Day by Day

Chapter 37: Abandonment

Little Elaina was now seven years old and was starting to grow out of her shell a little more. Due to this, the orphanage felt like she was capable of starting to go to foster homes more often. Some of them weren't exactly too bad, some were actually good, but it seemed to be that no matter where she went, Elaina just wasn't a good fit for the families that fostered her.

She was brought back to the orphanage from her third foster home in the last six months. Unlike the good ones, this foster home had neglected her a treated her poorly. It was only when she accidentally broke a glass cup that the foster parents decided to send her back.

The seven-year-old had already been through so much in her short life. It was clear that everything she's been through has affected her mind. No kid should ever have to go through so much trauma at such a young age.

Elaina sat in her and her friends' room, crying on her bed. She just wanted a family to love her. Why didn't she fit in with every family that took her in? Was there something wrong with her?

Brelyn found the blue-haired girl when she entered the room. "Elaina?" the now eight-year-old called out. "Are you okay?" Brelyn slowly approached Elaina's bed, not wanting to cause any more distress to her.

Elaina finally lifted her head from her pillow, exposing her puffy, red eyes behind her glasses. She had been crying for a while.

"The foster home not work out?"

Elaina shook her head. "They said I was stupid and dumb and would make a terrible kid and-and that no one would ever want me."

"That's not true," Brelyn said, sitting on the bed next to her friend. "You're so smart. Why do you think Mrs. Anderson is saying that you can possibly skip second grade and go to third grade with me and Jacey next year? Cayla too. You're not dumb, and you are so nice."

"Then why doesn't anybody want to adopt me?" Elaina cried again.

Brelyn didn't exactly know what to say to help the friend she saw as a sister feel better. She, too, also wondered why she hasn't been adopted yet, but she also knew what Elaina has been through in terms of foster homes and how many times she was rejected. 

All Brelyn could do at this point was to place a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "I'm sure there is a family out there that would love to have you in their family. You just haven't found them yet."

"I don't know," Elaina replied. "My real parents didn't even want me. Why would anyone else?" It was very prominent to the runners of the orphanage that Elaina had some form of abandonment issues, and they tried getting the girl the help she needed, but nothing seemed to convince her that she was wanted.

"I don't exactly think that's true," Brelyn told her. "Maybe they just couldn't take care of you. Maybe they did want you, but they just couldn't keep you."

Elaina only shrugged her shoulders in response. That could possibly be the case, but there was no way for them to know. "Do you think your real parents wanted you?" Elaina asked.

Brelyn shrugged her shoulders, not really having had thought about it herself. "I'm not sure. Maybe. I like to think they did."

The two sat in silence as Elaina's sniffles from crying so much had finally begun to calm down. Brelyn tried her best to keep the blue-haired girl entertained, but Elaina stilled seemed to be feeling down. This part of their lives was hard, and it was a shame that they had to find that out at such a young age. 

If there was one thing for sure, it was that they could always count on each other to be there. If they never found families that they could call their own, then maybe they could find a family in each other. Ms. Jones would always tell them that family is not always by blood. Sometimes it's the people that you feel the most comfortable around and feels like you can tell them anything and everything. Family is the people you love and care for unconditionally, no matter what blood has to say about it.

A few hours later, Elaina was walking around the orphanage. She figured getting out of her room probably would help her to clear her mind. The words her previous foster parents had thrown at her were ingrained in her brain, so she just needed to get them out of her mind. They didn't matter anymore.

She soon found Ms. Jones in the nursery of the orphanage. The nursery was where they kept all of the infants until about age two or three when they got put into the shared bedrooms. It was kind of surreal to Elaina that she had been at the orphanage her whole life, meaning she had once been one of the babies in the nursery. Ms. Jones cradled a baby in her arms, hushing the crying baby. The baby seemed to have wisps of blonde hair and was currently dressed in a yellow onesie.

Ms. Jones smiled when she saw Elaina enter. "Hey, Elaina, are you feeling better?"

Elaina shrugged. "I guess. I'm... I don't really know."

"I know, sweetie," Ms. Jones said. "These things can be hard, but I promise it'll get better."

Elaina nodded. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing to the baby in her arms.

"She doesn't have a name yet," Ms. Jones explained. "She was just dropped off last night. No note, so we don't have a name for her."

Elaina looked at the baby with a saddened expression on her face. The infant in Ms. Jones' arms just didn't seem to stop crying. The poor girl didn't know she wasn't going to see her mommy and daddy or whoever she was with before again.

"Would you like to hold her?" Ms. Jones asked. Elaina looked at her in shock. They usually don't let many of the kids hold the babies in the nursery, so getting this offer was a big deal. Ms. Jones motioned to the rocking chair in the corner of the room.

Once Elaina was settled with a pillow in her lap, Ms. Jones carefully placed the baby girl in the seven-year-old's arms. Almost instantly, the baby stopped her crying. She looked up at Elaina. It was hard to tell, but it almost looked like she smiled at her.

"I think she likes you," Ms. Jones told her.

A smile had grown on Elaina's face. She carefully placed a kiss on the infant's head. "I promise to look after you," she whispered.

Ms. Jones could feel her heart melting at the scene in front of her. She knew these two girls were going to have a special connection. She knew Elaina would make sure the baby wouldn't feel like she was unwanted the same way she was. "You know, if you have any good names, we're up for suggestions. We all literally have no idea and are willing to name her anything.

"Hm." Elaina looked down at the baby, who continued to look up happily at her. Elaina smiled when a name came to mind. "I think Arianna is a good name. I think her name should be Arianna."

Ms. Jones nodded happily. "Then I guess Arianna it is. Can I trust you to watch her for only a couple of minutes as I get her information down?"

Elaina nodded as Ms. Jones left her alone with Arianna, promising to come back in a couple of minutes and not any longer. Elaina looked down at the Arianna, who was slowly falling asleep in Elaina's arms.

Elaina kissed her one more time before she was fully asleep. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

AN: Sorry it's been a while. I've been going through some things, and I haven't been motivated to write any of Descendants stories recently. I promise that chapters are coming!