I parked the car, turned off the ignition, and dropped my hands on my lap. I looked at the Reid's house and then at Persephone, who seemed troubled.
"What if they don't like me?" she asks quietly.
I can understand where this question is coming from. She is about to meet new people; the only ones she feels close to are Seth and me.
We haven't talked about Seth since that incident at the house. It has been two days with no talk or interaction. At first, I felt relieved, but I realized how much I missed him—missed his jokes and his teasing. I missed his touch and how his fingers made my whole body shiver in a good way. I hated men touching me. It took Odin and the boys a minute in my team to shake hands with me because it would remind me of the past. But with Seth's touch, he's gentle and feels with kindness. His hands feel softer than mine with all the callousness. It would've been better if I wore gloves when he touched my hands again.
I close my eyes and shake my head. There is a better time to think about him. I glance back at Persephone, who has her eyes on the house. I smile.
I reached and tapped on her shoulder, which made her flinch but reminded her it was me. She turns. "Don't worry; they are going to love you."
I know Effie and them will love Persephone. They will welcome her with open arms. Since I got a call from Effie yesterday, she told me they are having a family BBQ and invited me and Persephone. Initially, I was hesitant and told Effie that the child wasn't used to seeing new people, but then I realized I couldn't shelter her forever. I'm to protect her from any of Eva's men lurking around searching for Persephone.
I accepted the invitation.
"Are there other kids like me?" She hugged the brown bear I bought her the other day when we shopped at Walmart. It was hard for her to cope with many people, and I thought it would help with her anxiety, but it worsened it.
"There are other children, but they are younger than you. The closest one to your age is Leo, and he's seven." I explain, keeping her mind calm.
She hugs that bear tight, unsure if she can get through this. Although she is thirteen and girls her age shouldn't bring dolls or bears to another person's house because they claim themselves mature, and that little girl toys are too young for them, I'm not one to judge because Persephone has been through a lot, and she loves that bear. I will let her keep it until she is ready to let go.
One step at a time.
"I promise you, this will not be like last time," I tell her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you with me."
"It's not your fault," she flashes her smile. But I know behind that smile, she was scared. "I'm still not used to it with many people."
Persephone gave one more look at the house. I watch her shoulders rise and fall, indicating she takes deep breaths.
"You ready?"
She reaches the door handle, clenches it, and looks at me. "I'm ready."
"We can go back, and I can call Effie that you are not ready to meet them," I wanted to be sure she wouldn't have another anxiety attack.
"No, don't," Persephone stopped me before I reached my phone. She inhales and exhales. "If these are Terry's friends, I can trust them."
I was ready to get the paper brown bag in my back pocket, but I was shocked to see her jump out of the car and stand there staring at the house.
Getting out of the car, I ran to her side. She squeezes my hand, then asks, "Are you sure they will like me? What if they-"
"Persephone," I spin her to face me, having her look me right in the eyes. "I promised you I would find your mom, right?" she nods. "Then I promise these people in this house will never harm you. They are not like the people at the Order."
She flinched when I said the cult's name out loud, but I didn't care because soon, that name would cease to exist once I got rid of them.
"My friends, they also experience misfortune events in their lives and look at them now," I continue and remember everything that has happened with Effie, Lilly, and Claire. I mostly know about the girls. As for the guys in their life, it intertwines, making it their misfortune. It made them a match in heaven with everything they had been through together. "They will welcome you with open arms."
Persephone looked down, and with one last exhale, she lifted her head and gave me a confident look. "Okay, I trust you."
I smile, and she smiles back.
I lift my hand for hers, and she grabs it as we walk towards the house. Effie had told me to enter the backyard. So, we went through the gate leading to the back. I didn't realize the music was booming from outside because I talked with Persephone.
"Hey, Terry!" Effie came trolling slowly towards me with her swollen belly. Next month, she will give birth to her babies, and I can see that Effie will be a great mom, knowing she is raising Zara.
"You made it," she paused and glanced down.
When I looked down simultaneously, I didn't realize my hand was free and felt a little person hiding behind me. I couldn't help but chuckle.
"This must be Persephone," Effie says sweetly and gently lowers herself. "I heard a lot of things about you from Seth."
I feel her hand clenching on the back of my shirt. I looked at Persephone and found her eyes staring at Effie, not because of her face, but because she focused on the healed scars and sizeable round belly.
"Do you love them?" she quietly asked Effie.
Effie realized what the child meant and pulled up a beautiful smile, flashing white teeth caressing her round stomach. "Of course I do; they are my babies, my life," she pulls herself back and groans. "But I wish they would come out soon because my back is killing me, and my feet are hurting." of course, she meant that as a joke because she is carrying twins, and I didn't know it could be so challenging to handle than having one baby when pregnant.
"Do you love the father?" Persephone asks another nervous question.
