What was Clair's problem? Stella thought things were getting better between them; that maybe, if she had a little more time to get to know her, the two could have been friends. She was even going to consider staying with Jason's family for a little bit longer. It was a stupid idea sure; Stella would never be seen as a real person and she would have to rely on giants to help her out, but the thought of going back out on the streets fighting with some feral over some moldy crumbs just didn't sound appealing to her anymore. But that'll never happen with Clair hating her now.

Stella took a deep breath, now wasn't the time to mope around, it was Thanksgiving. It was a time to celebrate not being alone for the first time in a long time, and Stella was going to eat more food than she had ever seen in her life! She'll deal with Clair later.

She scurried across the couch where she had left her traveling pack that Glenda was kind enough to give her several weeks prior. Stella pretty much only kept clothes in there, it wasn't like she had much else. She rummaged through all the clothes she had brought, trying to find something nicer than oversized sweaters to wear. Stella cursed herself for not asking to go to the store for this special occasion. She dug through the entire backpack, until Stella hit the bottom and that's when she found it. Crumpled up at the bottom of the bag was the red button up flannel shirt she wore the night Jason found her. It's been such a long time since she wore that outfit. Honestly, Stella couldn't even remember if she ever wore that shirt anytime after Jason bought her more clothes. Her fingers delicately ran across the fabric, when she first found it on the road after she escaped, it was dirty, dull and smelled like it had been dragged through the sewers, but it kept her a little bit warmer during the cold nights. Now, the colors were brighter and the smell of the fabric softener reminded her of the Spring flowers at the park that bloomed after the rain. If there was a perfect time to wear it, now would be the time.

She pulled the flannel, black tank top, and black jeans out of the bag, and quickly began changing into her clothes. Fortunately, it was too early for anyone else to be walking around, so no one saw her scars as she changed. However, as Stella began buttoning up her shirt, she noticed how it felt a little tighter than usual. All this time that Stella had been here, she never noticed the slight weight gain she obtained over the past two months. It's almost like she forgot about the pains of starving and wondering when her next meal will be. Life could be so much easier if Stella could forget about all the struggles in her life, but could living with giants help her forget all that pain?

~~~~~

Who knew Thanksgiving would be so busy. Breakfast ended before it even started. All Stella could really do is sit on the table and watch everyone prepare the food. She didn't realize just how big and time consuming a Thanksgiving meal would be. The four adults all just scattered around in a small kitchen messing up the counters with pots and pans filled with food. How could anyone eat this much food in one day?

“Mom, is dinner almost ready yet?” Charlie wailed out as he and his brother entered the kitchen.

“It won't be ready for another two hours, boys.”

“Why don't you two turn the TV to the football game to pass the time?” Richard suggested.

“The New York Beagles aren't playing, so what's the point of watching it?” James stated.

“And there's nothing else to watch.”

“Well you two have to find something else to do besides complaining in the kitchen for the next two hours.” Glenda stated.

The boys groaned.

Stella could help but chuckle. She couldn't really blame them for complaining, it wasn't exactly entertaining to sit by a salt shaker all day and watch people cook, but she figured that it was probably best to get the boys out of the way while the adults cooked. So she waved to them to get their attention. “Why don’t the three of us hang out until dinner's ready?”

“Sure, what do you want to do?” Asked James.

“Why not find a game we can play in your room?”

“Are you sure?” Charlie asked. “You never really liked most of the games we play.”

“Well, why don't you two find something Stella can do with you.” Glenda suggested. “It'll help past the time.”

James and Charlie both looked at each other, as if they both were trying to telepathically figure out what to do, then they gave each other a nod. Finally, something to do. Stella stood up and strolled over to the edge of the table. Charlie extended his arm towards her. She expected him to open up his palm for her to hop onto, but instead, his hand went past her and she felt the back of her shirt being tugged on by the collar. A yelp escaped her lips as she was pulled upwards from the comfort of the table. Her arms desperately tried to grab onto one of Charlie's fingers, but gravity worked against her as it tried to pull her back to the table. The buttons on her shirt strained to keep her from falling. The first button already came undone, and the second one was about to follow, she was going to slip right out of her shirt…

“Charlie!” Glenda shouted as she practically sprinted towards the table and snatched Stella from the boy. “Oh gosh, are you okay?”

Stella took a deep breath and nodded. If Glenda wasn't prepared, Stella's body would have been exposed to everyone. The thought of all eyes looking at all the scars she possessed would have been a nightmare. She quickly buttoned her flannel back up before the risk of getting exposed happened again.

The elderly woman gave a sigh of relief. “Charlie, you can't pick Stella up like that. You could have hurt her!”

“I'm sorry, grandma.”

“I'm not the one you need to apologize too.” She set Stella on the table. Charlie’s brown eyes gave off a hurt expression. “I'm sorry, Stella.”

“Don't worry about it.”

“I'll be careful.” James said as he scooped up Stella up. Glenda gave her grandsons a skeptical look, probably contemplating whether or not it would be a good idea for the the boys to watch over Stella.

“I'll be fine.” She reassured. Glenda smiled and gave her a nod before going back to the kitchen. The three of them headed over to the bed room. The floor was littered with action figures and nerf guns, while the desk was cluttered with papers filled with doodles. Even the bunk beds in the corner of the room was unkept. And Stella thought Jason's apartment was untidy. If she wandered through their room, she could easily be mistaken for one of the action figures.

James set her on the bed. “So what should we do?”

“I don’t know.” Stella shrugged. “What do you two normally do?”

“Well, grandpa usually plays catch with the football, but you obviously can't do that.”

“Ooh, I have an idea!” Charlie chimed in. He rushed over to the closet and dug out a large lime green RC pickup truck. “What if you ride in the back of this truck and we drive you around the house in it?’

The alarm in Stella's head went off. She could only imagine how rough and reckless Charlie would be driving her around in that truck. The thought alone made her nauseous. “I don’t think so.”

“Aww, come on.” He pouted.

“No way!”

“Give it a chance, it'll be like a rollercoaster.”

“Charlie, I'm not tall enough to ride a rollercoaster.”

“I think I have a better idea.” James stated. He started to dig through the closet and pulled out a giant red box of legos. “Maybe, we could build a house for you to go into?” Stella smiled. “I would like that.”

“Legos? That's for babies.” Charlie scoffed.

“You're the one who suggested we keep the set.”

“Yeah, but that was in case Kelly came back.”

“Who's Kelly?” Stella asked.

“Oh, she was the human we used to have before you.” James said as he began dumping out all the legos. “She really liked it when we built a lego house for her.”

“When did you guys have another human?”

“I think mom and dad rescued her when we were four or five.”

“She was scared of everything when we first got her from the shelter.” Charlie stated. “Kinda like you.”

“Wh...what happened to her?” Stella's voice shook, afraid of what the answer would be.

“She lives in Europe with dad now.” James said.

“You're dad lives in Europe?”

“Yeah, he moved there when he left us when we were six.” Charlie sighed.

“Why’d he go that far?” She asked.

“We're not sure.” James shrugged. “But he hasn't visited us since we were eight.”

So many questions ran through her head, but when she looked at Charlie and James; she could see pain flicker in their eyes. Divorce was such a foreign concept to Stella. Her parents loved each other, even if they didn't, they'd still stay together because they could watch each other's backs on the streets. But she couldn't imagine the pain the boys were going through, their dad still around, yet not around.

“Hey, I'm sorry for bringing this up.”

“It’s alright.” Charlie replied. “Living with Grandma and grandpa’s house is more fun than our old house anyways.”

“I bet.” Stella chuckled. Kids can have such an optimistic view of the hardships of life. If only she could have that mindset again.

