Love Me When I'm Unlovable

Chapter 1: LeAnna

Something's going on. I know it because Mom made pizza. Homemade pizza. Not that stuff you get from Mazio's and Little Ceasar's. Real pizza.

Mom's pizza is amazing. She makes it with a thin crust (my favorite) with loads of cheese, pineapple, and onions. I love pineapple and onion pizza. I'm probably the only one.

I eye the pizza sitting in the middle of the table eagerly. It looks amazing. Then I give Mom a suspicious look. "You made pizza," I say. "What's going on?"

Mom's lips twitch a little. That's how you know she's hiding something. "You'll find out. Let's say grace."

Mom holds out her hand to Dad, and Dad says the prayer. He thanks God for our food. Then he thanks God for a loving family and our dog, Peppa. Peppa's currently sitting under the table prepared to beg for food. When Dad mentions Peppa, I want to reach down and scratch her little head, but I don't because I know it's disrespectful. And I'm better than that.

Dad finishes by telling God that we know His will is best and that we'll follow whatever He wants us to do. Now I know something's up. The last part isn't usually part of Dad's prayer. And Dad always sticks to the same three topics when he prays over dinner. Food, family, dog.

I want to dig into the pizza, but I need to know what's going on first. I don't touch the pizza. "Alright," I say, looking at my parents. "I need to know what's going on. And don't play dumb. I know something's going on."

Mom slides a piece of pizza onto her plate. She and Dad exchange a look then they smile at me. "Honey," Mom says, grinning ear to ear. "Your father recently got promoted. It's quite a bit of a pay raise too."

My eyes widen. "Really? That's awesome! What are you going to do with the money?"

"Your father and I have talked," Mom glanced at Dad, then back at me. "God has given us so much as a family that we feel we should share what we have."

I arched an eyebrow. "So? What are we going to do?"

"Well, you know how we have that extra bedroom?" Mom asked. "We're going to convert that into a bedroom and adopt a child."

My face breaks into a smile. "Really? That's awesome! When are we doing it?"

"Well, we're going to start the foster care program next week," Mom said, smiling. "We're so glad you agreed."

"Of course," I say, smiling. "That sounds awesome! We get to show a kid God's love and give them a family. That's awesome! I can't wait."

Mom and Dad beam at me. "We're so glad you're on board."

"Frick you!"

I wince at the cuss word as a teenage boy comes running around the corner, laughing, a girl on his tail. My fingers dig into the trash bag I'm holding.

The girl's eyes are fierce. "Give it back!" she yells.

"Chill," the boy calls behind him.

"Give it back!" the girl's nostrils are flaring. "Dang it, Lucas. Just give it."

The boy dangles a necklace over the girl's head. That must be what she wants.

She jumps up and grabs it, then everything on her face relaxes.

Lucas smiles patronizingly. "I love it when you're all mad at me." He drags his finger across her chin.

The girl looks maybe, fifteen. The boy is at least seventeen, maybe older. She shouldn't be dating him. That could be dangerous. My parents say not to date until you're out of high school.