chapter six// a glimpse into the past
Carina hated her middle school Algebra teacher, to her then twelve year old self he was the absolute worst person she'd ever met. He would give out piles and piles of homework everyday (even on weekends!!) and would shout about every little thing, which Carina often found herself at the end of. Mr Dawson wasn't shy about handing out detentions either, she had received 4 in one week for stupid things like being a minute late to his class or getting a question or two incorrect
she swore she'd never felt hatred like it before
But as Evelyn sat in front of her and her wife looking extremely distant, upset and fucking terrified, which she could only guess was caused by the oh so lovely Veronica she knew whatever she felt for the middle aged white man was nothing compared to the absolute fury her foster daughters social worker now made her feel— it was amplified by a million!!
she wanted nothing more than to scoop the girl into her arms, comforting her by assuring the young girl that everything would be alright, but she knew she couldn't. Evelyn flinched at the slightest movement so she was sure even the gentlest touch without her permission would send the teenager into fight or flight mode. Carina didn't want that, the Italian wanted her foster daughter to feel safe. And even if she could take the girl into her arms, the brunette woman couldn't be one hundred percent truthful in reassuring her that everything would work out in their favour, as with Veronica nothing was out of the realm of possibility
so exchanging a few looks of concern with her wife as they both carefully treated the young girls wounds Carina didn't lie. Instead insisting that as long as Evelyn was with in their care (which Maya and Carina hoped would be permanently) there was absolutely nothing to be scared of, they would never hurt her neither physically or emotionally
After twelve antagonising years in the fostering system and her life previous to it, Evelyn found that very hard to believe
"is there any more bruising Bambina, that we can't see?" Carina questioned closing the tub of Anika cream as she and Maya applied the last dose to the visible injuries on her arms. Evelyn shook her head. She wasn't being truthful, obviously. But the teen didn't feel comfortable enough to take of her tank top to reveal her stomach littered in bruises as she'd feel too vulnerable and exposed just left in a bra in front of her foster moms. She'd only met them two days ago
Maya sighed, she could tell by how her foster daughter averted her eyes and began playing with her hands that she was lying, "are you sure, Ev?"
"y-yea" the girl nodded. She felt guilty, they were only trying to help
"okay, kiddo" Maya smiled comfortingly as she handed the teen her sweater back, "why don't you head on into the living room and stick a movie or something on while me and Carina clean this up— we'll be in a minute"
Evelyn looked over to them, "I can do it" she said after putting her cream coloured jumper back on covering her arms, thank god
Carina shook her head, "no bambina, Maya and I've got it. Thank you for offering though"
Not wanting to argue and make them regret their decision of keeping her longer than necessary, Evelyn walked back into the living room without another word
Maya watched her leave with a frown on her face, before turning to look at her wife, "I'm worried about her, Car"
Carina gently grabbed her arm smoothing her thumb over her wife's hand, "me too Bella, me too"
Five minutes later after tidying away the first aid kit and the teen had placed Faith down for her nap. Maya and Carina walked over to the living room where Evelyn was. The room looked better than before, by the looks of it while they were in the kitchen Evelyn had tidied away the toys Faith had been playing with earlier and fixed a few of the fallen pillows. Carinas eyes drifted over towards the teen who sat on the couch scrolling through the tv,
"find anything interesting, Evie?" she wondered moving to sit beside her, Maya following
The younger blonde didn't look over at them as she shook her head, "u-uh no, I'm not quite sure. At my other foster homes I didn't really get to watch tv so I don't really know what to watch"
The couples heart broke at the teens admission, watching tv was something so simple to them but a rarity to then teen in front of them. "That's ok, hun. We don't have to watch a movie or a show if that's not something you'd enjoy. We can always do something else while Fai's sleeping" she offered, looking over towards her wife for help as Evelyn just nervously picked at her nails
"oo, shopping!!" Carina suggested as grinned jumping of her seat not even waiting for a response as she rushed off to find her laptop. Maya fell back into the sofa, groaning playfully "god help us all"
Evelyn let out a small laugh, if there was one thing she'd learnt about her foster mothers in her short time of knowing them was that Carina loved to shop and while Maya hated it, she'd still keep quietly and endure the pain of it if it meant her wife was happy
That was something the teen admired about the two
Not long later her foster mother rushed back into the room with her MacBook tucked under her arm as she squeezed to sit in the middle of her foster daughter and wife. Maya looked over towards the woman, "what else could we possibly need? — we went grocery shopping Friday and clothes shopping yesterday"
Carina jokingly glared at the woman, silently telling her to shut up, "there is always a reason to shop, Bella" Maya should know this by know, haven been married to the woman nearing three years in August!!
