Tempest (Royce/Winston)

016

"Is your brother always late to places?" I asked when I was back downstairs and in the kitchen.

Mia looked at me, "huh?"

"I feel like he doesn't have a good grasp on the concept of time".

Mia laughed as she went back to making, what looked like, her lunch.

"Yeah, he relies on the alarm clock on his phone because if he doesn't, he won't show up to anything on time".

"I see that now" I muttered, sitting down at the kitchen table and watching Mia move around the kitchen. I took the time to look the place over, it was very organized and the counters were clean. The yellow painted walls brightened up the area and so did the pictures on the refrigerator. I stared at them all, noticing that the only two people who were in the photos were either Chresanto or Mia. I furrowed my eyebrows, quietly tapping my fingers on the table as I thought for a moment.

"Mia, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did".

Rolling my eyes, I smiled, she was one of those people.

"But yes, go ahead" she added.

"Chresanto told me that his parents go into work early and usually get off super late, is that true?"

Mia was in the process of opening the refrigerator door when I asked the question, it must've caught her off guard because she stared at the door handle for a moment. She cleared her throat after a while and grabbed a can of soda.

"No, that's not true" she answered, walking over and taking a seat across from me. She took a bite of the sandwich she'd made, chewing slowly so it gave her time to think. "Chresanto doesn't like telling people about our parents, nothing major happened or anything, he just doesn't like to discuss them".

I nodded, he didn't like to talk about a lot of things, that was obviously clear.

"But I don't have a problem talking about them, so here's what I'm going to tell you, okay? Our parents were great at parenting, we weren't taken away from them because they didn't know how to raise kids, because they did. Money had a huge thing to do with it, they couldn't take care of two kids financially. At the time, Chres was fourteen and I was eighteen, we didn't have any other kin to take us in because the family tree wasn't that close. Our parents wanted what was best for us, so they decided that the best decision was to give us to someone who could take care of us".

"So adoption or foster homes?"

Mia nodded, "yes, but I was eighteen, so seeing that I was a legal adult, I wasn't going to be able to go wherever they decided to place Chres. Now back then Chresanto was nothing like he is now. He was this fourteen year old kid who had braces and was quiet as hell, and he was scared. I decided that since I was an adult, I could do this, you know? I could find a place to live with my little brother and we'll be fine. For Chresanto to legally live with me and for me to actually be his legal guardian, all of these forms and paperwork had to be filled and signed with the Department of Social Services. Once that happened, we were given a social worker to make sure I was fit for the job and she comes around every month".

"What happens if you're not fit for it?"

"Chres is still seventeen, so in the DSS' eyes, he's still a child and if it comes down to it, he will be placed in a foster home if they believe that I am incapable of taking care of him".

Damn... That was a lot to actually take in and understand, but even then I still have a few questions.

"So... You basically adopted your brother?"