𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘. Also known as the home to the craziest group of friends to ever exist. If you were to ask the Summer Squad how they became friends, they wouldn't be able to give you a straight forward answer. With 4 and 5 year olds running around, teachers trying to find kids, and certain children crying, it was hard to remember how they really met. That was if you weren't Francesca Dubois. Francesca Dubois could tell you the exact time and date she met her best friends. She could also tell you the order of which she met them.

It was a normal winter afternoon. The crisp air blew against 4 year old Francesca's face as she wandered around the playground. She wasn't sure where her brother was but she wasn't all too concerned. Francesca wrapped her arms around her stomach as she walked, feeling the coldness on her skin. She felt a tap on her shoulder as she came to a stop. Turning on her heel, Francesca came face to face with a a small girl. The small girl had a mocha colored skin tone and their bright brown eyes sparkled when the sun shined on them. Their brown frizzy hair was in a messy bun with a scrunchie that matched their light pink dress.

"Hi!" The small girl giggled as Francesca stared in confusion

"Hi?" Francesca hesitantly said as she felt an uneasy feeling in her stomach at the thought of conversation

"Bracelet?" The girl asked as they held out two different bracelets, one a dark blue and one a dark green

"Sure," Francesca gave the girl a smile as she grabbed the bracelets from the girls hand

"Yay! I'm Hazel!" The small girl introduced as they went forward and wrapped Francesca in a hug

"I'm Francesca, but you can call me Fran," Francesca introduced as she awkwardly wrapped her small arms around the other girl

"Fran! Come here!" A small blonde boy yelled, scaring both girls

"Coming Cay!" The small blonde girl yelled back as she pulled back from the hug

"See you later Hazy," Francesca smiled at her new friend as she ran to her brother.

____________

The blazing hot air of Sterling Pre-K hit Francesca's skin as she walked in from recess. The young girl wasn't able to focus on where she was walking. After being told by her brother that their father would be picking them up from school, she felt like she couldn't breathe. Her focus was elsewhere as she walked through the halls of Sterling. Within a few seconds of wandering around, a body collided with Francesca. She fell backwards, her head making contact with the floor.

"I am so sorry," A boys voice filled her ringing ears as she tried to sit up, feeling a wave of nausea

"it's okay," Francesca mumbled as she pushed herself up from the floor

"you need the nurse," He told her as he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him

"I have legs," she snapped, annoyed that this random boy was dragging her around

"I realize that but you possibly have a concussion," The boy said as they rounded the corner, heading down the long hallway to the nurse

"a what?" She questioned as she had never heard that word before

"A concussion, also known as a bad head injury," He explained to the blonde girl

"Oh, I'm fine," She put up a front as she felt his grip tighten slightly

"You just hit your head, your not fine," He argued as they started to walk

"Your the kid that smashes those ants at recess, aren't you?" Francesca asked as she came to realization of who he was

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he gave her a mysterious look before stopping at the nurses door

"Talk to Ms. Franklin and tell her what happened," He told her as he let go of her forearm

"What's your name?" Francesca asked as the boy started to walk away

"Felix," He gave her a smile before running off to his classroom.

"I'm Francesca!" She yelled, hoping he had heard her

______________

The nervous feeling in Francesca's stomach didn't settle as she walked into the nurses office. She looked around, spotting a random person sitting on one of the bed with a sling supporting their arm. A frown appeared on Francesca's face as she walked up to the nurses desk. Another wave of nausea hit her as she grabbed the pen and wrote down her name on the list. She let out the breathe she didn't know she was holding as she walked over to the other bed.

"Hi," Francesca spoke, giving xem a friendly smile

"Hi," a posh accent came out of the boy as he moved to face the girl, tears lining his cheeks

"Are you okay?" Francesca asked as she noticed how tears slowly fell down the small boys cheeks

"Not really," They mumbled as their eyes fell to the floor

"Want to talk about it?," She asked as she felt her chest tightening slightly

"I don't know you though," He said as he pushed a piece of their messy hair back

"So? You can still talk to me, I won't tell anyone," Francesca told as she brought her hand up and wiped the boys tears

"My dads in the hospital, my moms not answering the schools calls, and I don't know how to get home," A muffled sob left him as they brought their knees up to xeir stomach.

