~ Giada Adjuk ~
📍Narsaq, Greenland
July 17, 2012
11:00 a.m.
"GIADA, GET DOWN HERE." my 'father' yelled from downstairs. I just call him Pavel, since that is his name. I ran down the stairs into the living room and was immediately overwhelmed with the scent of alcohol. Pavel and Anya, his wife, were both standing next to the door as I walked over to them with my head down.
"Have the house spotless by the time we get back, understood." I nodded by head, keeping it down. That's what works around them: keeping my head down, and not doing anything to aggravate them further. They walked out the door, slamming it on their way out.
I made my way back up the stairs to check on Rora, just to make sure that she was still asleep. When saw that she was the same as how I left her, I walked back down the stairs ignoring the limp that I seemed to have almost constantly. Aside from the fresh bruises along my thighs, wrists, shoulders and torso, my split lip, and the open wound on my thigh, I wasn't in that bad of shape compared to previous incidents.
—————
Almost 3 hours later, and I was finally done cleaning the entire house. I was walking towards the front door with two trash bags full of beer bottles, when there was a knocking on the door. Putting the bags down next to me, I opened the door, to be greeted with two male police officers.
The officer on the right whose name-pin read 'Hans' was taller, broader than his partner. His eyes appeared dark, possibly due to the dimly lit exterior of the house. His hair was clean, buzzed. Same with his goatee.
His partner was shorted than him in stature but was clearly buff enough to take down the average person. His hair was fuller than Hans', but he had it buzzed at the sides. Eyes blue. Name-pin read 'Augo'.
I was currently wearing sweatpants and a black tank top, which clearly wasn't the best idea seeing as their eyes were immediately drawn to the bruises on my shoulders and arms. But to be fair, I wasn't expecting our guests to be police. Their jaws were clenched and eyes slightly wide; anger and surprise flashing across their faces briefly.
"What can I do for you officers?" I asked, their eyes immediately shooting back up to my face; scanning it, seeing the split lip and fading bruise along my cheekbone.
Fumbling a little, the goatee-owning officer spoke first, "Sorry, ma'am... are you Giada Adjuk? Anya and Pavel Adjuk's daughter?"
"I'm their adopted daughter yes... why do you ask?" I shifted on my feet, letting some weight off of my thigh.
"I'm sorry but they were both found dead in a drunk driving accident," the shorter of the two said. "It appears they were coming home from the bar, drunk and ran a red light. They died on impact. We're sorry for your loss." Their facial expressions were sympathetic, but they didn't do a very good job at hiding the resentment present in their eyes.
Don't be, I wanted to say, but that would probably just make thing worse. I kept my face blank, my voice impassive.
"Alright. I'm sixteen so what's going to happen to me?" They looked slightly shocked at my response. No tears, no shock, no nothing coming from a 16 year old girl who's spent nearly 14 years of her life with these people. I could see how that might be an odd reaction.
"If you could come with us back to the station, we have a social worker on their way."
Not seeing a way out of this, I nodded, then added, "Can I get my things first?"
"Of course."
I nodded again, and opened the door wider, gesturing for them to come in while I made my way upstairs.
Rora was awake when I opened the door to my room, she was standing up in her old crib that looked like it would fall apart if it was pushed a little too hard, gripping the top bar and shifting on her legs while looking straight at me.
Making my way across the small room to her, I smiled softly, "Well look who's awake, we're going on a little trip alright?" and she babbled a little while following my movements with her body.
Her crib was across the room, as far from the door as possible. I never wanted her caught in the crossfire of Pavel and Anya, and sometimes their men, so I positioned my twin-sized bed to stick out from the wall, blocking the path from the door to her crib but still leaving a couple feet at the foot of the bed to pass. It wasn't much, but it had made all the difference several times already.
I gathered up some of my clothes, which were mostly sweat pants, second-hand jeans, a few shirts and a hoodie in a bag. I added my favorite book, The Song of Achilles, to the bag, then packed Rora's clothes, her favorite toy and her blanket into another 2 bags. I put them all over my shoulder around my arm and picked up Rora, placing her on my hip and made my way back downstairs.
