chapter four// you're enough
Not long after, following a lot of anxious pleading from Evelyn to Faith to sit in the car seat, the small family found themselves in Carinas Porsche on their way to some shopping mall the teen had neither heard of nor been too
The car was filled with an oddly comfortable silence as Faith incorrectly sang to the Disney songs sounding from the cars radio. Carina smiled through the rear view mirror wishing she could record the moment of cuteness, Evelyn too— she was glad the toddler was no longer in a bad mood, not wanting her foster mothers to get mad at her. Maybe today would be good
"We're here" Maya called out as she parked the car turning off the ignition causing Evelyn's anxiety to pique, that car ride was way too short!!
The girl wondered if they'd make her and Faith wait in the car while they did whatever they came here for. If she was being honest she wished the answer would be yes— she hated big crowds
"you guys ready to go?"
guess that's a no, Carina asked turning round in her seat to face the two. Faith was too preoccupied by Mr Snuggles to notice. Evelyn not trusting her voice merely nodded as she followed their move and stepped out of the car, practically running to to Faiths door and opening it
As the teen unbuckled the toddler out of the car seat and into her arms much to the the two year olds relief, Maya helped Carina to grab the stroller from the car boot and quickly set it, "here bambina why don't you put her here"
Evelyn stood in shock and confusion as she stared at the pair and the stroller beside them, where the hell did that come from?
"A friend of ours Miranda and Warren have a little girl just a bit older than Faith, they don't need it anymore so they left it in last night while you were showering" Maya said automatically reading the confusion behind the girls greeny blue eyes
"And we don't want your arms hurting carrying around the tesoro all day" Carina added. Evelyn could feel her heart swell at the care her foster mothers had went for her and her child, no one had ever did that for them
she smiled as she shut the car door, "thank you, a-and can you thank you friends for us too?"
"of course bambina" Carina replied as she watched their foster daughter hesitantly walk towards them and sit the toddler in the stroller buckling her in with surprisingly little protest. Maya and carina were happy about that, not because the girls whining annoyed them but because they hated to watch Evelyn become stressed as she begged the toddler to work with her not against her, knowing they couldn't really do anything due to the teen being terrified of them. It killed them both
Evelyn tucked a blanket into the girls side along with her stuffed giraffe, of course, making sure she'd be warm. She pressed a kiss to Faith's cheek before standing up again, "ready?" Maya questioned
Evelyn nodded following the two inside the mall , pushing the stroller to the right of Carina and to the left of Maya
"Okay, let's go"
Evelyn's confusion spiked by one hundred as they entered Pacific Place shopping mall, besides from the usual designer shops this place didn't really seem to fit the vibe of the Italian or the firefighter. And, it definitely didn't fit Evelyn, who usually shopped at some charity shop or goodwill
Maybe a target or Walmart when she had some extra money but that was extremely unlikely
She felt out of place here
"Okay, where to first Ev?" Maya asked turning her head to the teen who in turn raised her eyebrows, why was she asking her?