"Parents suck," Francesca muttered under her breathe as she pushed herself up from the bed, walking over to the boy and wrapping them in a hug

The boys body reacted slowly, but within a few seconds, his arms were wrapped around her. A small smile appeared on their face as they finally felt comfort. Just as the hug ended, the nurse walked over with a cup and blanket. She handed the cup of liquid ibuprofen to the girl before informing her that her father had been contacted. Panic arose in the girl before it settled at the sudden contact in her hand. Xe had his hand wrapped around Francesca's as the girl settled down.

"Matthew, you're aunt is on the way, make sure to go to an urgent care for your arm. Keep it elevated and use ice. If it hurts, take ibuprofen and if that doesn't work, go to the ER," Ms. Franklin told the boy as his face brightened at the thought of seeing his aunt

"Really!?" He asked excitedly

"Yeah, she'll be here in a few minutes. As for you Francesca, your dad is picking you and your brother up. I don't think you have a concussion like Felix said, but if you start to feel light headed, tired, nauseous, or anything else, please go to the emergency room," The nurse explained before turning on her heel and going back to her desk

"It was nice to meet you Matthew!" Francesca smiled at the bright smile that was across the young boys face

"Nice to meet you Fran, is it okay if I call you that?" He asked, excitement in his voice

"Yeah, of course!" She answered as she turned her gaze to the door, both a young blonde boy and tall brunette haired girl walking in

"Matthew James! How could you be so reckless!" The Indian women yelled as she quickly wrapped her nephew in a hug.

"I'm sorry, auntie," Matthew apologized as he wrapped his arms around his aunt before being picked up, his legs wrapping around her stomach area

"Fran!" Caleb yelled as he ran up to his sister, wrapping her in a hug

"I'm okay," She reassured before taking a gulp. Her father had been walking in the nurses office

"Francesca, Caleb, allons-y" The French man waved his hand for his kids to follow him as he walked out of the offices, the two kids hesitantly following behind

"Bye Matt," Francesca gave him a small smile as she followed her brother to the car

"Bye Fran," He smiled up at his aunt before following behind the Dubois family

______________

The cold winter air hit Francesca as she walked next to her brother into a local coffee shop. Due to their dad meeting up with a coworker, the twins had to go with. They walked slowly behind their dad, noticing his coworker and her two kids. Francesca noticed the small brown haired girl first. Her beach wave hair falling into her face as she leaned against the table, her chair tipping forward. The boy sitting next to her had brownish black hair that curled a little bit. Both of them were laughing and tilting their chairs forward as the Dubois walked over.

"Good afternoon Adelaide," Gabriel gave his co worker a small smile as he sat down in the only empty seat

"Where are we going to sit?," Francesca asked her dad, seeing that all of the seats in the coffee shop were taken

"Gabriel, give the kids those seats, we can go over there to the work station," Adelaide smiled at the Dubois twins as she ran her hands through her twins hair

"Stop mommy," the small girl giggled as she pushed her moms hands away before being lifted into the air, her mom bringing her into her arms

"Never," Adelaide smiled, kissing her daughters head before placing her down in the chair and walking over to the work station with her laptop bag and notebook

"Stay here," Gabriel snapped at his kids, both of them jumping slightly at his tone

"What are you doing?," Caleb asked the other boy, seeing him place a coin under an open water bottle

"Look," The young brunette boy said as he moved the water bottle under Caleb's face. "Inside" he added seeing Caleb trying to look through the side

"Wha-" Caleb started to say before being cut off by the crunch of a water bottle and water splashing up, covering his hair, shirt, and face in water

The three other kids broke out in laughs as they watched the blonde boy try and wipe his face off. The laughs fit them so well, all of them showing how happy they were. Francesca laughed as she grabbed a napkin and handed it to her brother, starting to feel a little bad. The curly haired girl fell off her chair from her laughter, falling to the floor before being picked up by a very angry Adelaide

