Together (Sequel to Slipping Away)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Sirina knocked softly on the classroom door and a short young woman with warm eyes hidden behind black rimmed glasses opened the door.

"Yes Mrs. Brugger?" The teacher asked, eyes flickering to Adaley and her fathers.

"Hi, Ms. Drake. This is Adaley Cane and her fathers Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson." Sirina introduced and Ms. Drake smiled widely.

"Oh hi! Give me just a minute. Let me get my students working on their math set and then I can step out and talk to you." Ms. Drake said and walked back into the room Adaley could hear her instructing her class to do their book work. She walked back out and shut the door behind her. Adaley looked closely at her new teacher and saw that she was wearing a knee length blue summer dress that had small white flowers on it with a white cardigan and white converse. Ms. Drake had her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. "Sorry about that. My name is Alice. Please tell me your names again." She said, holding her hand out to Louis and Harry.

"I'm Harry. It's nice to meet you Ms. Drake." Harry said politely and Alice shook his hand with a warm smile on her lips.

"Please call me Alice." She said as she turned to Louis, shaking his hand.

"I'm Louis. It's wonderful to meet you Alice." Louis said happily and Alice crouched down to Adaley's height.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" She asked the little girl and Adaley smiled shyly.

"My name's Adaley Cane, Ms. Drake. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma'am." Adaley said politely and Alice smiled widely.

"How old are you?" Alice asked and Adaley clammed up again so Harry spoke for her.

"She's six, Miss." Harry said and Alice stood up, looking at Harry in shock.

"Only six? I don't understand. This is a third grade class though." Alice said in confusion and Sirina stepped in.

"Adaley tested as high as Bradley did so Mr. Styles and Mr. Tomlinson decided to enroll her in the same grade and class as Bradley so she didn't feel as lonely." Sirina explained and Alice nodded understandingly.

"Would you like to introduce her to class now or wait until she starts school?" Alice asked and Sirina shook her head.

"We're introducing her to the school on Friday at the awards ceremony. She'll be starting school a week from today." Sirina informed the teacher and Alice nodded, looking at Harry and Louis.

"If you'd like I can send some of what we're working on with all of you so Adaley can understand what we've already covered." Alice suggested and Louis nodded.

"That'd be great. My best friend can bring her to the school tomorrow to get the work." Louis told her and Alice nodded.

"That sounds like a plan! I have to get back in there before my class decides to start a riot." Alice joked and bid the family a quick goodbye before she disappeared back into her classroom. Sirina walked the family out of the school and said that she was excited to introduce Adaley to the school that coming Friday. The family climbed back into the car and they sat silence for a few minutes before Louis spoke up.

"How are you feeling Ada?" Louis asked carefully and Adaley smiled at her father.

"I can't wait to go to school." Adaley simply explained and Harry turned on the car, heading to the place where they were going to get their newest family member. They rode down the road in silence until they got to the rescue shelter. Adaley slowly climbed out and grabbed Harry's large hand, holding it tightly in nervousness. Louis hesitantly looked at Harry.

"Are you sure you want to get the dog from here? We can get her from a breeder." Louis asked in a low voice and Harry shook his head.

"I don't want to get a dog from a breeder. I want to adopt one here because the animals from here need a home too." Harry said and pulled open the door, ushering his family in. They walked up to the desk and the woman behind it smiled at them.

"Hi. Welcome to the Bayville Rescue Society. What can I help you with today?" She asked and Harry smiled warmly at her.

"Hi. We were wondering if you had any Rottweilers here." Harry asked and the woman thought for a moment before she nodded.

"We have one. If you go wait in that room I'll bring her in." The woman said, nodding at a door beside her. Harry nodded and led his family into the room. Harry and Louis sat in the chairs that were against the wall and Adaley sat on the floor at their feet. The family was silent as they patiently awaited the arrival of their possible new family member. The woman from the front desk poked her head into the room with a smile. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am." Harry answered for all of them. The door opened wider to show a fully grown female Rottweiler that was sitting patiently by the woman's side.

"Easy Elsa." The woman said when the dog started to pull the lease. The dog didn't listen though. Elsa, the Rottweiler, pulled roughly at the leash and broke free, running for Adaley. Harry and Louis froze and looked on in shock at the two foot tall dog that was charging for their daughter. The dog came to a stop in front of the little girl. Adaley slowly stood up and looked at the dog. Elsa looked on at the little girl with curious eyes. The woman was yelling at the dog but her words fell on deaf ears. Adaley carefully brought her hand up and gently started to pet the dog's head. Elsa leaned into her touch and walked forward. Her jaw dropped open and she licked a huge stripe up the side of Adaley's face. Adaley laughed loudly and hugged the dog around the neck, burying her face into the coarse fur. The woman froze in her spot. "Oh wow." She breathed and Harry gave her a confused look.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked with a small frown. The woman's head snapped up and she looked at Harry.

"Elsa is very apprehensive to new people. That's why she's still here. She's a strong dog but she's scared as well. She had a bad past with her previous owner. Her old owner tried to turn her into a fighting dog but Elsa was a very apprehensive to hurting other dogs. Her old owner used to call her dumbshit, pardon my language. She was dumped off here one cold winter day and she wouldn't let anyone touch her. When we examined her we noticed that she had had puppies and we know for a fact that her owner kept her puppies." The woman explained and Louis gave her a horrified look.

"What happened to her puppies?" Louis asked nervously and she gave the small family a sad look.

"Her old owner was caught on our security cameras and we called the police. This is very hard to say but the police found the puppies with a lot of other dogs buried in his backyard. He's in prison now." The woman said in a soft voice and Adaley frowned, running her fingers through Elsa's hair.

"What was her name when you took her in?" Harry asked and the woman shrugged, sitting across from the small family.

"She didn't have one so we gave her one." The woman said and Harry nodded slowly.

"Did you choose Elsa because it means strength?" Adaley asked and the woman looked mildly shocked.

"Yes. Yes we did. She'd been through so much but she never gave up." The woman said softly and gave the dog a pat on the back. Adaley studied the dog closely before speaking.

"Daddy." Adaley said softly and Harry glanced at her.

"Yes princess?" he asked and Adaley smiled slightly down at the dog who had laid next to her.

"Elsa is like Mommy." She whispered and Harry's eyebrows furrowed.

"How so?" He asked and Adaley gently pet the dog's soft head.

"Mommy went through a lot but she was strong until the end." Adaley said softly and looked up at Harry and Louis. "Papa. Daddy. I want her. She's perfect." Harry looked up at the woman and nodded.

"We'll take her."