"w-what? I — I don't know" she spluttered , "w-why are you asking me?" her cheeks reddening at being out in the spot
Carina mentally face-planned cursing herself and her wife for being so stupida— they forgot to tell her they were here to get her some stuff, after becoming alarmed at the light weight of the trash bag carrying all her belongings, it couldn't be a lot, and judging by how she was wearing the same short jeans and wore out shoes from the previous day Carina guessed the majority of if not all the belongings in the bag belonged to Faith
"we're here for you, bambina. Where would you like to go first, hmm?" The Italian asked stopping to stand in front of the girl, but not too close as to intimidate or scare her
Meanwhile Evelyn gripped the handles of Faiths stroller, her fingers turning white as she began to have an internal panic, did they really think she could afford any of this? She barely had enough money to feed herself, her cheeks pinked in humiliation as she looked anywhere but at them
"I— I don't have enough m-money"
"Oh bambina" the couples heart broke at the girls broken whisper as she stood embarrassed in front of them. Before coming to them was she expected to practically be an adult? To feed and clothe herself as well as Faith? They didn't like that idea, she was just a child
"Ev hunny, Carina and I would never expect you to buy anything, especially not necessities like clothes or shoes. We're your par— guardians right now okay? This is our job, to look after you" Maya exclaimed her wife nodding in agreement
Evelyn hastily shook her head tears threatening to spill, " I– I can't let you do that its too much"
Maya sighed, "we want to Ev, you deserve it" Evelyn wanted to laugh at that, she deserved nothing at least that's what Veronica constantly told her, "okay we won't go crazy if you don't want us to, but we have to at least get you a few things okay?" The firefighter comprised seeing the young girls reluctance. But of course she wasn't telling the truth, Maya and Carina were detained to spoil the he'll out of their foster daughter
"Okay" Evelyn exhaled feeling defeated,Carina beamed, "Okay, where to first?". The fifteen year old shrugged having no clue, the obvious answer to her would be to wherever the cheapest stuff is but this place didn't exactly look like it sold second hand items, "how about over there?" Carina suggested pointing to an urban outfitters, she'd noticed a lot of teens and young girls about Evelyn's age go to
Evelyn nodded muttering an okay as she silently followed her foster parents into the store. She wouldn't lie the shop was cute, it smelt amazing and to top it of they were playing a run of taylor swift songs!! She felt like she was in heaven, but the quick glances she caught at the price tags weren't cute at all, "see anything you like Ev?"
The girl shrugged feeling uncomfortable by this whole experience. Carina knew the teen wouldn't voice if she saw anything she wanted so the Italian suggested her and Maya would pick up anything they thought she'd like and Evelyn could try them on at the end in the provided fitting rooms, Evelyn obviously agreed not wanting to defy the two
The next fifteen minutes consisted of Evelyn following the pair around the store as they shamelessly picked up item after item in what they guessed was the correct size as if money wasn't an issue (and let's be for real with Carina being a top surgeon it wasn't) as well as the Italian grabbing anything Evelyn showed even the slightest bit interest in with some help from a store employee
Carina was in her element, it had been her dream her whole life to be able to play dress up with her daughter and bond over boys or girls, school drama and makeup, and now it was finally happening. She couldn't be happier and maya was just overjoyed by seeing the smile on her wife's face
Finally after Carinas and Mayas arms were full they found themselves in the fitting room with a huge pile of clothes easily totalling hundreds of dollars, "okay Evie, why don't you go on in and try all this on, make a pile of what you don't like or doesn't fit. Si?"
Evelyn didn't move her eyes shifting between the two as they sat on a bench in the changing area, her hands protectively holding the strollers arms, Maya understood immediately
"Ev babe, you and Faith are safe with us, we're not going to hurt either of you. We promise" The oldest blonde said. Evelyn debated internally as she looked down into the stroller to see Faith paying none of them any mind, her entire attention was drawn to watching a cartoon on Carinas phone as she drank milk out of her bottle cuddled beside Mr snuggles. Evelyn apprehensively nodded as she slipped behind the changing curtain to try on the clothes "give us a shout if you need anything
Carinas hand found her wife's "baby steps" she whispered to her kissing her cheek in comfort
Baby steps
After the small family made their way around the mall stopping in shops including Hollister, garage, lulu lemon, Victoria secret and even some stores for faith, the teen protesting each time, they (maya and carina) decided it was time for lunch. They were starving!!
They stopped at the food court finding themselves in the subway section, wanting something light to eat, "what do you want in your sandwich, Ev?"'Maya asked as she watched her foster daughter lift a tired looking faith into a high chair they'd found
"Oh, I'm not hungry, thank you" she dismissed sitting down in the seat closest to her daughter
"Bambina you need to eat, you hardly ate breakfast this morning" Carina added sitting the array of shopping bags on the spare seat beside her
"I'm fine" she protested anxiously picking at her finger beds trying her best to ignore her foster parents stare
"Evelyn" Maya warned "it doesn't have to be anything big but you need to eat" she said leaving no room for debate
The teen felt like crying, she was so full
Yes, they were right she hadn't ate a lot today but it was more than she was usually allowed. Meals at her foster placements were scarce, so she usually found herself giving her food to Faith or the younger kids at the foster homes, thus as a result her body wasn't use to frequent meals
Maya could see the girl getting overwhelmed and she instantly felt bad for pressuring her "how about I choose something I think you'd like? Something simple, hmm?" Evelyn nodded not looking up at the woman, "okay, honey"
The firefighter pecked her wife's cheek before leaving to go get her food, leaving Carina alone with Evelyn and Faith. The Italian noticed the teen was crying, immediately growing concerned "are you okay bambina?"