~~~~~

“Dinner's ready!” Glenda called out. Stella poked her head out of the lego house. Thank god, she was starving. She started to stroll out of the toy house when she felt a large digit nudge her back. It was Charlie.

“Um, I know you said you didn't want to but would you hop in the RC truck if we promise to drive really carefully?”

She stared at the green truck, it was big and intimidating, there was no safety strap or bar for her to use. If the toy truck took a sharp turn, she would surely spill out of the vehicle, probably even break something. But then she looked up at Charlie, who gave off the biggest and saddest puppy-dog eyes he could make. Could she really say no to that face?

“How about this, you drive me from your bedroom to the dinner table and maybe, if I think it's safe enough, then I'll let you guys drive me around more after dinner.”

Charlie’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Charlie cheered and began setting up the RC truck.

“But,” Stella interrupted. “I want James to drive the truck around.”

“What?!”

James smirked. “You heard her.”

Charlie huffed in protest but handed his brother the remote control. Stella climbed her way into the back of the truck. This was such a bad idea, this was one of those stupid stunts that teenage giants would do in their spare time for fun. Yet, she wanted to be a stupid kid just having stupid fun for once.

“Ready?”

Stella gave a confident smile. “Ready.”

The engine revved and Stella braced herself as the truck bolted out of the room and down the hall. Her heart raced but not in fear. The truck swerved into the living room passing underneath the coffee table. Everything moved so fast, but it gave Stella a thrill she hadn't felt in years! She started to drive up to the dinner table, where everyone was setting the table up with food.

Richard was the first to notice. “Hey, is that Stella?”

One by one, the adults glanced over to the moving car. To say they were shocked was an understatement. All Stella could do is smile and wave as she circled around the table. Then the engine died down and the truck came to a slow stop.

“Nice ride.” Jason joked.

Stella smiled. “Thanks.”

“Please tell me James and Charlie didn't force you to ride in that thing.” Glenda asked.

“No no, I gave permission.”

“Oh thank god.”

The twins entered with a look of glee in their faces. Charlie dropped down to all fours to get closer to Stella.

“Was it fun? Do you wanna do it again after dinner? Can I drive next time?”

