Mini Ruzek

Chapter 9

Hailey's POV
I'm so emotional right now. Adam went to drop Riley off. I can't believe she asked if she could call me mom. Of course I said yes. I love that girl like she's mine. Once Adam returned, we talked for a while and I could tell he was scared.

"Adam, everything's going to be okay." I said resting my forehead against his.

"Is it? There's a chance I could lose her." He said.

"That's a small chance. Anyone would be stupid to not give you custody." I said and he kissed me.

"What if she wants to stay with them?" He asked and I saw tears escape his eyes.

"Oh Addy, don't cry. She would never choose them over you. You have been there ever since she was born. She loves you, you're her dad." I said comfortingly. We watched movies for a few hours. At around 2, we went and picked Riley up. We knocked on the door and saw Riley and her grandmother.

"Hey dad." Riley said. We left and got in the car. Her grandparents were giving us dirty looks. As soon as we turned the corner, Riley broke down crying. Adam stopped the car and I climbed in the back with her. He carried on driving as I put my seatbelt on.

"Ri, what's going on?" I asked moving her hair out of her face.

"Don't make me go back there. Don't let them take me." She said and I looked at her confused.

"What happened honey?" I asked.

"I got a text and it was from the girl I was telling you about this morning." She said and I nodded.

"They asked who it was and I said this new girl at school who I like. They said no grandchild of theirs will ever like the same gender. They started yelling at me saying I was a disappointment to the world." She said and my heart broke.

"Oh sweetheart, don't listen to them. You are perfect." I said and she looked up at me and smiled.

"When we get home, I'm calling the social worker." Adam said. We got home and Riley went straight to her room. Adam called the social worker and I went to check on Riley. As I walked in her room, I saw she was already in leggings and one of Adam's CPD hoodies. She was under the covers and I sat on her bed.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked softly.

"Yeah, it's just annoying. What did I do wrong?" She asked and I looked at her sadly. She started to tear up. I brought her close to me.

"You did nothing wrong honey. They clearly aren't nice people. You are perfect and don't let anyone tell you anything different." I said. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in my chest.

"Thank you momma." She said and I smiled.

"I'm always here for you sweetheart." I said.

"Your dad asked me something earlier. I didn't want to say yes until I made sure you were okay with it." I said and she looked up at me.

"What is it?" She asked.

"How would you feel about me moving in?" I asked and she smiled.

"I would love it." She said. We headed into the living room and Adam was just coming off the phone.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"Apparently her grandparents called Kate and said that they aren't going to fight for custody anymore because they don't want a sinner living with them." He said and Riley went and sat on the couch.

"What shall we have for dinner?" Adam asked.

"I'll have anything." I said.

"What do you want Ri?" Adam asked.

"I'm not hungry." She mumbled.

"You have to eat something." I said.

"I'm not hungry." She said.

"How about McDonald's?" Adam suggested, knowing that it's Riley's favourite. She smiled.

"I'll have a plain double cheeseburger, medium fries, and a coke." She said and I chuckled. We ate dinner and had a movie night. We were deciding on what to watch.

"How about a horror?" Adam suggested.

"Absolutely not; unless you want me having nightmares for the next month." Riley said.

"You're not going to have nightmares." He said.

"I agree with Riley. I hate horror films." I said.

"Why? We see scary stuff all the time at work." Adam asked.

"My family used to watch horror films all the time. It brings back a lot of memories from my childhood." I said and he nodded. He knew about the abuse I suffered as a kid. He found out when we working on an abuse case and it got a bit much for me. We decided to watch a series instead.

"I think we should watch friends." Riley suggested.

"Let's do it." Adam said and he put it on. I chuckled every now and then at funny parts. In that moment, I felt so happy. I have never experienced love like this before. I finally have a loving family. I have an amazing boyfriend who I love and a step-daughter who means the world to me. They are my family.