A Newfound Home - Adopted by Josh Dun

Ten

V I C T Ø R I A
I rubbed the scattered lines on my arms as I sat in front of the mirror.

I needed to get over this addiction somehow, but like a drug, self-harm takes over your mind until it's all you can think about.

I threw my sweatshirt back on and climbed into my bed. My phone was playing music softly while I was getting ready for bed, so I paused it and plugged it in.

A soft knock appeared on my door and Josh walked in. "Hey, kiddo." I sat up in my bed while he spun my desk chair around and took a seat.

"Hi. What do you need?" I spoke after a minute.

"I just wanted to chat. You brushed off school when I picked you up, so I wanted to know how it all went. Did you make any friends?"

I don't even know how my day went. It was like the majority of it was skipped over.

"It was fine, I guess. I think I made friends?" He gave me an odd look.

"You think you did? What's that supposed to mean?" I shrugged and threw my blankets off of me.

"I don't know. I mean, the kid that showed me around was nice, and he introduced me to his friend group. Some were nice, but others were so mean. I feel so out of place."

I didn't mean to say that last part, it just slipped out.

Josh leaned forward. "If they're being rude, then don't hang around them. I feel like that's something everyone learns in elementary school,"

I looked away and wrapped my arms around myself. I did learn that, but because of how awful the system was, I couldn't avoid those people and got used to them.

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong," He leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair, tugging on it.

"I just feel like I'm not doing this dad thing well." I looked back at him right as he confessed.

"Don't say that, you're doing a great job! Why would you think that?" He crossed his arms.

"You just keep to yourself all the time and avoid me. I want to actually have a relationship with you and I can't if you're keeping to yourself so much."

I didn't know my actions were hurting him. I had no clue what to say.

"It's what I did to avoid everything happening in the orphanage and foster homes. The arguments, the abuse, the crying children. You don't realize that once you're put into the system, you have to grow up fast." I spoke quietly after a couple of minutes.

I hated opening up. It means you trust that person and I never trusted in anyone, especially when you didn't know if they'd use it against or leave you.

"I'm really sorry you had to go through all of that," he stood up and I expected him to leave, but instead he walked over to sit next to me in my bed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"I can promise you one thing. That isn't going to happen here. I want to make sure this home is a safe space for you. I adopted you so that you can have a safe and happy life during your teenage years."

He pulled me into a hug.

I let my head fall onto his shoulder as tears escaped.