Adopted by Top Gear

Chapter Eleven: A Broken Promise

When they got back to James's house, Mercedes was beside herself with happiness and she raced up the drive to the front door in mere seconds; James suddenly had a feeling all the sugar they'd just brought wasn't the smartest idea he'd ever had. But the bright smile on the little blonde's face was enough to convince him it was worth it.

"James?" she asked as she waited for him to unlock the door.

"Hm?"

She stared up at him for a minute as he swung the door open with his hip then followed him into the house. "Can I have the chocolate ice cream?" she asked.

He laughed and set the bags down on the kitchen counter. "Of course." He had a feeling that wasn't what she was actually going to say, but decided not to press the subject.

He found two large bowls for their ice cream and scooped them both large amounts of the chocolate. Grabbing two spoons, he motioned towards the couch and Mercedes happily walked over and plopped down among his many cushions. He set the bowls down on the coffee table then crouched down in front of the DVD rack. "Let's see here..." He scanned the stack until he found his box-set of Top Gear Specials. "A ha!" He pulled out the Botswana episode and waved it happily. Once he had the DVD in and the TV set up, he walked back over to the couch. "Scoot up," he told Mercedes, who had sat right in the middle of the couch.

She laughed and moved to the side, taking three other cushions with her. She dug into her ice cream, staring at the TV screen expectantly.

---

Just over halfway through the special, James's cell phone rung. He left the show running and took the phone call out into the hallway, but Mercedes could still hear some of what he was saying. She tried to ignore him and focus on the TV, but something that he said caught her attention.

"No, no, of course I don't want to," James was saying. "I'm not keeping her!"

Mercedes froze. He wasn't talking about her, was he?

"We have to get rid of her right away."

Her heart sunk and she put her box of candy on the table. She suddenly didn't feel like eating candy.

"Look, we'll discuss it tomorrow okay?" James's voice was coming closer. Mercedes quickly wiped away the few tears that had spilled down her cheeks – she didn't want him knowing she'd heard him. "Alright, goodbye Rich."

The fact that the phone call had been from Richard just confirmed Mercedes' fears; they didn't want her around after all.

"You okay, Mercy?" James asked as he sat back down. "Did you want a drink?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm okay thanks. I'm actually feeling a bit sick. Can I go lie down?"

He let out a small chuckle. "I'm not surprised, with all that sugar you just ate." He grabbed the remote and paused the show. "We'll continue this after dinner, yeah? Go and see if maybe a nap makes you feel better."

Mercedes nodded, hopping off the couch. She walked to the bedroom she'd slept in the previous night, already thinking about where she'd go when she ran away. She turned the bedroom light on and made sure everything was in her bag, before going over to the window. They were on the first floor so she didn't have to worry about hurting herself, but there was a lock on the window she didn't know how to break. Instead, she crept across the hallway into James's room, hoping his window didn't have the same lock.

As luck would have it, the window wasn't locked and was even sitting open slightly. Mercedes pushed it further open and dropped her bag out. She paused to listen out for anything, but all she could hear was the low rumble of the TV in the lounge. She clambered up onto the windowsill and dropped out onto the grass, landing quietly on all fours.

"I'm sorry, James," she whispered, before picking up her bag and carefully picking her way through the garden and out onto the street.