I'm only one call away (wrong number)

Another day.

The heavy front door swings open to reveal an older couple, around their mid 40's, wrapped in each-other's arms, staring intently at me. It's kinda creepy. Sarah clears her throat from my left and places a firm hand on my elbow, pushing me towards the pair. Once we get within two feet Sarah releases her hold and smiles at all of us.

"Mackenzi, this is Mr and Mrs Johnson, Mr and Mrs Johnson, this is Mackenzi." Her voice was overly sweet and polite which is a major change from what she's normally like. Mr Johnson turn to Sarah with an unidentifiable look in his eye.

"You said she was brunette." He says through gritted teeth. I subconsciously run a hand through my blonde hair, keeping my eyes trained on the ground.

"She is, she dyed her hair about 2 months ago." Sarah explains calmly, completely oblivious to the man's rage. Mrs Johnson places a calming hand on her husband's arm.

"It's okay. Just look at how beautiful she is." She takes a step forward and place her hand on my unbruised cheek, forcing my brown orbs to meet her own. "Absolutely beautiful." She pulls away quickly and looks at Sarah.

"Thank you for bringing her to us. we'll be sure to call if we have any problems." Sarah nods and smiles, already moving away from the group.

"Call me if you need anything Max. And for God sake, be good." The blonde climbs back into the driver's seat and pulls out of the drive. Bitch.

I sit in the room that Mrs Johnson told me is my own and try and come up with a conclusion about the safest way to eat today. The Johnson's seem nice but they all do at first. The door has a lock which could either be a good thing or a bad thing, right now good. I stand up from my bed and slide the latch on the door, testing to make sure it's truly locked. Good. That works for now. I take a seat on the slightly hard bed and pull out my phone, might as well see if Spider's online.

Tigger
Heyyyyyyy

Spider
Hey kid.

Tigger
Whatcha doing?

Spider
Nothing interesting.

Tigger
How busy would you say
you are on a Scale of 8-9?

Spider
Huh? I'm not busy.

Tigger
I'm no mathmatologist
but that seems like a lot.

Spider
Are you okay?

Tigger
Okay, quick survey.
Are you busy busy
or just busy?

Spider
Is this one of those vines things?

Tigger
...
I found a jump rope.

Spider
...
You're one weird kid

Tigger
:D
Thank you.

Spider
What's up kid?

Tigger
Nothing, I'm just bored.

Spider
Well, you can help me out
if you want.

Tigger
Sure! What you need?

Spider
Me and my husband are
starting to foster and we
need Stuff for rooms.
You know what teenagers like?

Tigger
Well, I should hope so.
I can also give you some
do's and don't's on what
to put in a foster kids room.

Spider
Really? That would be helpful

Tigger
Ofc. I'd love to help.
What age and gender?

Me and Spider talk for about three hours, her sending me pictures of things for the rooms and me telling her if it would be a good idea or not. I learnt that her and her husband can't have kids so they chose to foster. We were half way through working on the third bedroom, which should be for a younger boy, when there was a knock on my door. I stand and undo the lock coming face to face with my new foster dad.

"Hey, we just wanted to check up on you, see if you're settling in okay." I nod.

"Yeah, yeah, it's great thank you Mr Johnson."

"Oh please, call me Cal, or dad." His hand rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Well Jiaying is down stairs with some dye remover so, why don't we go get rid of that blonde then we can grab something to eat." I take an involuntary step back causing him to take a step forward. "Come on, you look ridiculous with that blonde hair Daisy." Oh so that's what this is. Lost one kid so foster other that look like them, far too common in the foster business. I take another step back and stare into his eyes.

"My name is not Daisy. And I like my blonde hair." Well that wasn't the right answer. He reaches out and grabs my wrist tightly, pulling me closer to his body, the stench of alcohol killing my sense of smell with every passing second.

"Listen here, we saved you from being put in a group home so you listen to everything we say and you don't get hurt. Do you understand?" I nod, keeping my eyes closed. His grip tightens painfully.

"I said, do you understand?"

"Yes sir." I whisper, feeling the blood rush back into my hand instantly.

"Good. Now come down stairs, time to fix your hair."

6 painful hours later I'm sat back in my room, laying on my bed, choppy brown hair sprawled across the pillow, phone clutched in my hand. My shoulder shake violently at the force of my sobs and my thumb hovers over the call button. She's probably too busy to speak to you, I bet she won't even answer. I swipe my thumb over to the text option and start typing.

Tigger
Hey, you up?

Spider
I am now.

Tigger
Oh, I'm sorry

Spider
It's okay, what are you doing up?
It's 2 am.

Tigger
I just,

Spider
Kid? Is everything okay?

Tigger
Yeah I'm just being stupid.
I just need to man up.

Spider
There's nothing wrong
with needing help kiddo.
I'm here for you.

Tigger
I'm just tired.
I'll be better in the morning.

Spider
You sure?

Tigger
Yeah, I'll be fine

Spider
Okay, don't hesitate to
call if you need me okay?

Tigger
Yes 'mom'
Goodnight

Spider
Goodnight baby.

Tigger has left the chat.