Evelyn brought her hands up to her eyes wiping them before letting out a shaky breathe "can I use the bathroom?" She asked looking up but not meeting the woman's worried eyes
"of course Evie, you don't need to ask" Carina watched as the teen stood up and made her way to the restrooms a couple of feet away. The brunette desperately wanted to follow after and comfort her foster daughter but she couldn't leave Faith alone and she didn't want to risk upsetting the girl more
A few minutes later Maya returned to the table holding a tray of their food and drinks setting them down, "where'd Ev go?" She concernedly asked her wife as she noticed the teen missing from the table
"momma go?" Faith asked copying Maya as she began to cry from not seeing her mother,
"hey, hey tesoro don't cry your mommas just went to the toilet" Carina tried to comfort the screaming toddler as she wiped the tears of the girls red cheeks
That seemed to do nothing to ease the two year olds worries whose tears continued to grow louder and on lookers giving them dirty glares as a result, "wan momma"
"She'll be back soon, bug" Maya added trying to help her wife ease the girls whines, it clearly not helping. Feeling defeated Carina lifted her out of the high chair and onto her knee beginning to bounce her leg to calm the young girl "shh, your okay, momma will be back soon"
As she ran her hand up and down the girls back her sobs soon turned to hiccups as she gripped Carinas shirt into her small fist. Carina turned to Maya in a whisper "can you go check on her, she has been gone a while" she anxiously voiced to her wife. Maya nodded in equal concern
As maya was about to stand up to head the bathroom to look for the girl, she caught sight of blonde hair making her way towards them, Maya sat back down sighing in relief. Carina must of saw the girl as well as she noticeably relaxed and pointed out Evelyn out to Faith, "momma!"
"What happened?" Evelyn asked rushing over to the table and picked up Faith from Carina, who in turn frowned at the red puffiness surrounding the teens eyes, sadness filling her, "she just got a bit upset bambina, nothing to worry about"
"sorry I should of brought her with me" Evelyn apologised sitting down beside Maya, as Faith snuggled into her neck. Evelyn subconsciously checked the toddler for any sign Carina or Maya had hurt her
"no Ev, you were upset too you needed space and that's okay" Maya professed, Carina smiling at the teen in agreement. Evelyn didn't reply as she turned Faith round to face the table
Sensing her discomfort Maya and Carina communicated silently to drop the conversation, "here sweets, I got you both ham and cheese, and a cookie" handing Evelyn both her and Faiths food
She muttered a quiet thank you, as she unwrapped Faiths sandwich and cut it up into bite size pieces for her, handing the two year old the sandwich pieces one by one so she wouldn't choke.
Maya and Carina began to eat their own food not wanting to rush the teen into eating, trusting she would at eat her own pace before intervention from the two was necessary
They were almost done with their own food before Evelyn picked up her own and took a small bite. The teen managed to eat half of her food, Maya was proud even if it was a small achievement. Like carina said earlier, baby steps
Just as Maya was about to congratulate Evelyn on her small yet big accomplishment her phone ring tone interrupted her. The woman sighed in annoyance assuming it was Andy or Vic calling to pester the firefighter into meeting their newest niece, but it wasn't and Maya found herself wishing it was
Mayas faced paled, her heart dropping as she glanced down at the sound of her ring tone. The firefighter stood up, politely excusing herself from the table, not missing the anxious look thrown her way by her wife, whom caught a glimpse at the name flashed on the screen.