Both police officers were standing just inside the front door, looking around. They looked up when I stepped on a loose floorboard to make my presence known, immediately noticing Rora in my arms. Not that a baby would be very easy to miss.
Hans apparently had worked up the courage to say, "We weren't made aware that they had adopted a baby." Augo nodding his head a little in agreement with his eyebrows furrowed in clear confusion.
"They didn't - she's mine." They looked slightly alarmed by that, which I don't blame them for, but I wasn't going to allow them to think that she was Pavel and Anya's and risk getting separated from her. No matter what that makes them think about the, now-dead, Pavel and Anya.
Neither partner seemed too eager to continue that certain topic, so they just wordlessly helped with my bags and directed me to the car.
The drive to the station was silent, and about halfway through, the officer in the passenger seat turned on the radio. But if anything that just made the awkwardness worse.
15 minutes later, we arrived at the station and the officers helped me with the bags. There were plenty of stares by the occupants of the room, but nobody said anything and just continued on with their tasks. They set us up in a conference room at the back of the station, stating that the social worker would be in shortly before leaving us to our own devices.
There was a small couch in the room, and Rora had fallen asleep again so I sat on the couch with her curled up on my chest. With nothing to do besides run my fingers through her hair, my mind started to wander.
What would happen to Rora? There was no way in hell I was going to let her be separated from me.
What if we ended up in a foster home worse than the Adjuks? I was 16, only 3 months until 17, so it would be a little over a year until I could get us both out. That is, if I didn't just run away before that; which was becoming a very tempting option.
If we did get placed with a nice family, they would undoubtedly want to know why I had so many scars for someone my age, and bruises scattered along my body. I supposed it would be nice to open up to someone else, but I had been by myself with only Rora and Nuka to rely on for such a long time I wasn't sure if that would be a smart idea in the long run if I was only going to leave as soon as I turned 18.
Nuka. I have to see him before I leave. He needs to know what's happened, I can't just disappear without telling him. He's been my best friend for as long as I can remember, my only support system throughout the years. He's the only person who knows the full extent of what Pavel and Anya do to me, and what they allow their men to do as well. And I can't just leave with Rora and not let her see him before. Nuka had become like a father to her since she was born, and it would be wrong to not let them say their hopefully temporary goodbyes before we leave.
About 30 minutes later there was a knock on the office door and a kind-looking man came in. He was a couple inches shorter than the police officer who showed him in. He was wearing a dark blue 2-piece suit without a tie, the blazer unbuttoned showing the white dress shirt underneath. He had on wire lens glasses, and carried a dark leather traveling bag. He looked sophisticated, that's for sure.
The police officer left after making sure we didn't need anything, and the man sat on a chair facing me. I had taken off my jacket since it was quite warm in here, leaving my bruises out in the open. The man looked over me - my bruises, and the child in my arms, and I'm not sure what he thought, but he didn't comment.
"Hi Giada, I'm Malik Jensen, your social worker."
"Hi Mr. Jensen. So, where I am going?" Better to cut right to it than delay the inevitable.
"Well, first please call me Malik. Secondly, I looked at your file from when you were adopted, and it turns out your biological family have been looking for you since you were entered into the system at 2."
Lying biches. 'Dead' my ass.
"What do you mean biological family? I thought they were dead." That's what the Adjuk's had told me. And I believed them, it was better than dwelling on something that might never happen.
"Your family lives in Italy, they are the Romano's. You have a mother and father plus 7 brothers."
"7?!" Holy shit. I felt my heart speed up at the thought of being surrounded by that many males in one place. I could only hope that they weren't anything like the men I had been subjected to.
"Yes, ma'am. I was going to call them before I met you but I was told you had special circumstances so I wanted to check in beforehand,". He looked down at Rora who was currently curled against my chest as I leaned back into the couch to giver her a more comfortable position. His eyes softened as he continued, "Can I assume, that said 'special circumstances' are related to this little one?"