"of course" Maya commented, her tone laced with sarcasm as she teasingly raised her brow at the teen who was using her hand to muffle her laughs, "and what's the reason this time, love?"
"the bambina, ovviamente" Carina said, opening her laptop beginning her search. Evelyns curiosity piqued up at that, her eyebrows scrunching together and her stomach churning with guilt "w-what?"
They'd already bought so much already for her. When the blonde teen opened the closet to get ready this morning she was met with more clothes than she'd ever seen, a new outfit each day for the next month at least. She hadn't had the privilege of new clothes in years and her foster parents spending didn't stop there. Carina had insisted they stop at Sephora to get her some hygiene products, another luxury Evelyn had to do without most of the time
They'd gotten her a new hair brush (which was much needed considering she was sharing Faiths comb specifically made for toddlers hair), hair ties, period products, the expensive type of shampoo and conditioner which was a huge upgrade from the all in one bottle Evelyn had been using all her life — and that's when she could afford it, most of the time she just had to make do with just water
They also bought her a-lot of unnecessary shit she begged wasn't needed like some perfume, skincare and Makeup products, but Carina insisted leaving little room for argument
and she still wanted to buy her more?
"your bedroom, Evie" Carina clarified, Maya smiled in realisation while Evelyn looked just plain confused, "When I was a piccola ragazza like you my walls were covered in posters of bands and I had like a dozen pillows on my bed, but I noticed when Veronica was doing her house check how plain your room is so I thought you'd like to choose some things to decorate — to help you feel more at home"
Maya nodded in agreement with the hassle of the last few days she hadn't really thought of that but it sounded like a good idea, a great idea and hopefully it would help Evelyn feel more comfortable living with them
The teen clearly didn't think the same as she rapidly shook her head, "t-there's no point wasting your money on me I won't be here that long" she said bitting her lip, "you should save it for your future baby" Evelyn added, Veronica's words actively torturing her, reminding her that she was only a temporary member in Maya and Carinas home, a place holder for the baby they wanted
Mayas eyebrows rose before the look of worry thrown her way by carina caused understanding to wash over her face — Veronica had told her, had lied to her that the couple didn't want her but a baby instead. Suddenly Evelyn's distant mood following her talk with the social worker made sense and it pissed Maya and Carina off more than they thought possible
Maya leaned forward to see her foster daughter, "Evelyn, honey what Veronica said —"
Her foster daughter shook her head standing up from the sofa, "you don't have to explain yourself to me. It's fine, honestly. You're not e-evil for wanting a baby and not a teenager especially one like me, most aspiring adoptive parents do. I'm used to it, no hard feelings" the girl let out
It wouldn't be honest for Evelyn to say being constantly rejected over babies wasn't hard because it was. It hurt so fucking much, she wanted nothing more that to be wanted and while Carina and Maya were offering her the home she'd dreamed off her whole childhood and even now it wasn't real, she and Faith would be thrown out the second they get the call a baby is waiting for them. So no matter how much she wanted to give in, she couldn't allow herself nor Faith to get too attached or comfortable here as it would hurt ten times as much when they are sent back
"you r-really should keep your money for that baby" she smiled sadly, already envious of a child that probably doesn't even exist yet, they'll be so damn lucky, "not me, you've already got me more than enough stuff"
"Bambina, what Veronica said is not—" Carina began to protest but was interrupted by the distant cries of Faith who was now clearly making it known she was awake and needed attention
"I-I have to go check on her" Evelyn told them in which Maya nodded in response allowing their foster daughter to race up the stairs to see to her own daughter
Once she'd left the room Carina fell into her wife sadly,her back leaning against Mayas front "we'll talk to her later about it, Car" she comforted placing a kiss to her bare shoulder
The Italian sniffled holding in her tears, Maya doing the same. "I know, I just wish she knew how much we love and care about her already"
"she will with time" Maya affirmed hugging the woman from behind, "remember? baby steps"
