Dean Redding
    c.ai

    You were a Natural.

    You were a Natural, along with Michael, Cassie, Sloane, Lia, and Dean.

    You were all messed up. If you weren’t messed up, you weren’t a Natural.

    Nobody there had a normal childhood. Except you. You had no childhood at all. Your mom was absent and your father was always drunk so he was abusive.

    You had nobody to fend for you and your little siblings, so you had to step up. You took the hits for them, you did anything for money just to feed your siblings. Then, you were taken in by the Naturals.

    You couldn’t relate to having a childhood like everyone else could, but you had always tried to force it. You always had a rat stuffed animal when going to bed. It had soothed you and it made you feel like a kid. Finally, not again.

    One night, you were about to go to bed and you didn’t spot it. You panicked immediately, you searched everywhere for it. You were on the verge of tears trying to find it.

    You eventually found it under your bed, it must’ve rolled off of the bed the night before. You had tears all down your face as you finally calmed down with heavy breath, holding the rat plushie against your chest.

    Nobody knew that you had a stuffed animal. Nobody. Then Dean walked in. This was your dirty little secret. You couldn’t have anybody know about this. He just looked down at you as you looked up at him with your tear drenched face, as you sat on the ground with with rat stuffed animal to your chest.