“Okay, I'll admit it was fun, we can do it again.” Stella giggled. “And maybe I'll let you take control of the wheel this time.”

The scent of turkey and pumpkins seem to taunt Stella from the table, she could eat like this for the rest of her life if she wanted to.

“Charlie, take your seat, so we can all eat.” Glenda said sweetly.

Stella turned her back from Charlie to climb out of the truck. It was only for one second, but it only took one second for Charlie to reach out and grab her by the back of the shirt again. She was yanked into the air once more, going higher and higher once more. Everyone else was too preoccupied with putting food on their plates to notice what charlie was doing, until it was too late… One by one, the buttons on her flannel came undone, until the force of gravity became too strong and completely ripped her away from her red flannel. Stella shrieked as she plummeted down to the ground. It wasn't a far drop but she fell far enough to make a loud thud as she hit the floor.

Chairs could be heard moving frantically but then everything went quiet, as if time stopped moving. Stella pushed herself up despite her body protesting with aches and pains. Nothing seemed to be broken fortunately. However, the good news would be short-lived for Stella. Her green eyes immediately noticed her arms were bare and all the jagged pink scars that littered her arms were exposed. Hushed voices began speaking but it all sounded the same to Stella. The same pitiful tone she never wanted hear.

“My god.”

“I… I didn't mean too.”

“M..mom, what happened?”

“I don't know.”

“You poor dear….”

She couldn't bare to bring her head up to look at everyone staring at her scars. Tears just streamed down her face as tremors quaked through her body uncontrollably.

“Please…” She whispered. “Please don't look.”

“Stella!” Jason's voice struck her like lightning. Her head shot up to see Jason hastily moving towards her, but Glenda stepped in front of him.

“Jason, maybe you shouldn't get too close to her.”

“What are you crazy, Glenda?”

“She's right, Jason.” Clair huffed.

“Leave her alone.”

“Hell no, she needs me right now.” Jason pushed past Glenda and fell too his knees and reached out towards Stella. “Hey, it's alright. I got you.” Stella’s world spun as memories she desperately tried not to remember flooded back into mind. When she looked up, all she could see was Mike looming over her with a cold smile, reaching out to grab her.

She clutched her head, repeating: “It's not real! It's not real!” in her head.

But everything felt so real. She felt like the same helpless little girl from that dark night. The night Mike took her from Ed's house, only to put her into a far worse environment she could never recover from. Her panic rose as the hand grew closer.

“Get the fuck back!” She screamed out.

His hand halted and lingered over her. A second of silence felt like an eternity.

“I'm only trying to help.”

“help?” she let out a dry laugh. “Like someone like you could help me!”

“Just come here, Stella. It'll be okay!” Mike's hand shot forward in an attempt to grab her but she ducked away and scrambled back to the living room. She had to get away fast!

“Stella don't be like that.” He began crawling towards her at an alarming speed.

Oh god, Mike's going to the capture her! She had to get away from him before it's too late! Without, a second thought, Stella bolted in the opposite direction. If she could just get under the couch she'd be safe, but he was closing in on her!

She dived right under the couch right before Mike could grab her. Stella’s heart threatened to burst out of her chest as she crawled further away from her abuser. “I can’t be here anymore!”

“Stella please stop this!” The hand snaked its way under the couch desperately coming after her. Fingers brushed against her leg, making Stella scream at the top of her lungs.

A familiar tune echoed in Stella's head. Her heart stopped beating so fast as her breathing slowed to a normal pace. The tugging on her leg didn't seem to bother her anymore. Everything felt calm for a moment.

“Jason stop!”

Glenda's voice snapped Stella back into reality. She was no longer in the grimy home of Ed, nor was Mike trying to capture her. Instead, Jason was peering under the couch in shock and horror, his hand just inches away from her.

“Wait, I almost got her!” His index finger tried wrapping around the tiny woman's ankle. Stella just froze, unsure of what to do.

“Don't you dare pull her out of there!”

“She needs my help!”

“You've done enough!” Glenda snapped.

Jason pulled his hand out, but kept his eyes glued on her. “Stella please, just come out.” He begged. “We can help you.”

“ENOUGH, JASON!” Clair's voice boomed over all the commotion, causing Jason to take his eyes away from Stella.

“Jason…” Her voice quivered as she spoke his name. “Please, just come back.”

“But…” Jason tried to protest, but when he looked back at Stella, all he could see the look of terror on her face. That look was enough to give in to Clair's wishes. He took a deep breath before pulling himself up off the ground. “We're here for you, Stella.”

He walked back to the table, but no one said a word, only the sound of silverware scraping the plates filled in the awkward silence.

There was no way things could go back to normal. Everyone saw the scars. Stella could never walk out in the opening without someone asking her about her past now and that was the last thing she wanted to talk about. She didn't want to be here anymore, she couldn't be here anymore. Stella curled into a fetal position and covered her mouth to muffle the sounds of her sobs escaping her lips as if the world crumbled around her.