Erin had never owned so many clothes in her life. Even when she had lived with the Hutchins in Penn. There she had owned 6 everyday dresses and 1 good dress for Sunday. The dresses she had worn at the Hutchins had been nice and warm, but plain. The Amish didn't hold with fancy clothes. They didn't hold with fancy anything. Living with the Hutchins had been like living in the 1800s , but Erin had loved it.
The clothes Erin had worn in New York had been thin and full of holes. These clothes were warm and stylish. She had looked at the price tags and couldn't believe how expensive they were. She supposed Brian could afford it, but she still tried to find the most inexpensive clothes she could.
They had had to buy both summer and winter clothes since they were going on tour for a year. The shopping trip had taken much longer than Erin had wanted it to. Making clothes had taken too long too. Erin remembered when Oma would make dresses for Erin and her foster sister. The fitting of those dresses used to take so long.
"Now," Oma would say with her mouth full of pins "Stay still Keturah just let me finish pinning this dress. Erin! Thee too. I'll be finished soon enough. Then thee can go and help Joshua take the cows in"
'Snap out of it Erin. You're not in Lancaster anymore. You're in Orlando. You'll never see Oma or Joshua, or Keturah again. You'll never even see Lancaster again.' Erin scolded herself mentally.
Just then Brian knocked on Erin's door. "What now?" called out Erin angrily.
"I'm ordering pizza for dinner, Erin. What do you want on top of yours?" I'm ordering 2 large pizzas. One of my friends from the band is spending the night here.”
"I don't want anything" Erin said stubbornly "Especially if one of your stuck up bandmates if going to be there" she added under her breath.
"Fine, we'll get cheese then." Brian told her. "Pizza will be here in half an hour." He left. Erin sat down on the bed.
She had told him she didn't want anything. He wasn't listening to her. It had been like this all day. He would say something, she would say no; he would act like she had said yes. It was starting to drive her up the wall.
Just then she heard the doorbell ring. "It's probably his stuck up friend" Erin thought to herself " I'll just stay up here. No need to meet him before I have to. I'll just write a letter to Keturah."
When Erin had lived with the Hutchins they had had a daughter her age. Her name was Keturah. Keturah and Erin had bonded quickly. Although they were the same age, Keturah had always seemed the older of the two.
When Erin came to live with the Hutchins she was a puny, shy, little girl who had been beaten by her mother. She was scared of everything. Keturah had taught her to be self reliant and independent. When Erin was forced to leave the Amish community of Lancaster she was a changed person. The Hutchins had helped Erin to grow and become a strong girl.
Erin knew the only reason she had been able to survive the world of gangs and violence in New York was because of the Hutchins and more specifically, Keturah. She had tried to send letters to Keturah when she returned to NYC, but it was hard to keep up with it. 'Maybe,' thought Erin 'I can start writing more letters than I used to.' Erin rummaged through the drawers of the desk in her room looking for a paper and pen, she found an envelope and stamps, but no writing materials.
'Great, I'll have to ask Brian for some. Erin thought grumpily She went downstairs and after searching for 5 minutes , found Brian in the den talking with a tall blond teenager.
"I think I'm breaking her down- Brian stopped abruptly when he saw Erin. "Erin, this is Nick, he sings in the band too." Brian said
"Hi" Nick greeted her "Nice to meet you." Erin ignored him.
"May I borrow a paper and pen?" she inquired of Brian.
"Only after you say hello to Nick." Brian answered her. Erin set her jaw and glared at Nick for a minute. Then she turned on her heel and walked away.
"You were saying." prompted Nick with a grin.
"Oh, shut up," Brian told him " you're going to have to live with her for a year starting tomorrow. Let's see how you do."