Veronica Castillo, DCFS
Thankfully Evelyn was too occupied by Faith whining for more of her food to notice
The blonde took a deep breath before hitting the accept button, "hello? Maya Bishop speaking" She answered, she swore could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she paced anxiously outside the food court
"Hi Mrs Bishop, this is Veronica Castillo from DCFS, Evelyn's social worker" The social worker replied, "I hope she's not bothering you too much, although with her it wouldn't be much of a surprise" The woman laughed , Maya got a weird feeling in her stomach. She didn't like this woman — at all
"no not at all, Evelyns a great kid. Faith too" She replied rolling her eyes at the woman's blatant ignorance, "what is it your calling for. I – I don't mean to be rude but we're out at the moment"
She could hear Veronica's sigh of annoyance through the phone, "Right. Well as you're aware Mrs Bishop Evelyn's placement with you and your–" she paused in disgust, almost as if she was forcing herself to address Carina as Mayas wife. Maya was beginning to hate this woman more and more each second
"—your wife is only temporary, under emergency foster placement" the woman continued. Maya had forgotten that, "so I was calling to schedule a pick up time tomorrow, preferably about lunch time. I've got plans tomorrow night and the drive back to Wicklow is long"
Maya scratched the back of her neck as she laughed nervously, "About that, Carina and I haven't actually discussed it— not literally at least. But we would both like if we could extend Ev's placement with us" she said waiting for a reply
A loud laugh echoed through her phone and Maya swore it busted her eardrums, "you're kidding right? That was funny Bishop, I gotta hand it to you"
"No I'm not kidding. Deadly serious actually" The firefighter sighed, irritated by the woman's utter lack of professionalism. Wasn't she suppose to want the best for the kids under her care?
Another pause, "we'll talk more tomorrow, at eleven. Sleep on it Mrs Bishop it's a big decision, made even tougher by a kid like Evelyn if you know what I mean" Maya wanted to scream at the woman
no I don't know what you mean!!
But before she could the dial tone rang out— That woman hung up on her!!
Maya rolled her eyes, quickly typing a reply to Vic and Andy's texts before slipping her phone into her pocket of her jeans, as she walked back over to her family
she sat back down beside Evelyn who now was running her hand up and down a very tired looking Faith who was tucked into the girls side sucking on her thumb, her eyes struggling to stay open
Maya wasn't surprised, it had just past one, her nap time must be soon
Carina looked anxiously over to her wife as she noticed her joining them again, frowning at the look on her wife's Face
Later, Maya mouthed. That did absolutely nothing to ease the Italians anxieties, but sensing that Maya didn't want to talk about whatever Veronica wanted infront of their foster daughter she decided to wait till they were alone to freak out,
"okay, ready to finish shopping bambine?"
Maya nodded standing up gathering their rubbish to throw in the trash can nearby, while Evelyn's eyebrows drew together. Haven't they already got her enough?
In a few hours her foster parents had managed to get her more clothes than she'd ever had, why did she need more? She was sure she would have a new outfit each day for the next week at least!
"y-you've already got me enough" the teen spoke, voicing her thoughts
"we still need to get you more stuff, Ev" Maya replied joining them once more, "c'mon it'll be quick I promise" she said grabbing some of the shopping bags of her wife. Hesitantly their foster daughter stood up, placing Faith into her stroller with little difficulty now she was sleepy and followed them out of the food court.
As they continued their shopping, Evelyn couldn't shake the guilty feeling worming its way into her stomach and eating her insides as she watched her foster parents spend so much money on her
They bought her a brand new pair of platform converse despite her already owning a pair— sure there were more holes than shoe (as they pointed out when she tried to protest against it) but they did the job
The feeling only intensified as they stopped at a young children's shop, Maya and Carina buying her daughter some clothes and even toys that Evelyn could ever only dream of being able to afford
For the next hour the teens stomach was in knots as Carina and Maya bought countless of items for her daughter, that was her job!!
