My Little Stargazer(Adopted by Remington Leith)

(22) - Again

Monica had to go to work so I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down to watch Parks and Rec because I had nothing else to do. I'd made it through five episodes before Emerson emerged from his room with Shy not far behind. Normally they stayed at her place, but her roommate's sibling was in town and things were weird so they stayed at our place.
"It lives." I said as Emerson shuffled into the living and then immediately back into the kitchen. He gave me the finger as he went. The front door opened, but I didn't take my eyes the tv, assuming it was either Sebastian, Daniel or maybe Larisa.
"Hey." I said, just to acknowledge their presence.
"Deedee!" I almost gave myself whiplash turning around. Sebastian was standing in the doorway with Cherry in his arms. He was grinning.
"Cherry!" I shot up off the couch, bumping the coffee table with my knee and sending my mug crashing to the floor. It broke. I ignored it.
"Deedee!" She wiggled in Sebastian's grip until he set her down. She limped toward me, smiling wide, arms outstretched. I picked her up and held her tightly. She wrapped her arms around my neck and held on tight. She was covered in bruises again and her hair was a mess. I doubted that she'd had a bath since going back to her dad. There were dark circles under her eyes, evidence that she hadn't been sleeping well. And I didn't even want to think about why she was limping.
"I'm so sorry, Stargazer." Emerson came back into the living room to see what all the noise was about.
"Cherry?" He asked, his voice was rough from sleep and he yawned after he said it.
"Ebosern!" She waved at him, but didn't want to get down. Shy came in search of Emerson about then. She smiled at Cherry and waved at her. Cherry waved back before burying her face in my shoulder. I finally looked back at Sebastian. He was smiling.
"Told you." He said.
"Douchebag."
"Asshole."
"Shut up." Emerson said. Both Sebastian and I gave him the finger. He rolled his eyes and walked back into the kitchen with Shy in tow.
"How?" I finally asked.
"The call earlier was Jess Meyers. Cherry's dad is back in prison. Child abuse and attempted murder. He's gonna be in for awhile. And she's not sure he'll ever get custody of her again. She wants you call her as soon as you can." I nodded.
"Deedee?" Cherry "whispered".
"What?"
"I need go potty!"
"Oh." I set her down and she limped towards the stairs. She tried to climb up them, but changed her mind and crawled up them on her hands and knees. I looked back at Sebastian. "What did he do to her?"
"I don't know for sure, but neighbors heard her screaming and called the cops. When they got there she was unconscious. She spent the night in the hospital. She and Jess flew in early this morning. Jess said she would've called before they left, but Cherry was freaking out and begging to see you and Jess was pretty sure you wouldn't mind having her again."
"She was right."
"I know she was." I smiled before walking upstairs. Cherry was sitting at the top, crying.
"What's wrong, Stargazer?"
"Huwts!" I carefully picked her up.
"What hurts?" She pointed at her arms and legs and her head. "Everything?" She nodded. "I'm sorry, Stargazer. Would some chocolate milk help?" She rubbed her eyes with her fists. "Cherry?" She nodded. "Alright. Let's go get some chocolate milk." I carried down the stairs and into the kitchen. Shy was back in Emerson's room. Emerson was drinking a cup of tea and drawing. I sat Cherry in a chair across from Emerson then I rummages through the cupboard for a sippy cup. I found one and filled it with chocolate milk. I handed it to her.
"Stay with Emerson for just a minute. I'll be right back." She nodded and drank her milk. I left the kitchen and walked up the stairs.

