Tethered (Book Two of The Invisible String Series)

Bruises and Social Workers

The brunette gives me a small but sad smile, leaning up her tiptoes to press a light kiss to my forehead. "Yes, it's the right thing. It may not seem like it right now, but it is."

Nodding, I remove what little space is between us, wrapping my arms around the shorter woman tightly, hiding in the crook of her neck in the hopes that all my adult problems will just disappear. "I'm terrified, Liz. What if we never see her again? They could move her to another foster home across the state, or even out of state."

Lizzie returns my hug just as tightly, and I bask in the comfort being in her arms brings me. "We won't let that happen. I called my lawyer on the way here, and if we start the classes right after the New Year, he thinks we have a pretty good shot at getting her."

That makes me pull away from the other woman, frowning. "Wait, what?"

The brunette lets out a sigh, reaching up to brush some of my hair out of my face. "I know I said we'd talk about it, and we haven't really had the chance to yet, but I know how much you love her, and vice versa. That kid in there adores you, and I...I want her here just as much as you do. So if you still want to do it, we can start the training in January."

I let out a watery laugh, blinking through the tears as I tug the older woman closer to me, brushing my lips across hers. "Thank you."

The sound of a knock on our front door interrupts us, and I move away from my girlfriend to go answer the door, giving the woman and the police officer on the other side a polite smile. Nancy, Liv's social worker, is a surprisingly young redhead and she holds her hand out towards me as she enters the house. "Hi, you must be Y/N. Olivia hasn't stopped talking about you at our weekly meetings since she met you. I'm Nancy."

I hurry to take the woman's hand and shake it, feeling a little awkward. I had hoped to meet the woman under different circumstances. "Hey. Sorry to just call you up and out of the blue, I just didn't know who else to call."

The redhead shakes her head, waving me off as I lead her and the unnamed police officer further into the house. "No, you did the best thing possible. How's Olivia doing?"

I let out a sigh as I stop us just outside the kitchen, where I can vaguely hear Lizzie and Olivia quietly talking. "She's upset with me for calling you, obviously. And she's a little banged up, but I cleaned her up. She, uh, doesn't have to go back to that place, does she?"

Nancy shakes her head, giving me a sad smile. "No. I've got an emergency placement ready to take her in for a bit until we get everything settled."

"About that. Lizzie, that's my girlfriend, we were actually talking about taking the foster parent classes at the beginning of next year and were wondering if there's a possibility that she can come stay with us?"

The redhead seems surprised at that, moving to dig through her bag until she pulls a small notebook out. "Oh, well, by all means if you two get certified I don't see why we'd have a problem placing her with you. If you'll just give me your number, I can send you all some more information about classes. Can I ask why, though?"

I quickly scribble both mine and Lizzie's numbers down as I give the woman a small smile. "She's grown on us. I honestly care for that kid as if she's my own already. I just want to give her a place where she's loved and taken care of."

Nancy returns my smile, promising to get in touch soon before she and the officer go off into the kitchen to speak with Olivia. Lizzie soon joins me back in the living room, and I inform her of what Nancy told me, and the two of us settle into the couch to wait until the group in the kitchen is done.

Sooner than I expected, the officer exits the kitchen and bids us goodbye, and she's followed a few seconds later by Nancy, who has Olivia in tow. Nancy gives the teenager a pat on the back, whispering something to her before the redhead steps forward. "I'm going to go start the car. Take all the time you need."

My heart drops when I realize that this means we'll have to say goodbye, and I turn my attention towards the teenager standing awkwardly in the middle of my living room. Thankfully Lizzie decides to say goodbye first, and I stay back to watch as my girlfriend wraps the child up in her arms tightly, wanting to give them some space. Olivia hugs the brunette back just as tightly, and even from here I can tell the teenager is openly crying against my girlfriend's shoulder.

Eventually the two break apart, and Lizzie gently pushes the girl in my direction, and I waste no time in pulling the teenager close. I'm grateful that the younger girl seems to have shed her anger towards me for the situation, as she clings to me tightly. I will my own tears not to fall as I gently rock the two of us back and forth, wondering if I could possibly get away with just keeping her here forever, where I know she'll be safe and sound. After a few moments of just hugging it out, I pull back just slightly, cupping the girl's red and teary face so she's looking up at me. "It's gonna be okay, bubs. I promise I will call you every day, okay? And if you need anything, just tell Nancy. She has my number, too."

The teen nods, sniffling loudly as she grips my arms. "I d-don't wanna g-go. I w-wanna stay here. With you."

That successfully breaks the barrier holding back my tears, and I feel a few slip down my cheeks as I pull the teen back into me, placing a series of kisses to the top of her head in the hopes that it brings us both a little comfort. "I know, bubs. But you can't right now. I promise everything is gonna be okay."

After a few more minutes of holding her tightly, I maneuver the teen into my side and start towards the front door, knowing that if I wait any longer I'll cave and beg to keep her here with me. I walk with her all the way to Nancy's car, forcing myself to let go of her. Once she's safely inside the car, I lean down through the open window, gently wiping at the continuous stream of tears running down her face before placing one last kiss to her forehead. "I love you, kiddo. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

Olivia nods, and I pull away, backing up a few feet to watch as the car starts out of the driveway. The teen turns in her seat, staring out the back windshield, and I give her a single wave just before the car disappears, taking a large chunk of my heart with it.

I stand there for a few more seconds, wiping at my face before I turn back towards Lizzie, who instantly wraps me up in her arms. "She's gonna be okay, baby."

I nod against her shoulder, sniffling as I try to pull myself together. I know, on a certain level, that everything will work out and this was only a temporary goodbye, but it doesn't make it hurt any less.

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Man, this chapter made me cry, guys. I know a lot of stories that include adoption/fostering don't really abide by the rules in which the foster care system works. And I understand that this is fiction and I can very well do with it as I please, but I wanted to make this as real as possible. My brother-in-law is a social worker and I've asked him a thousand and one questions about the whole process, and I'm pretty sure he thinks his sister and I are looking for foster now (definitely not what we're looking to do right now). Plus I can't have this entire book be nothing but pure fluff. I gotta add some angst here and there. I really only planned for two angsty things, which is them getting custody of Olivia and if you've payed attention to the earlier chapters, when Y/N's ex finds out that Lizzie gets the family ring.

So the plan for the next few chapters is Christmas. I think I'm gonna split the celebration up into two chapters, one just of Y/N and Lizzie doing their thing together and then one where Y/N does it with Lizzie's family. And then we'll be jumping right into the New Years chapter(s) after that, which will be extra fluff and a tiny-bit sad. Just a little. Don't worry. And then it's just all uphill from there!

Let me know what you all thought! Remember to take care of yourselves. Eat some food. Drink some water. Take a break from the internet and stuff for a bit.

-C ❤️