Behind Closed Doors (A Tayga Fanfiction)

Chapter 12

I sit in the bed quietly with Ava fast asleep in my arms. After everything that happened today, she's definitely exhausted. So am I. My eyes and head hurt so much from crying the whole day and the rest of my body aches from all the stress. I almost forgot I have to let Charlie know what's going on and arrange for someone to pick up my son from school. I also have one more Haus meeting to schedule before the holidays but I don't even care about that right now. I take the phone in the room and call my mom first, who gladly offers to pick up Joseph and have him over for dinner before bringing him here tonight. Then I dial Ava's school to have them talk to Charlie. Once that's done I can breathe. I ignore the meeting because my daughter's more important and lay back a little with her head on my shoulder, watching her stir a little in her sleep, but after a few moments she settles down. I don't understand how someone so beautiful can be treated so badly by everyone and everything. How someone to strong can be made to feel so weak. I sit silently in the room with my thoughts, thinking about the present before blasting into the past.

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"Nervous Stef," Taylor asks.

"Kind of. I mean after how nervous you were last night when we talked I guess it kinda rubbed off on me. What if she doesn't like us?"

"Well, it's like you said yesterday. She's been through a lot, switching homes almost her entire life. We don't know how people have treated her or what kind of experiences she's had. We just have to be give her the time and space she needs to adjust."

"I know. I just wanna be a good mom."

"You are. Look how happy Joey is." I watch my son smiling, making me do the same. I lean my head on Taylor's right shoulder. "Okay. I'm ready," I tell him. He takes my hand and holds Joseph in the other as we follow an adoption agent into a room to meet the new addition to our family.

She opens the door slowly, revealing a tiny young girl who looks no older than four. Her hair is straight and dark and it looks a little tangled. She's quite thin and bony too. Her tights have a tear right above her left knee, exposing a large scrape on it and her arms have small different coloured patches that look like bruises. But that doesn't even tell me half her story. I look into her stunning emerald green eyes and the redness and swelling around them. In them I can see the fear and sadness she's felt.

"Ava," the agent calls. "Your new family's here. Are you ready to go?" Ava doesn't look very happy and takes this moment to stare at us from far. She doesn't move at all either. I can tell she might be nervous so I ask the agent if she can give us some time alone. Maybe one less person will be less overwhelming. The agent backs out of the room but not too far so she can still see. The young girl stays put but backs up when I take a step forward.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you," I whisper as I kneel down in front of her. Taylor joins me holding Joseph and does the same. Ava comes closer. I smile as I watch her staring back.

"Hi beautiful," I say as she looks at me nervously which makes me stop smiling. "What's wrong? Are you afraid?" The tiny little girl nods slowly. Taylor's left hand travels behind her back to rub it gently but she immediately steps away from it in a panic before he can even make contact with her.

"Don't be scared. We're not here to hurt you," he tells her. Ava looks back up at him shyly and shakes her head 'no.' Then she does something that takes me by surprise. She starts talking. Slowly.

"But I am scared." Her voice is incredibly soft and breaks after a few words. It reassures me that she's talking but I don't want her to be so afraid. She doesn't deserve to suffer in fear of everyone and everything around her. I know it seems kind of sudden and personal to bring this up because it's a sensitive subject but as I stare down at her wounds I inadvertently blurt it out. "Did they do this to you? Your other family?" Her eyes turn to me in a flash and widen as a tear pops out the right one.