———

In my room I found my phone and called Jess.
"Mr. Leith! Thank you for calling!"
"Hey. No problem."
"I just wanted to touch base with you, see if you still wanted to adopt her."
"Yes!"
"Wonderful! I'm so happy she's found a good place with people who love her. I'll get in touch with Mr. Yates's lawyer. And I'll let you know the outcome."
"Thank you."
"No, thank you. That poor little girl has come through here some many times and each time she gets sent back to her father and comes back more bruised than the last time. I'm so happy someone wants to take her out of that mess. She doesn't deserve that."
"No she doesn't."
"I need to go. My flight's boarding. I'll call you when I know more, m'kay?"
"Yeah."
"Bye."
"Bye." She ended the call and I immediately called Mom.
"I need a good lawyer." In retrospect that wasn't the best way to start the conversation.
"What?! Why? What did you?" She sounded panicked.
"Nothing! I'm sorry. I just realized how that sounded!" I laughed. "Cherry's dad is back in prison. Jess doesn't think he'll get out anytime soon. I'm going to try to adopt her again and this time I don't care how much I have to pay for the lawyer. And I know you used to have a friend who's a lawyer."
"Jemima. I'll give her call for you, sweetie."
"Thank you."
"Mmhm. Next time don't freak me out like that. I thought you'd been arrested or something."
"Sorry."
"How is Cherry? Is she okay?"
"I think so. She's all bruised up again and she's got a limp now."
"Poor girl. I'm running some errands right now, but I might stop by later if you don't mind?"
"Not all. See you in a bit."
"See ya." I ended the call and tried Monica. She didn't answer, but I knew she was working so I hadn't really expected her to answer. I sighed. I rummaged through my dresser for a t-shirt and found Cherry's lion. I pulled it out and took it with me.

———

Back in the kitchen Cherry was sitting in Emerson's lap coloring on a blank sheet of paper with a red pen. Stick figures covered the page. Based on what they looked like I assumed it was Emerson, Sebastian, me and her.
"Hey, Stargazer, look what I found!" I held up her lion as she looked over.
"Ion!" She scrambled off Emerson's lap and ran, as much as she could with a limp, to take it from me. She hugged. "Gank you!"
"Thank you for letting me have it while you were gone." I picked her up and she hugged me tight before giving me a kiss. "'Ove you, Deedee!"
"I love you too. Wanna get a bath?"
"Baff?" Her eyes lit up.
"Yeah! A bath!" I carried her upstairs into the bathroom. I got the bath running before helping her get undressed. Just like when I'd first found her she was covered in bruises. But she got in the tub and played with the bubbles and the washcloth and had a great time. While she played I took a comb to her hair and did my best to get the knots out. When her water cold I got her out, dried off and dressed in bright blue footie pajamas with little yellow ducks all over them.

———

By the time the whole process was over Mom and Monica were waiting for us downstairs.
"Gamma!" Cherry said when she saw Mom. Mom smiled and tried not to cry.
"Hi, sweetie. Can I have a hug?" Cherry leaned toward her with open arms. Mom took her from me.
"I assume this is why you tried to call me earlier?" Monica asked, coming over and wrapping her arm around my waist.
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm happy she's back."
"Me too."
"I got in touch with Jemima and she's willing to take your case. And I promise she's reliable." Mom said, smiling at me.
"Great. Jess is gonna call after she talks to Cherry's dad's lawyer." Mom nodded. Monica stepped over by Mom.
"Hi." She said to Cherry. "Do you remember me?" Cherry nodded. She two fingers in mouth and was playing with Mom's necklace with her other hand. "Oh good." Monica has never been great with kids, but for me, for Cherry, she was willing to try. I grabbed Sebastian by the arm and drug him into the kitchen. Emerson was still there, sitting at the table drawing, and Shy was standing behind him.
"I need to talk to you." I told them. They both looked up at me. "Come on." I nodded towards Emerson's bedroom. I pulled Sebastian in with me and Emerson and shy followed us. Emerson's room was, unsurprisingly, messy. You could barely see the floor.
"Close the door." Shy closed it softly. "First of all Emerson, clean your room it's disgusting in here."
"Why are we in here?" He asked.
"I'm going to propose to Monica. Tonight! And I need your help." Shy squealed in excitement. Emerson looked shocked, but Sebastian, who already knew, just nodded.
"Alright. We're all ears. How can we help?" He said. I grinned and began explaining my plan.

Only one chapter left! But there will be a sequel.