"Mattheo Marcus! Adina Leah!" Adelaide snapped at her kids as she grabbed a hand full of napkins and started to clean up the spilled water

"It was just a prank," Theo tried to defend, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke

"Apologize, both of you," She pointed towards Caleb as she spoke

"Sorry," The fox twins mumbled as their mother grabbed their hands and started to pull them away from the scene

"It was just a prank Adelaide, my Francesca or Caleb probably brought it on anyway," Gabriel told the older women, looking over at the Dubois twins who looked at each other in terror. Their night wouldn't be ending well.

"No Gabriel, I will email you the information for tomorrows meeting, say goodbye Theo, Adi," Adelaide pushed her kids forward slightly, both of them now standing in front of the Dubois twins

"Bye Caleb, Bye Francesca," The fox twins waved goodbye before following their mom out of the coffee shop

"Car now," Gabriel snarled as he grabbed his kids arms tightly, dragging them out of the coffee shop and to their car.

_____________

Francesca thought the beatings would get easier to handle as time went on. The young blonde was soon proven wrong though. Francesca and Caleb struggled to carry their beach chairs as they felt pain shooting up their sides. The pain was starting to become unbearable, nothing like what Francesca thought would happen. She wasn't so sure they should go to the beach, considering they had purple lining their sides, but their dad insisted on them going.

"Cay, I don't want to be here," She whispered to her brother, feeling the gaze of her father on her as she leaned over to talk to her brother

"Me neither franny," Caleb said simply as he dropped his beach chair, feeling his ribs ache

"Sit, I'm going to go get you food and drinks," Gabriel said as he dropped the beach bags on both of the kids feet

Francesca let out a whimper of pain once her dad walked away, feeling a throb in her already hurting ankle. Caleb let out a gasp of pain as he walked over to his sister, also feeling a throbbing in his ankle. The two kids didn't know why their dad treated them the way he did. He didn't treat their little sister or mom that way, he only treated them that way. Even though they weren't sure why he did it, they knew that they were hurt by it. The twins had seen other families, they knew that the other kids their age didn't have bruises lining their bodies. They knew the other kids could do whatever they want and get away with it. They knew what their dad was doing was wrong.

Feeling someone collide with their backs, Francesca and Caleb both turned around to face the person, panic arising inside them. The little girl gasped as she turned around to see who she bumped into, seeing two light blonde haired kids with purple rimming the edge of their faces. All three kids were freaking out as they took in each others appearance. The little girl couldn't help herself as she opened her mouth to ask, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we ran into each other playing volleyball," Francesca was starting to scare herself at the fact she was able to lie so easily to those around her

"And that happened?" The young girl asked, not believing one word the girl said

"Yeah, that's what I said," Francesca said bluntly as she took off her cover up, revealing her light orange bathing suit and matching orange sunglasses

"if you say so," the girl mumbled under her breathe before tumbling off, her feet and hands hitting the sand as she did cartwheels down the beach

"That was Cora Finley," Caleb told his sister as he folded out a beach towel to lay out on

"Are you serious?" Francesca asked, not realizing that was the girl who had been numbered one of the best child dancers in America at just 4 years old

"Yeah, she's in my class. She's really nice," Caleb said excitedly, knowing the girl was the only one who didn't treat him awfully and actually gave him a chance

"I bet she is," Francesca grumbled before walking down the beach to the bathroom

She hadn't needed to do anything in the bathroom but hiding out in there seemed like the better option at that moment. She hated that she hadn't been there for her brother when he needed her. She hated herself for letting him get hurt earlier that day. For him taking the blame of the prank pulled on him and receiving a beating for it. A beating that would be glued in his brain for years. Francesca didn't know why things like this happened to those around them. She quickly rushed into a stall and slowly slide down to the floor, not being able to stand on her ankle. She hadn't even noticed she was crying until someone started talking, "hunny, are you okay?"

