Everyone Deserves The Flame (Adopted By Patrick Stump)

Miss Missing You (Patrick's P.O.V)

"You must be Mr. Stump. I'll show you around. My name is Martha. You can have a look at all the girls before that act like they would for an adoptee." A young woman who couldn't be older  than me said while walking towards me. She had cherry red hair, lips to match, and perfectly pale skin. I smiled at her. She smiled back with perfectly straight white teeth. She was the kind of girl who held power.

"Let's get this started with then." I cheerfully replied. She lead the way around.

*+*

"Patrick? Are you home?" Elisa asked as she walked in from the front door. Her shoulders were hunched, and her hair was a mess. Something was off. I walked down the stairs, and she utterly broke the second she saw me. I pulled her into my embrace.

"El, what's wrong?" I asked after she had finally calmed down enough to breathe. I didn't let go. Something was wrong, and she clearly needed me. I couldn't just leave her at a moment like that.

"Patrick, I know how much you wanted to have a little girl. She would've been the sweetest thing in the whole world. She would've been your little girl. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." Elisa rambled into my shirt. My heart pained to see her this way. She looked me straight in the eyes. Her lips opened, but kept closing. She was struggling to find the right words to say. I hugged her tighter.

"Patrick, I can't have anymore kids. There's something wrong me. Something happened after I had Declan. The Doctor said that something happened that made it near to impossible. I'm sorry." Elisa apologized. It felt like someone had taken every last good thing about the world, and turned it upside down.

"El, it's not your fault. You don't need to apologize. And there's nothing wrong with you. I love you. You're perfect. I'm sure there's some way around it. We'll find a way." I whispered into her hair. She nodded. Declan came around the corner.

"Group hug!" He shouted and tumbled into our legs, causing us all to laugh. Throwing light into the dark situation.

*+*

Martha had showed me around, and I had gotten to see most of the girls. There were a few who I hadn't seen yet, but I had a feeling I just wasn't going to choose today. Most of the girls were snobs who clearly picked on whoever they could. It made my stomach twist in knots. I didn't want Declan to be picked on, by someone he would call his sister. It wasn't right. I needed someone who would care for him. I just wasn't seeing that here.

"This is it, the last one. Meet Iris." Martha said with a sigh. I looked at the girl though a window in the door.  She had long brown hair that fell around her face almost perfectly. She was strumming a guitar with her eyes closed. I noticed the way her fingers glided confidently across the strings. Playing with muscle memory took practice. But she had it nailed. I could see her lips moving, but it was impossible to hear her. I noticed she was playing Miss Missing You. It wasn't an easy song to play. It took me a while to get it, and I wrote it.

"She's great with kids. Loves them actually. Does way too much house work for her own good, even though we tell her it's not needed she insists. She's the top in her grade. She's amazing at playing music. She self thought herself how to play guitar after she was placed in here." Martha explained. There was something she wasn't telling me. There was a but to the end of that sentence. It was the elephant in the room.

"But?" I asked. Martha bit her lip, almost ruining her look. She looked hesitant. For seconds my heart stopped. What if Iris was some really messed up kid. What if she acted like she was friends with the little kids before tearing them down. What if I let her in, and she ended up purposely hurting Declan. Then my mind snapped back into place.

"She has been in here since she was ten. And it's been nearly four years." Martha answered. My heart ached. Four years. How was it possible? Someone like her should've been anyone's first pick.

"Why?" I asked. Maybe my mind was right. Maybe she just wasn't a good kid after all. Maybe she was a really, really, really, bad person.

"Iris struggles with very serious anxiety, and depression. She's what the people around here call damaged goods. They always think she's a great kid, then they look at her chart, and see the warning signs. They're out of the door, before they give her a shot. She's just such a good kid, I'd hate to see the goodness in her disappear." Martha explained. I looked back at Iris. She was placing the guitar on her bed. Her eyes were a wild shade of green. But in those eyes was someone who was hurting.

"What happened to her?" I asked.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stump, I'm only permitted to explain what I have. The rest you'd have to get from her. You should know she's a very closed off girl. Kind, sweet, but once you start to ask her about her past it's like a door slams shut. I'll understand if you would like to leave." She said as we walked away from Iris's bedroom. But then something caught me. I couldn't just leave her here. So many people have given up on her already. I didn't want to be one of those people. 

"Hey, shut in! Did you finally come out of your room, or is the world to scary?" I noticed a girl yell across the room, when Iris left her room. She shook her head, before walking towards the kitchen. Martha shook her head, and looked at the ground.

"I think I made my mind up." I stated. Martha looked at the ground, before looking back at me. She looked disappointed, but not at me, not at Iris, but at herself. Like she had let the world down again.

"I'll show you to the door." Martha sighed while forcing a smile. I stopped in my tracks. Martha turned around with a quizzical look on her face.

"No, I want Iris." I said. Martha practically beamed. It was like a fangirl. If she would've jumped up, and down while clapping her hands, I would've laughed. But she pulled herself together.

"Come with me, Mr. Stump, and I'll get your paper work." I followed her into the back room, smiling the whole time. Declan was going to love her. And Elisa was going to fall in love with Iris in a matter of seconds. It would all work out perfectly. Iris would get to know the guys. She would be old enough to help out on tours. Nothing could've been more perfect.