She only managed to buy one toy for the toddler, a belle princess dress that the toddler had a meltdown over in the middle of a small store inside the mall, and even if it did take up ten of the fourteen dollars she had it seemed so fucking insignificant when next to the heaps of shit Maya and Carina got for her
Evelyn felt like a failure, maybe Veronica was right
Just after two pm the Deluca –Bishops arrived back home with more shopping bags than Evelyn could count. Maya held the front door open for her wife and the teen (who was struggling to carry a sleeping faith on her hip despite her foster moms offering their help) to walk through
Evelyn mumbled a thank you to the woman, before following Carinas example and taking her shoes off beside the front door, struggling with the weight of the two year old, "I-is it okay if I go lay her down to nap?" she asked apprehensively knowing better than to ask for more, but her hold on faith was weakening leading her to go against her gut
"of course you can Bambina, this is your home now too" Carina assured smiling at her foster daughter. Evelyn's heart fluttered at the word home, although she doubted the woman's words to be true she couldn't stop herself wishing they were. "Yeah Ev, why don't you head up and put her down, we'll be up in a bit to help you put everything away — I've just got to have a word with Car okay?" Maya added
The teen just nodded before quickly walking away from them and up the stairs. Carinas anxiety picked up already knowing what Maya wanted to talk about
After Maya filled her wife in on the phone call with Veronica and making a rough plan on how they would approach the idea of a long term foster placement with both Veronica and Evelyn, the couple divided the shopping bags between them and headed up the stairs towards their foster daughters bedroom
Maya softly knocked on the door not wanting to intrude and scare the girl, they waited a few seconds until they heard a small come in followed by a few sniffles from the blonde teen before entering
Maya frowned as she pushed the door open their eyes drifted towards Faith, who was napping right in the middle of the large bed pillows surrounding her small body so she wouldn't fall. Evelyn sat next to her rubbing her eyes with the sleeves of the station 19 hoodie Maya had lent her. As she turned towards them, they noticed her appearance— her eyes red and puffy as if she had been crying
Had she been crying? The couples heart sunk
"Ev, are you okay?" Maya frowned as they stepped further into the room,
" 'm good" she shakily cried trying her hardest to not let her tears fall in front of her foster mothers, that would be embarrassing and would probably of not definitely you warrant a punishment, "You are clearly not okay, Bambina"
She didn't reply instead focusing on her breathes as she tried to control herself, "You can talk to us Evie. About anything. We would never, ever be mad — your feelings are valid" Carina continued, "we're going to sit on the edge of the bed, is that okay bambina?" Evelyn nodded as tears began to flow down her cheeks, Carina and Maya sat down at the girls consent, but still kept their distance
A few minutes had passed before Evelyn began to speak, "I- I um" the girl sniffled playing with sleeve of the jacket. Maya or Carina didn't push the girl to speak, wanting her to speak on her on accord "I don't want you to think I'm not grateful because I am, it's just t-that —" she paused now crying
Her foster parents heart broke at the sight, "take your time hun, you're gonna make yourself sick" Maya said smiling reassuringly at the young girl, Carina nodding in agreement worry covering her face
"F-faiths my baby, it's my job to buy her what she n-needs" she said taking a deep breath sobs threatening to rack through her small, fragile body as she looked over at the two year old who was still sleeping soundly despite all the noise , "w-watching you guys buy her and me all this stuff, j-just made me realise how much of a b-bad mom I am to her, because I can't do that. I can't a-afford half of what she needs and d-deserves"
"Hell, I c-can't even give her a permanent or a s-safe place to live"
Carina too was now crying along with her foster daughter as the two women's face saddened in realisation. They'd spent all this money not even thinking about how the girl would feel and guilt surged through them both as they realised their actions had made the teen feel less than and not good enough, "oh bambina"
"W-we didn't even think, we're so sorry Ev— if we overstepped in any way" Maya began, shifting slightly so she could get a better look at her foster daughter,
"that wasn't our intention at all"
"Mayas right bambina, we should've checked with you first that wasn't right of us" Carina smiled sadly, "but you are an amazing momma, and I know we haven't known you that long and we don't know each other all that well yet but I know that. I mean look at the tesoro she is one of the happiest bambine I have ever seen"