Later never came, much to Maya and Carinas disappointment their foster daughter hauled herself along with Faith in her bedroom the rest of the day doing god knows what, only leaving when they called her down for lunch and dinner both of which the teen barely touched her food and answered their questions with simple yes' and no's
It hurt their hearts that they didn't know how to help the girl who was desperately trying to keep a distance from them in fear of being hurt and thrown out like trash
That didn't mean they would give up. No, Maya and Carina were hell bent on getting Evelyn to accept their love and believe her place on this family wasn't a temporary situation, but forever if she wanted it
For the rest of the day, in between sessions of trying to lure the girl out of her room Maya caught up on some paperwork from work, while Carina was able to make a check up appointment at the hospital, Grey - Sloan Memorial that she works at for Evelyn. She also thought it would be a great idea to show the teen the hospital day care, where it was likely Faith would be staying when she starts school soon
Speaking of which she had also managed to book a meeting with their local high schools principal in the next few days to see about Evelyn attending there. The couple had heard great reviews from their friends who had kids at similar ages to their foster daughter, which helped to slightly ease their nerves about sending the teenager off to school soon
That night, after seeing that Evelyn and Faith were alright and ready for bed, the couple sat up in bed snuggled under their comforter after a warm shower with Mayas laptop in between them
Durning dinner they'd got an email notification from Veronica, Evelyns social worker, sending them the girls case file and up until now they hadn't had the chance to sit together and properly go through it
Carina felt guilty about opening the email, unveiling Evelyns life before she'd met them— a part of her felt like she was betraying her foster daughter's trust by invading her privacy like this. But she also knew it was necessary to help the teen
Maya on the other hand, was hesitant to open the email. She was scared of what the file would hold and possibly tell her about the paternity of Faith, as well as how she got the bruises and scars all over her body and how she seems to flinch at the slightest movement or unexpected sound— although she did already have her suspicions, she was worried that the case file would prove it to her
The firefighter wanted nothing more than to be wrong
"Ready Bella?" Carinas voice drew her out of her voice, "no" she joked, Carina playfully rolled her eyes at her wife masking her anxiety by doing so
Carina clicked on her email inbox, opening one of the most recent emails which was from Veronica before taking a deep breath and hitting onto the attached file
here goes nothing
full name— Evelyn Harris
date of birth— June 4th 2007
biological mother— Emmaline Harris
biological father— unknown
medical conditions— n/a
medications/ allergies— n/a
social worker— Veronica Castillo
date taken into care— October 2010
pg 1
reason taken into care— neighbours reported noise disturbance. Upon investigation Evelyn was found alone, in only a diaper. The home was noticeably trashed and clear evidence of abuse and neglect was found. Evelyns mother was arrested three days later and detained for seventy two hours before agreeing to go to an out of stage rehab facility. No biological family members found and Evelyn placed into government care pending further investigation (October 24th 2010)
biological mother— Emmaline showed cooperation and agreed to attend Moonlight Mountain recovery in Pocatello, Idaho for addictions to drugs and alcohol (October 29th 2010)
Miss Harris' doctors, nurses and therapist at the MM facility reported clear improvement. In the three months at rehab, she has shown determination to stay clean and get her daughter back. Emmaline was discharged after three months, with instruction to report back to to her probation officer weekly including mandatory drug and alcohol tests (January 29th 2011)
Miss Harris has shown up to each visit with her probation officer, Maxwell Stevens and has passed all random drug and alcohol tests as well as house inspection. She has been approved for supervised visits with her daughter, Evelyn and her social worker Veronica Castillo weekly (May 3rd 2011)
Supervised visits have been going well. It is clear to Evelyns social worker, Miss Harris is making an effort to become part of her daughters life again. Miss Castillo recommends the supervised visits extend to twice a week, pending further investigation to slowly progress to unsupervised visits and overnight stays (August 17th 2011)