Nodding a little, I responded, "Yeah, this is Rora. I'm not going anywhere unless she's coming with me, and that's non-negotiable, sir." I would run out of the building if I had to.
He smiled a bit, "I'm sure that won't be an issue, honning. I'm going to step out and call your biological father, alright? I'll come back in afterwards and let you know what's happening." (honey - danish)
"Thank you, sir."
He stepped out of the room to presumably call... my father. That's going to take some time to get used to. I never thought I would have an actual father figure in my life. Lord knows I haven't one for the past 14 years. That was one of the reasons I was so grateful for Nuka; he provided at least a little bit of stability in Rora's life and a father figure she could lean on when I wasn't available. But now that's being disturbed as well, and I could only hope that we would get to see him again.
For the next 20 or so minutes, I stayed on the couch with Rora wrapped in my arms. She had moved so she was bear-hugging me as best as her 18-month old body could, her little legs on either side of my waist with both her arms folded between our bodies.
Mr. Jensen came back in smiled at Rora and I. "Your father is going to adopt you legally, so we are going to head to the airport." Yay...? I don't know whether to be grateful or scared out of my mind.
"When?"
Please don't be now, please don't be now, please don't be now, plea-
"The plane leaves in 2 hours, so if there is anything you need to get that's still at the house, or anyone you want to say goodbye to, now would be the time. I can drive you."
Thank god.
"There's one person I would like to see before we leave, he's my next door neighbor." Nuka. He lived to the left of me, his bedroom window faced mine, the only difference was that mine was on the second floor. I would sneak out of the house with Rora when I knew everyone else was passed out drunk or not present, and he would always be there for us. He had a stash of medical equipment he stole from his parent's tattoo parlor that he used on me whenever I actually needed it. His parents have almost never been home since he was 15, they've been traveling and establishing a name for themselves in the tattoo industry. Nuka was fine with it, since they were still home on holidays and birthdays.
"I have your address, so we can go right now if you like."
"That would be great, thank you."
He nodded, and helped me get up while making sure that Rora was still asleep. Leaving our belongings in the room, we exited the station with a police officer, because they insisted that we have one until we were on the plane. The drive was the same length before, about 15 minutes and then we arrived at Nuka's house.
Even from the outside, there was a noticeable difference in the two houses. His house looked put together, it had a fresh coat of green paint on it from when his parents came back a month ago for his birthday, and there was a paved path to the door. My house, had chipped yellow paint, and the roofing was nearly coming apart. There was a boarded window on the first floor from when Pavel's friend threw an unopened beer bottle at me but missed, and I was blamed for the window.
When I knocked on the door with Mr. Jensen and the officer behind me, Nuka answered the door and immediately worry overcame his face. Nuka was 17, only six months older than myself. His eyes were a gorgeous green color that contrasted with the darkness of his hair. Hair that he clearly hadn't cut since his parent's visit 3 months ago for his birthday.
He shuffled a little in the doorway, looking between the four of us between his eyes settled on me. "What's going on?" his eyebrows were furrowed with concern as he opened the door a little wider to invite us in.
Nuka and I settled in the living room coach with Rora now waking up on my lap. The 2 men were in the kitchen, attempting to give us a semblance of privacy in the small home.
"Pavel and Anya were killed..." so I explained the whole situation to him and how we were moving to Italy in an hour. When I was done explaining everything, Rora had thrown herself at Nuka, babbling gå ikke and Bliv, until she finally passed out in his arms. (don't go) (stay)
We sat together on the couch, my body curled against his while his arm was around my waist, hand underneath my tank-top and thumb stroking one of my scars. His cheek was rested against the top of my head which was resting against his chest. This was a common position for us to be in whenever I came over to his house with Rora. Being in his presence always made me feel safer than anything else, and I knew my daughter felt the same because every time she was with him, she slept soundly, which she only ever did if she was being held by me.
