like running full force into a wall. His unruly short blonde hair and mischievous blue eyes seemed to fit his personality. I had a feeling he was going to be a heartbreaker when he grew up. Yana informed me about the other three children; Kenzie, Elliot, and Grier who were at school. Kenzie was ten, while Elliot and Grier were 13 and 14 years old.

Eventually, after threatening to take away story time, I got them to calm down enough to begin. Right away, Alana and Anya crawled into my lap on either side and rested their bouncy curls against my chest. The other children seemed engrossed in the story as well and kept scooting closer. Well, Matthew kept getting up and running in a circle, before he realized that no one was chasing him and he would sit back down. I swear that kid had ADHD.

After story time, the kids went out to the playground to play. Yana and I supervised. I was actually holding Opal until she started crying. Yana took her inside and Alana and Anya ran up to me with their identical smiling faces looking up at me.

"Luna, can we play Candyland?" Anya asked. It was easy to tell them apart at the moment because Yana put a pink bow in Alana's hair and a purple one in Anya's. I smiled at them and took their hands.

"I would love to but I have to make sure I can see all of you," I declined. They looked so sad and vulnerable when I said that. I felt bad.

"You can go ahead in to the play room. I put Opal in her crib in there so you can keep an ear out for me," Yana said, coming to stand next to me. The girls instantly looked at each other and smiled before I was being pulled into the house and straight to the playroom. The twins were laughing the whole way. For a pair of six year olds, they were pretty strong. We settled into our game quickly.

"Having fun?" I heard from behind me. I knew who it was immediately. I turned to see Elias standing in the doorway in all his glory. I smiled and nodded. As soon as I stood, Alana and Anya grabbed my legs. I almost fell over, but Elias held me steady.

"Please stay, Nona," they begged profusely. They couldn't quite pronounce my name correctly, so they just called me Nona. I sat back down and they crawled into my lap. "Please don't go," they pouted with puppy dog eyes. I couldn't say no to those eyes. Especially when there were two pair of them. I had to stay now. I turned and gave Elias the same puppy dog eyes as the girls turned their attention to him as well. Elias sighed defeat.

"How about you girls both just stay at the pack house with Nova?" he offered instead. They both gasped before going off excitedly.

"Really?!" they said in unison. They started bouncing around Elias in circles and giggling.

"Sit still," Elias growled sternly. They sat still next to me and closed their mouths immediately. It was so cute. "Nova, find Yana so she can make a bag for them," he said. I stood and kissed his cheek out of pure instinct before I went to the playground. Yana had me watch the rest of the kids while she went to pack the girls a bag. She came back empty handed. I looked at her confused.

"Where are the bags?" I asked. She smiled sweetly.

"Master Madsen, this is very generous of you," Yana said to him instead before she turned to me. "They have already been placed in the SUV waiting outside," she explained. I thanked her before I went outside to see that, sure enough, there was a black SUV with tinted windows waiting for us. The girls sprinted to the car and climbed inside. Elias must have brought that with him. There were car seats in the back seat making me think that Elias probably called someone while I was going to get Yana. I strapped the girls in and we were off. Elias drove the short drive back to the house. As soon as Elias parked, the girls were struggling to undo their seatbelts. As soon as they were undone, the girls took off inside the house.

"Alana! Anya!" I called once we got inside. I heard the little pitter-patter of tiny feet running closer before they were bouncing in place in front of me, trying to suppress their giggles. Elias came up beside me and looked at the girls. He spared me a glance before he sighed.

"The room next to Nova's is set up for you two," he said in monotone. I was excited too, this time. I ran up the stairs with the twins at my heels. I threw open the door next to mine. There were two twin beds setup with pink princess blankets. He wasn't kidding when he said that the room was set up for them, specifically. The girls squealed before they each chose a bed and jumped on it, giggling. He would probably deny it, but the corner of Elias' mouth did pull up just slightly. "We have a big day tomorrow, so rest up," he said to them before he left. They each grabbed their bag and began fishing through it for their pajamas. I smiled at them as I leaned against the doorframe.

"Alana, Anya, I'm going to talk to Eli but I'll be back to say goodnight, okay?" I said.

"Okay!" they smiled in unison before they went back to their bags. I chuckled and shook my head before I went to look for Elias. I checked his office first. When he wasn't there, I remember him saying that his room was on the fourth floor. I walked up the flights of stairs before coming onto a door that blocked the entire floor. I hesitantly knocked.

"Come in," Elias said from the other side of the door. I cracked it open before I walked in. I looked around the room in awe. The entire fourth floor was his room. He had a few couches facing a TV on the far right wall and a giant extra California king-sized bed against the back wall. His bathroom doors were open on the left. I assumed the other set of doors led to an excessive walk-in closet. There were dressers and even a vanity. There were big windows lining the blank parts of the walls, making the room feel open and airy. The plush cream carpet felt good against my feet. The furniture was all made out of cherry red wood, giving the giant room a homey feel still. Elias chuckled at my expression.

"This is my room," he smiled at me. I momentarily forgot why I came up here I the first place. I wrapped my arms around his neck in a hug when he got closer. Elias froze before he gently hugged me back.

"Thank you," I said sincerely.