Miss Harris has appealed for full custody of her daughter, Evelyns social worker is in agreement and Evelyn is excited to live with her mother again. Court date is scheduled for December 20th 2010 (November 1st 2011)
Emmaline didn't show up to the custody hearing. Her probation officer and lawyer successfully contacted her after a few hours. Miss Harris signed away all parental responsibility three days later (December 23rd 2010)
pg 2
foster placement one— Evelyn was released from the hospital a week after admission. She was placed with Martha and Christian Lewis. Social workers weekly house checkups showed Evelyn was doing well. They asked for their guardianship over Evelyn to be removed after the supervised visits with her biological mother as they didn't want to foster a child they had no chance of adopting. (October 31st 2010 to May 4th 2011)
foster placement two— Evelyn was placed into a group home, specialised in reconnecting foster kids back with their biological families. Evelyn was removed the morning of the scheduled custody hearing. (May 4th 2011- December 20th 2011)
foster placement two— As Emmaline Harris, Evelyn's biological mother didn't show up to the court hearing, Evelyn was placed into a group home headed by Jenna and Mitchell Adams, till after the holiday's (December 20th 2011 - January 14th 2012)
foster placement three— The Fitzgeralds, long term foster parents took Evelyn and another younger foster kid from the group home into their care. Neighbours reported incidents of domestic disputes over their several months the children were in the Fitzgeralds care. Upon a unscheduled house visit by their social worker Veronica Castillo both children were promptly removed from the Fitzgeralds home and hospitalised. Evidence of abuse and neglect were found, the Fitzgeralds foster license were revoked (January 15th 2012 - April 29th 2012)
foster placement four— Following release from the hospital was placed into the care of Kira and Neil Maddens who lived with their own biological children aged seven. Mr and Mrs Maddens helped got ensure Evelyns recovery by bringing her to each one of her hospital and physio appointments. Evelyn was reported to be thriving under their care and had opened up massively to the Maddens. The Maddens applied to adopt the girl but were denied social worker approval due to lack of financial security. (May 13th 2012 - July 6th 2013)
foster placement five— Evelyn was moved into the care of Henry Jones and appeared to be doing well. Evelyns teacher, Miss Marlowe reported suspicions of abuse on various occasions and finally after substantial evidence was found Evelyn was removed from Mr Jones' care. She refused to talk about what had happened durning her time in the home (July 6th 2013 - June 13th 2014)
foster placement six— Placed with Mrs Levine as emergency placement following a stay in the hospital. Nothing to report. (June 16th 2014 - June 18th 2014)
pg 3
(contd...)
Maya and Carinas hearts broke as they continued to read through Evelyn's file. Mentions of abuse and neglect were vaguely commented on in basically every other foster home Evelyn was in, making the two so mad beyond explanation. Why would anyone hurt an innocent child?
They were suddenly now made aware of why Evelyn was so reluctant to allow herself to become close with them. She'd been let down on so many occasions by her biological mother, her social worker and foster parents so why would she expect her time with them would be any different?
Maya and Carina just had to prove it to her that they wanted her for real and they weren't going to give up
As they scanned through the file Maya couldn't help but notice a large chunk of information missing. It was the time frame when the FireFighter guessed Evelyn fell pregnant but any record of the home she was in during that time was gone. In fact there didn't seem to be any mention of Faith in the file at all
It was as if Veronica was trying to cover something up and that only made the pit of nerves in Mayas stomach bubble more
It was clear her wife, Carina had noticed it to as she quickly scanned the page again looking for a placement during mid to late 2020 but it was no where to be found before looking over to her wife in a mix of confusion, worry and anger— something wasn't right
What the hell was Veronica hiding?
In the next room as Faith slept soundly under the blankets beside her, Evelyn reached under the queen sized bed and pulled out an old red shoe box that was covered in a bunch of toddler scribbles and stickers thanks to Faith
She carefully pulled of the lid, as to not tear it more that it already was. She held back in the tears as she pulled out the various items from the box.