Rora was curled on his lap with her hand fisted in his shirt. Nuka was the only person I was comfortable with enough to even think about being this relaxed around, and the only person I would ever let around Rora if I wasn't in the immediate vicinity. He had gained my trust long ago and had never given me any reason to regret that.
We were sitting in a comfortable silence when Mr. Jensen came into the room, his eyes softening when he landed on the position we were in. It was clear that he didn't want to disturb the obvious peace that encompassed the room, but he had to anyway. He came to crouch in front of us, and whispered as to not wake Rora, "We need to be leaving soon, in order to catch the flight." I nodded in understanding and murmured an okay, and he gave us a soft smile before retreating back to the kitchen.
We spent a few more moments as we were before I slowly got up, ensuring that Rora was still in Nuka's lap. After I got up, Nuka followed with Rora still in his arms. He walked closer to me and carefully passed the sleeping Rora over, and as I got her settled again in my arms. I looked up only to see him already looking at me. We stared at each other for a few moments before he let out a soft breath and closed the gap between us to wrap his arms around the two of us. I melted into his embrace and allowed myself to bask in what could very well be the last peaceful moments in my life for a while.
He pulled back and held my face in his hands, running his thumbs along my cheeks and then placed a lingering kiss on my forehead. "You have my number. If you get a phone, call me and let me know how everything is, I don't care about the time difference, I will answer. Promise me," he murmured against my forehead.
"I promise," I whispered back. I knew he wasn't lying. He would pick up my call no matter what he was doing. I meant a lot to him. Rora meant a lot to him.
He trailed his hands down my arms until he laced one of his with mine while the other stoked Rora's cheek before dropping to his side. He lead me to the entryway where the officer and Mr. Jensen were waiting outside the open front door. We walked out of the door and Nuka turned me around with a tug on my hand, and embraced me one last time, kissing us both on the forehead. I should have felt slightly embarrassed about him doing that in front of others, but I couldn't find it in myself to care about that when this could be last time I saw him in person for years.
"You be safe," he told me right before I turned and got in the car.
I looked back to him, "I will." and got in the car. If I stayed a moment longer, I wouldn't have been able to walk away. I was grateful that Rora was asleep right now, because I know she would have put up one hell of a fight to stay.
Mr. Jensen and the officer got in the front of the car and we headed to the station to pick up my belongings before going to the airport. Nuka stayed by the door until I could no longer see him through the window of the car.
I was startled out of my thought by Mr. Jensen, "Are you two together?"
I let out a short breath that might have seemed like a laugh, "No, but he's been there for the both of us for a while." I won't lie and say that I've never thought about being in a relationship with Nuka before, and I know he feels the same way, but we both knew that wouldn't have been a good idea given our circumstances, especially now that Rora and I were moving to a new country. But perhaps things could work out in the future... you never know.
"Ah, well you seem to mean a lot to each other. The flight is 19 hours long, and the plane leaves in half an hour, we'll be there in 20 minutes."
"Alright."
I guess we're going to Italy.
__________________________
3/18/23
Well, hello. I've been gone for a long time, but I'm going to try and continue with my hectic-as-hell schedule. I posted the first chapters over summer 2022, before my Sophomore year of high school, when I had literally nothing to do. But this school year took me by a complete surprise with the amount of work I have, so my focus has been on that. I go to one of the top high schools in my state, so the workload is... a lot.
I've decided to go back and edit the existing chapters before posting a new one, seeing as I realize there were a couple things that just weren't going to line up with what I wanted to happen in this book.
If any of you are Danish speakers and find anything incorrect (which there probably will be, seeing as I'm only using google translate), please comment so I can fix it. I'm aware that Greenlandic is the language most commonly spoke among Greenland civilians but I can't find an online translator, so I'm using Danish since it is spoken there, but mostly amongst politicians and administrative elites (Google).
Before editing - 1300 words.
After editing - 3676 words