she said gesturing to Faith who still was sleeping as Carina spoke tears spilling from her eyes "material items do not equal love and especially not to a two year old. I'm not saying this to make you feel better or excuse what we did, I'm saying it because it's true!! The tesoro loves you so much, I mean this morning while you were still asleep she wouldn't stop talking about you; 'momma this and momma that' " the woman continued her hand in her wife's, "w-what I'm trying to get at bambina, is that you are a good momma— the best"
They were all crying. Evelyn the most who was almost sobbing, Carina close behind her as tears streamed down her face and tears even threatened to spill from Mayas blue eyes, "what she said" Maya said laughing slightly drying under her eyes with her top
"t-thank you" Evelyn releasing a shaky breath following Mayas move and wiped her cheeks and under eyes,
"no need to thank us bambina, it's only the truth" the older woman smiled, "can I come closer?" The Italian woman asked before making any movements towards her foster daughter
Hesitantly the blonde teen nodded, in return Carina shuffled a little bit closer to the girl softly rubbing her knee in comfort knowing a hug, despite how much she wanted to wrap her girl in her arms was too soon and would probably scare her off. At fist the girl was tense, almost flinching from her foster mothers touch but soon relaxed and basked in the small comfort
Maya smiled, glad Carina was able to calm and reassure their foster daughter— she was right this morning, the Italian was going to be an amazing mama, just like Evelyn was to Faith
"we can leave unpacking till tomorrow if you'd like?" Maya suggested as the day had already been long and exhausting, "or Carina and I can unpack if you're not up to it?"
Evelyn sat up at that shaking her head, "y-you don't have to help, y-you've already did so much for me and Faith. I can do it" the girl said, while a yawn threatened to escape her mouth
"ahh, ah Bambina let Maya and I do this for you, you're exhausted" Carina said rubbing her knee "you don't have to nap but we are doing this for you, no arguments, sí?" The Italian said sternly, yet playfully as Maya let out a soft laugh,
Evelyn nodded not wanting to argue obeyed relaxing into the pillow behind her
"good choice" Maya whispered to her jokingly out of Carinas earshot, who had now stood up and made her way towards the shopping bags the two women had abandoned at the door earlier
Seeing the girl yawn again Maya stood up suggesting to her to try to get some sleep before she joined carina in putting away her and faiths clothes, shoes and new toiletries they had bought for them. Upon opening the door Maya noticed Evelyn's black trash bag along with the strawberry shortcake backpack she lifted it out deciding to unpack those first while Carina began unpacking the several shopping bags
Planting herself at the floor at the end of the bed Maya first opened Faiths backpack checking to see if there was anything that needed to be unpacked, but besides from a few small toys it looked to be a pre packed changing bag that Evelyn had put together for whenever they went out. So talking out the toys to put in the toy basket they'd purchased earlier she decided to leave the bag as is
Maya moved the toys out of the way and into one of the shopping bags containing some new toys to sort later before starting on the black trash bag. Words couldn't explain how mad Maya was that Evelyn was made to carry around her stuff in some bag made for garbage. It was so degrading
Opening the bag she was met with a lot of faiths clothes and one spare top that belonged to Evelyn so the woman quickly folded them and handed them to her wife who instantly put them away, but not without frowning at the teens lack of belongings
Lastly she checked the bag for anymore personal belongings,her hand finding what looked to be an old shoe box covered in children's scribbles and some stickers and a small distressed stuffed teddy lamb, frowning in confusion Maya turned to ask the teen about the items only to find her sleeping snuggled up to Faith
Trusting her gut to not invade the young girls privacy Maya decided to not give into her curiosity and check what was inside the box, instead the firefighter placed both items on the bed side table closest to Evelyn so she herself could decide what to do without once she woke up
Maya then moved over to her wife and helping her unpack
Seeing the closet that was previously empty become full, along with the two girls peacefully asleep only a few feet from her filled Maya with happiness she'd only ever felt twice — when she met Carina and when she married her
It made her almost forget about Veronica's house visit tomorrow. almost.
a note from the author<3
thank you so much for reading chapter four of to build a home, I appreciate it so fucking much. Slowly but surely Evelyn's letting them in, but we've still got a while to go & upcoming drama may or may not set us back a step or two!!
question— what do you think is in the shoe box?& how do you feel the visit from Veronica will go?
Requests for this story are always open and I'll try my best to include them all!!
next the return of miss bitch face...