Little Clifford | mgc

2

I nodded, slightly shocked at how much she had been through already at 7.

"So, I'll go get her for you now," She said and walked out of the room.

"Woah, that's a lot to take in," Ash breathed.

"She's 7... So that means I was like 11 when she was born, which was the year my parents sent me to live with my grandparents for 'financial reasons,'" Michael said slowly.

"I'm telling you, she's probably your sister," I said jokingly and we all laughed.

The door opens again and I see Olivia walk in with Arden who is dressed in a sweater, jeans, and converse with her hair down today, "I'll leave you guys to it," Olivia smiled as she walked out the door.

"Hi Arden!" I cheered as I go to pull her into a hug. She smiled and greeted me back with a shy smile. I grabbed her hand and led her over to the bean bags where the boys had relocated, "These are my friends; Ashton and Michael!"

She gave them a shy smile as well and Michael greeted her right away and began talking to her. Ash turned to me with a slightly shocked look, "What?" he asked in disbelief, "She totally looks like Michael! The nose, eye shape, just... her whole facial structure!" he whisper shouted and I couldn't help but laugh.

It was true though, we had seen pictures of Michael when he was little, "But she has blue eyes... Michael has green," I pointed out.

"Daryl has blue eyes. Karen has green," Ash informed me of Michael's parents.

"Oh," I shrugged and laughed. It was funny because she obviously wasn't Michael's sister, but it was entertaining.

I turned back to where Michael and Arden were sitting on the floor and talking and then decided to take a seat myself, Ashton doing the same. The two of us watched as Michael and Arden interacted.

"So what's your favorite color?" Michael smiled. Arden's shy smile or slight blush never left her face. She played with her sweater and gently pulled the sleeves over her hands.

"Blue," She said softly. Michael must have noticed that her hands were shaking because he gently grabbed one of her tiny ones into his larger ones. I figured she was just cold.

"Does talking to new people scare you?" He asked her while rubbing the back of her little hand. She looked at him kind of shocked, probably for knowing that, and nodded shyly.

"Me too. You're not alone in that," He winked at her and gave her a smile.

Her shy smile grew into a full one and my heart warmed at the sight.

"Is your favorite color green?" She asked Michael in a sweet voice, her eyes darting up to his green hair.

"One of them. I have a lot of favorite colors!"

"Like a rainbow," she giggled.

He laughed at her cuteness, "Yeah Cupcake, like a rainbow."

When it was time for us to leave, Olivia came back in to grab Arden. Arden looked a bit down but tried to hide it, "Bye Arden! We will come and visit soon ok?" I assured her and gave her a hug.

She nodded, giving a small smile and hugs back. She hugged the boys too, her hug with Michael lasting a bit longer.

"Ok, go get your chores done," Olivia told Arden. Arden nodded before making her way out of her room. Olivia turned back to us, "Um... I have to ask. What are your intentions with her? Because if you aren't thinking about adopting... then I suggest you don't come back. I only say that because of what she has been through and it's not healthy for her."

I nodded sadly, "Oh ok, well it was nice meeting you," I smiled to her. She gave me a small smile back and turned to leave the room. The three of us left the building at got back in the car.

"I wish I could take her in," I said solemnly as I backed out of the parking lot.

"Yeah," Ash agreed but Michael just stayed silent and looked out the window. All three of us stayed quiet until Michael's phone started ringing.

"It's my mom," He said, giving a small smile.

"Oh! Put it on speaker!" I practically squealed. I loved his parents and had known them for a very long time.

"Hello?" I heard Karen's voice ring throughout the car.

"Hi Mrs. Clifford!" I yelled, causing her to chuckle, "Hi Gracie."

"I met your daughter today!" I said excitedly, Michael and Ashton giggling because they understood.

"W-what?" Karen asked, her voice breaking slightly.

"I met your daughter today!" I said it again as if it was a fact. Karen cleared her throat awkwardly, "U-uhm"

Michael laughed, "We visited the orphanage earlier today and we met the CUTEST little girl named Arden Clifford. 7 year old, tiny little thing-"

"IDENTICAL to Michael," Ashton threw in there, cutting me off.

"Oh...um."

"Mom is everything ok?" Michael asked into the phone. We could hear her sigh through the speakers, "Michael... I was going to tell you about this..."she spoke softly.

Michael's smile falterd a bit, "Uhm tell me what?" He questioned and looked at us with a raised eyebrows.

"About your sister."

I nearly slammed the breaks on my car.

SISTER?!  

A/N

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