"Adams," his voice was husky. It was our time. 1:45.

"What do you want, Chase?" I whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" I looked up at the lost boy. His blue eyes looking down at me, and a smile has crept over his face.

I couldn't comprehend any words he was spitting, I looked at him with a confused look on my face.

"Chase, what do you want?" I groaned.

"It's 1:45," he replied as if I should know the answer, and I did.

"Chase, I am thirteen, you are fourteen, we are supposed to be asleep by now!" I whined. I really take good care of my grades, and if Chase led me to lower my grades for waking me up at almost two in the morning, I would hate him forever.

"But—" I interrupted him.

"No buts, chase, you already heard my ugly voice, please go sleep before your mom catch us."

"I'm not leaving, Adams," he stubbornly said. "We are supposed to hug at 1:45, too bad we missed it because of you."

"Don't be such a baby about it," I whined for the second time.

"Calling me a baby while you're whining? How ironic," Chase stood on my king—sized bed. "You really hurt my feelings, Scarlett."

I scoffed loudly, sitting up. "Happy now? I am awake."

"Too late," he mumbled, jumping to the floor. I watched him walk out of my bedroom and closing the door behind him.

I really was curious to know the reason behind the fact that he keeps on waking me up at 1:45 just to hug me.

I sighed as I realize that I messed up, but I was tired from studying all day.

I needed rest, he could not blame for studying all day yesterday, I had to find a proper college that is far from here. Far from all these painful memories, far from the place I used to call home – but not anymore.

Chase made me happy, I loved how he kept on waking me up at 1:45 AM every morning.

Yet, I did not know what was special about that time.

But hopefully, one day I will know the reason why.

****

Waking up before the alarm is something I have always done but waking up after the alarm is something I have never done — and never thought I would do.

Jumping up from the bed to the floor was not a good idea at all, I accidentally twisted my ankle. I tried to walk as a bunch of 'ow's' came out of my mouth, it could only be today, when it was a school day.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Eleanor, Chase's mother, called out. Eleanor was a forty—three—year—old woman with fatigued way word eyes – I mean who could blame her? She had to raise four loony sons. Eleanor was a very beautiful lady with bright blue eyes and long golden hair – people could hardly tell that she was forty three and not thirty four. Eleanor was like a second mom to me, she was a strong woman for being able to raise five kids – one that did not even belong to her.

"Ellie, I'm super late!" I groaned. I walked down the stairs, shrieking with pain. I heard footsteps coming from down the stairs, appearing in front of me was Eleanor.

"Scar, it's swollen! What did you do?" She scrunched her nose up, looking down at my foot. She let her long hair down as a grunt left my mouth, I honestly could not handle the pain anymore.

I bit my lip to avoid screaming in pain, oh lord; what did I do?

***

My life is not perfect, it has never been perfect.

I have never been happy before, properly happy. Ever since I lost both my parents at the same time, I lost hope in life, I gave up. At the age of fourteen, you would expect me to be this beautiful girl with a cheerful personality, but I stopped being that girl when I witnessed the death of my parents.

Now I am just a girl who hides her scars, I am a girl who has lost her parents, and cannot find the keys to find hope again. To find happiness, to find love and to find a shield.

I was almost happy when Eleanor and Joey welcomed me to their family. They opened their arms for a girl with no parents, for an orphan. They welcomed me into their family, not knowing that I was going to turn out to be a depressed teenager who only saw darkness.

Eleanor and Joey wished to have a daughter, so that was why when they found out what happened to my parents, they adopted me. However, that did not mean they had no kids at all, because they had four sons: Tyler, Leo, Chase, and Luke.

I never considered them as my brothers, after I did have a crush on Leo ever since I was seven, his blue eyes – just like his mother's – and his golden hair – just like his mother's too – he was a cute boy, and when he grew up, he became this teenager who caught all the girls' eyes in school.

The only person who knew about my secret crush was Chase, the cold—hearted guy, the only curly haired boy in the family with his light brown hair and his blue eyes, he had all the girls under his feet, but the thing was, Chase was my best friend, he understood me in ways no one could ever, even Leo. The guy who always made me think and wonder why the hell does he wake me up at 1:45 A.M?