Adopted by Phan

Chapter 6

Officer Briny sighed. It wasn't often he dealt with people like me because most of the kids on the street were very eager to get into a proper home. They hadn't been on the street for years, living off stealing and pickpocketing. They hadn't gone through so many homes they'd lost count, through so many friends and parents that even the people closest to me I couldn't trust.

"Jay look at me. I know you've been through so many homes that you don't want to go back again, but please, give us a chance. These boys want to adopt you, for real this time."

At that I spun around and looked directly at Dan and Phil.

"You're not serious?!" Dan nodded.

"We want to give you a good home, somewhere where you can be yourself. A normal teenager." I hesitated.

"But that's the thing. I've never been a normal teenager, I've lived on the streets for 6 years and before that I was in and out of so many homes I lost count. I never had the chance to be a normal kid even."

I rubbed my wrist, the skin becoming red under the pressure. My mind was racing. Here I had been given an opportunity I never had been given before, yet I was questioning it. I knew that even if I did take the offer the streets would always be calling. 6 years had passed quickly and the streets were my home. Besides, I didn't even know those boys!

Turning to the window, I thought about my options. I knew that it was 3 against 1 for me going with Dan and Phil, but my mind was torn between them and the streets. They were nice people, sure, but wouldn't I rather be with people I knew over people I had just met?

I sighed. I knew whatever decision I made I would think I made the wrong choice later, but first I wanted to know Dan and Phil first.

"Before I make my decision I want to know you first. Who you are as people." I saw Dan and Phil nod to each other and Officer Briny whispered something to them before leaving the room.

They looked very awkward, Dan was hunched over a little but I suppose it was his slightly weird posture. I looked them over silently, my eyes taking in every little detail about them, like the way Dan was fidgeting with his hands, pulling on the skin of his fingers in a nervous state. Phil was giving Dan reassuring glances every few seconds for comfort but his body language was a lot stronger, indicating a lot more self-confidence.

"Who are you?" That was my first question, knowing nothing about them at that point. Dan shifted, looked at Phil again for guidance.

"We're Dan and Phil as you probably already figured out, and, well, we wanted to foster you." I looked between each of them.

"Why? You heard from Briny, I'm one of the most difficult situations they've dealt with." Phil nodded.

"We were already thinking of adopted and we've been to a few foster homes before but none of the kids really connected with us. You're different." I looked around suddenly.

I'm different? I'd never heard myself described in that way before, only as a nuisance by people on the street and as an amazing person by my closest street friends. I thought about it for a second before glancing down onto the street again.

How was I going to choose?

Dans P.O.V.

I looked closely at the young girl with her short blonde hair and sea foam green eyes. She was a very alert girl, picking up every detail of our body language. Her age wasnt very clear to me, but she had to be in-between 13 and 15 and even if she was around that age, she was very short, possibly caused by malnutrition.

Phil pulled on my arm and we left the room quietly, leaving Jay to stare out the window. Even in the few seconds I continued to watch I could see her hands trembling, her eyes glazed over as she stared blankly out of the window.

Outside, Officer Briny led us into a small room with several computers and pointed at one of them, on which an official looking document was displayed.

"This is all of Jays official documents. Her birth name is Holly, so thats the name we have displayed but if you do foster her, please, try and change her name. Its the last thing she has that connects her to the past and she wants to get rid of it."

I nodded numbly, only taking in a few words. It was later that Phil told me what he had said because all I could see were the words on the screen.

We sat down on the side by side chairs and read through the documents together, or hands occasionally brushing against each others as we reached for the mouse at the same time.

Name: Cassie Tori White

D.O.B- 14/03/2003

Birth Country- New Zealand

Nationality- Maori/Pacifica

Additional Information- Removed from her parents care at age 9 due to abuse, she was moved to London to live with her only remaining relative her grandmother on her fathers side. Her grandmother was taken into a nursing home after a stroke and Cassie was moved from her care and into the national foster system.

Medical Information- Minor asthma, infertile, scarring across back and lower chest, possible anemia but further tests will have to be done.

Cassie was reported missing at age 12, spotted on the streets of London several times over the next few years. Appeared to have been living with groups of street children, many younger than herself.

Most of the other documents were official things like birth certificates and several pages on moving countries to live in the custody of her grandmother. Pages upon pages of writing from when after she went missing showed up, most of them were from police officers and sightings of her, but it was basically all rubbish.

One thing caught my eye. It was a police record from New Zealand of a man named Javen White, and among the charges of drunk driving and speeding there was a charge that stood out.

Abuse and sexual assault of a minor.

Below was a paragraph of writing that I quickly read through, taking in the most basic information. Jay's mother and older brother, who's names weren't mentioned had left the house a few months prior to his arrest due to previous abuse but they had left Jay there. She was 9.

The mother and brother fled the country to Australia and the mother was arrested after the trial of the father for abandonment of a child with an incapable caregiver.

The brother had been removed from their care and placed into a foster home.

But the most surprising thing I read was as follows. "Jay appeared to have lost all memories of the incident and it is doubted she will ever recover the memories again."

"She was not told what happened, rather just that her parents did not want her because she was a girl, which is partly true because of a genetic disease. It has been passed down in her father's family for generations, the female children are infertile and the male children are the carriers. As long as the next generation has a son the line will continue"

"If she is ever told it is best to wait until she is old enough to know or is asking questions about who her parents are. The shock associated with knowing what happened may do more harm than good."

Jay didn't know?