It had sounded like her mother but that wasn't possible. Her mother was at the Er and wasn't at the beach with them. It was possible. Francesca was just hearing things, probably from hitting her head, or so she though. That was until a slight knock sounded through the door. Maybe it was her mother, Francesca thought as she pushed up from the floor. She opened the door, revealing a blonde hair woman. Amelie Dubois.

"Mommy," Francesca whimpered as she melted into her moms arms

"Oh my sweet girl, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Amelie apologized as she quickly hugged her daughter close to her, her baby bump getting in the way ever so slightly

"It hurts mommy, it really hurts," Francesca cried into her moms shoulder as she felt her body ache

"je suis tellement désolé mon amour," Amelie apologized over and over as she scooped her daughter into her arms, resting her in her arms, rushing to find her son. (I'm so sorry my love)

"Caleb ! allons-y mon amour" Amelie yelled for her son as she got close enough to him, picking up the beach bag and trying to rush her kids away as fast as she could. (Caleb! Let's go my love"

"Maman, que se passe-t-il ? Où est papa ? Où est Caroline ?" Caleb asked his mom quickly as he rushed after her, chairs in hand and body aching. (Momma, what's going on? Where's daddy? Wheres Carolina?)

"Je t'expliquerai plus tard Bubba, aide ta soeur dans la voiture," Amelie told her son, trying to unlock the car as fast as she could

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" A rough voice said from behind Amelie before she felt everything go black

_____________

"39 year old woman, 8 months pregnant, found unconscious in the parking lot of SouthHampton beach, heart rate 120, bp 130/80," The paramedics rushed out as they rushed out of the ambulance, two other ambulances following behind

"4 year old boy, found unresponsive on scene, started compressions and found pulse but it's not strong. Possible broken arm and ribs. Heart rate 49, bp 90/50"

"4 year old girl, found responsive on scene, lost consciousness on the ride over. Possible broken ankle and ribs. Heart rate 90, bp 120/80,"

Young rosilvia gasped at the sight in front of her as her mother shoved her backwards. She had never seen something so horrific in kids her age. Blood and bruises scattered their bodies as they were rushed into the hospital. All 3 of them were unconscious, one barely breathing, the other 2 in not so great shape either. Rosilvia couldn't understand how something like that could happen on a beach of all places. She quickly followed behind her mom, wanting to see what had happened to the kids.

"Names?" Annelise asked as she snapped her gloves on

"Amelie Dubois, 39, 8 months pregnant," a nurse explained as she snapped her pair of gloves on

"Caleb and Francesca Dubois," The nurse added as she pointed to the two unconscious bloodied kids

Another gasp left Rosilvia at the realization she just had. Francesca Dubois had been in her Pre-K class. Rosilvia couldn't believe what she had heard. She had never talked to Francesca but she knew from the way she treated a random girl who gave out bracelets she must be nice. Rosilvia stood staring at the Dubois twins for a few more minutes before she was shoved out of the room by her mother.

"I thought k told you to stay out of the ER, Rosilvia," Annelise scolded as she gripped her daughters arm

"I'm sorry Mama," She apologized as she kept her gaze on the ER even though she was 50 feet away

"Sorry doesn't cut it, I'm at work, go sit in the waiting room," Annelise scolded as she handed her daughter a tablet and drawling pad, shoving her out of the Er and into the packed waiting room

If only Rosilvia knew at that moment that she would no longer be alone in a huge house and would soon have a group of comforting friends.

_____________
11 YEARS LATER

Adina Fox loved going to the beach with her girlfriend, Melanie Evans, Long Island beach in New York was their favorite spot to hang out and be able to be themselves. Although, Adina started to distance herself from Melanie that summer. Melanie had started to say that she loved Adina, and Adina wasn't ready for that. She wasn't ready to tell Melanie or anyone that wasn't her brother or mom that she loved them.

"Dina, are you okay," Melanie asked as she reached over, her hand placed on Adina's leg

"Yeah, yeah. Just thinking," Adina tried to give a smile but like normal, it came out as an awkward open mouth thing.