"Sweetie, of course I do," Effie turns her head, and we both look at Logan, who is with the guy holding Zara in his arms and is trying to grab the red cup in his hand with her tiny hands. It is a pretty sight to see. "He's the love of my life."
I can see the love in her eyes. While she kept staring at Logan, it got his attention, and he blew a kiss at his woman. Effie giggles and returns a kiss when Zara starts to mimic her adopted parents, blowing a kiss at her mom and then planting a raspberry kiss on her dad's cheek. Then, it became a trend when she called out for Ares and Don to do the same thing she did with Logan. It made everyone around her laugh and giggle.
"She's such a doll, isn't she," Claire appears with her round belly ready months after Effie. "Well, this must be the child you told me about. Hi, I'm Claire."
"Hi, I'm Persephone," she finally greets as she says her name. That's one step, and it made me proud.
"I love your bear. What's his name?"
The child hid behind me, not at my side, hugging the bear in her arms. "Beau."
"That's a nice name for a bear," Claire smiles.
"Mommy!" Leo appears with Chris, the son of Effie's boss, standing behind him, all excited. "Can we get some ice cream? I hear the ice cream truck coming outside."
"Go ask your father to take you guys," Claire stopped and looked at Persephone. "Would you like to join them?"
I wait for Persephone to answer until Leo steps in. "Come with us. You can have any ice cream you want."
Persephone looks hesitant and looks up at me. "Go on, get some ice cream, but we must put it in the freezer because we haven't eaten yet. I don't want to upset your stomach like last time."
"Okay," she whispers.
"Yay!" Leo and Chris grab both of her hands instantly. "Let's go!"
I watch as they approach Don. Persephone stood behind them as Leo asked his stepfather to take them outside the house. She stood there, hiding her face away and cautiously ready to take her away if she was not prepared to talk to a big, scary man like Don. But knowing Don for a while now wouldn't hurt a fly, especially to a child, since he loves Leo like his son. He's a big guy but gentle like a bear. I hope Persephone can see that.
"You're taking this parenting well," Claire comments as we watch Don get down on his knee and talk kindly to Persephone. On the other hand, Leo is too excited and jumps on his back as they both laugh. It's to show Persephone that Don will never hurt her.
"I'm still not ready to take care of a child, especially one who was-" I pause and clench my fist.
Claire pats my back as it eases my anger. "I understand. It broke my heart when you told me what that child has been through over the phone."
"Did you ask Grandpa to find her mother?" asked Effie.
"I sent Persephone's hair samples to one of our techs, and it usually takes a day or two to get the results, but," It has been a week.
After I sent the DNA samples to Hector two days later, Odin got a call that I was relieved of my duty to take care of a child.
I don't know what happened then, but something didn't feel right. I kept wondering, and my thoughts were that of the child. I know Persephone is an Eden Child, but I couldn't quite understand this outcome once Odin took me to hunt and destroy the Order. And the results of finding her mother, Hector couldn't find the closet kin, or is he lying? I asked Kendall to look through it for me, and I'll wait for her reply once she finds out who Persephone is.
"Hi, Terry," Lily approaches us with Ramsey in her arms, playing with her necklace with his teeth. "Where is your plus one?" Looking around for Persephone.
"She's with Don and the boys to get ice cream," Claire replied.
"Oh, that's her?" Lily gasp then I could sense she was going to say something else until Effie packed a punch.
"What is it, Lily?"
Lily looks at me, and then Persephone disappears to look back at me. "Nothing."
What the hell?
Before I could ask her what the hell was, Thea and Jordan also arrived where we stood. Thea has James, her son, sucking on his pacifier in her arms.
"Hi, girls!" Thea closes her mouth, and all of us glare at her outburst. She giggles. "Sorry, girls and a guy," she winks at me. "Why are you all just standing there?"
"Thea, did you see the child?" asked Effie.
"Yeah, the one with Don. When I saw her, I was shocked." They made the same expression as Lily. "By the way, Terry, are you sure you and that kid aren't related? Maybe she's your long lost sister or-"
"No, I'm an only child," I reply.
Why are they asking me this?
"You sure? I see the similarity between you two," Thea says.
Seth said the same thing last time, and I'm getting pressured about why they would say that way. Of course, they are curious about this child. The child I am assigned to protect. I questioned that myself when I first saw Persephone. I felt familiarity coming off her, and I don't know the answer.
We hear a child's laughter as we all look and see the two little boys eating ice cream, Don and Persephone, walking back, holding an unopened ice cream in her hand. She had a good time with them.
When she looked up and smiled, she ran to me and hugged me. "Terry looks. I picked out ice cream. I went with new people, and they asked me what I wanted!"
She was so excited, and I couldn't help but smile. Persephone seems so happy to be alone with other people other than me. I pulled her in my embrace out of the blue and almost cried.
"Terry?"
This first step had become advanced for her—another level. I never felt so proud of her, and soon, the next step will be a bit difficult, but I'm sure she can handle it.