"About what," Mel moved herself so she was straddling the girl, her arms wrapping around Adina's waist

"Can we not do this right now?," Adina asked, noticing the odd looks people on the beach were giving her

"Sure, want to go in the water?," Mel asked, noticing how uncomfortable the girl was sitting in the beach

"Yeah," Adina forced a smile on her face as she pushed herself up from the ground, walking down the the water

Adina and Melanie walked into the cold water slowly, the freezing water meeting their ankles. Adina tensed slightly when Mel grabbed her hand, rubbing her thumb over her knuckles in a reassuring way. She felt Mel pull away as they got deeper into the water, their waists now completely under. Adi didn't know when she started to resent physical touch from Mel. Maybe it was at the beginning of the summer, but all Adi knew was she wanted nothing more than to be able to touch her girlfriend without feeling the pulling in her chest to stay away.

Melanie pulled Adi closer once their stomachs were under the water, placing her hands around Adina's neck. Adina mentally cussed herself out as she quickly pushed the girl away and splashed the water. A shocked face met an angry one as Melanie pushed her now soaking wet hair out of her face. Adina slowly backed away from Mel, placing her head in her hands. The sound of the water moving behind her made Adi turn around to meet a very angry Melanie.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Mel yelled at the girl, stepping forward and pushing Adi into the water

"There was a bug," The lies were easy to tell at this point in the relationship

"Cut the bullshit Adina! Why can't you just tell me you love me? Why can't you show me that you love me like I show you?" Mel was angry, that was obvious, but Adi had never seen her this angry

"Because I don't love you!" Adi yelled before she could stop herself

A gasp left the girl after realizing what she said. Adina looked over at Melanie with apologetic eyes but it was to late. The pain in Mels eyes showed how much those 5 words hurt her. Adina went to speak again but Melanie was already rushing out of the water, towards the girls beach towels and lawn chairs. Adi pushed her hair back out of her face before rushing out of the water, trying to get to Mel before she left.

"Mel! Please I didn't mean it," Adi tried to tell the girl but it was no use, she wasn't listening

"Of course you did! You've never told me, I should've known. I should have know that someone like you would do this," Melanie snapped at the girl, throwing her things down and rushing forward, shoving Adi slightly

"Someone like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Adina yelled, stepping up to the girl, her dark eyes meeting Mel's

"You know what I mean! Someone like you is incapable of loving someone! Don't worry about not saying you love me, I never loved you anyway," Melanie sniffled as tears flowed down her cheeks as she grabbed her stuff and walked off

"Melanie!" Adi yelled, knowing that would get the girls attention

"Don't call me that," Mel whispered as Adi leaned forward, her lips right by the girls ear

"Melanie," Adi whispered into her ears before stepping back away from the now furious girl

"I said don't call me that!" Mel yelled as she turned around, her furious eyes meeting Adina's dark ones

"I told you to not call me Dina, you didn't listen. Paybacks a bitch, isn't it?" Adi laughed slightly as she felt her anger take over her completely. The only thing she saw was red. Red. Red. Red.

"We're done, I'm not going to be with someone who can't give me what I give them," Mel told the girl before turning around and walking away

"Good," Adina said quietly before adding, "fuck you!" while sticking up both of her middle fingers

Adina stood there in silence for a few minutes. The realization of what had happened finally setting in within a few minutes. Adi slowly slid down to the ground, only taking in the sounds that she heard around her. The sound of the tide crashing onto the beach. The echo of kids screaming and yelling. It was all Adi could focus on as she felt tears start to fall down her cheeks. The brunette haired girl quickly pulled out her phone, dialing the only number she could remember at that moment.

"Hey, Theo, it's me, I need you," Adi cried into the phone as she wiped the tears that slipped down her cheeks

_____________

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm really happy with this chapter! I hope you guys like it as much as I do!
The next chapter should be out by next weekend or even a little earlier.

Make sure you comment and vote!