First some photos she'd took of Faith so far on an old, cheap Camera she'd saved up for a few years back before her former foster father Mr Attwell destroyed it in a fit of rage
She smiled sadly as she flicked through the photos; the first was one in the hospital when Faith was born, the newborn was wrapped up in a a pink hospital blanket in her mothers arms as Evelyn protectively held her close, a nurse had offered to take it for her.
The next few were random photos, but the teen cherished them nonetheless— some included Evelyn a few months old sleeping, some milestones like her first tooth and first steps and most recently was Faiths birthday in August
They both smiled to the camera the teen was holding as they sat inside a booth in McDonald's both adorning colourful paper party hats the blonde had made quickly one night and a small lit up cupcake sat behind them on the table
Evelyn couldn't wait for the day her and Faith get their own permanent home so she can frame the photos to display without worry someone would destroy them out of pure spite
She also pulled out an old homeware magazine from the box, flicking through it. She'd previously circled items she wanted to get Faith when they moved into their own home, and the toddler could have her own room. Items were highlighted like a princess bed and comforter, a cute dresser, toy box and a flower nightlight
She remembered as clear as day, the moment she'd gotten the magazine. She'd found it in the hospital waiting room during her final check up before Faith would be born and immediately envisioned the life she wanted to give to her child, the childhood she never had but wanted all the same
The teenager didn't even realise she was crying as she looked through the pages, her eyes moving between them and Faith sleeping as her kind fell back to earlier that day when Veronica mentioned a couple, The Cadells interest in her daughter as she realised what a shit excuse of a mother she was, probably worse than her own biological mother.
At least Emmaline knew when to let go, Evelyn unfortunately didn't hold that ability. Was she being selfish by holding onto a child who could have so much better, who deserved so much better?
Maya knocked softly on her foster daughters bedroom door the next morning, she had just gotten back from a late morning run and Carina was in the shower getting ready for the day ahead
She needed to wake her up soon if they didn't want to be late to the doctors appointment which was scheduled for twelve thirty
"Evelyn, hun it's time to get up" she called walking into the room. Evelyn and Faith both laying, just like the previous few days in the middle of the bed cuddled together, except this time Faith looked to be hugging her mother. Maya snapped a picture for memory sake and quickly sent it to Carina
"Ev babe" she called again, gently moving the girls hair away from her eyes. The teen whined in disagreement, pushing her head further into the pillow, Maya laughed, "C'mon Kid, we've got your appointment soon remember? It's almost eleven, we've gotta get moving"
A few seconds later the fire fighter watched as the younger blonde stirred, reaching up to rub the sleep out of her eyes and sitting up "good morning" Maya playfully greeted way too cherry for 10:45 in the morning.
Evelyn glared at her
"have a good sleep?" Evelyn nodded, way too tired to form words . It was evidential to Maya that Evelyn was still too sleepy to be aware of her surroundings otherwise she'd probably be freaking out to how close her foster mother was to her, "I'll leave you to get ready. I uh can get Fai dressed for you if you'd like"
Evelyn shook her head, "n-no I've got it, thanks— you don't want to get on the wrong side of a tired Faith. Trust me" she smiled at the older woman
Maya laughed, "fair enough" before giving her foster daughter the privacy to get ready
Evelyn tiredly rolled herself out of bed and into the en-suite bathroom and began to get ready. First she got a quick shower, not bothering to wash her hair as it was still clean. The teen brushed her teeth and did some skincare aswell, before making her way over to the closet to find on outfit for the day
She decided on something comfortable remembering Carina suggested it as it would be easier for the doctor examining her that way. After checking that Faith was still sleeping, the teen made her way back into the bathroom to change into the clothes. Next she threw her pyjamas into the hamper before grabbing a hair brush to sort out her mess of a hair
Evelyn brushed through her slightly tatted hair, deciding she wanted to put it in a single braid so it wasn't in her way for the day. But as she began to do it, the teen quickly got frustrated as her hair just wasn't cooperating!!
How come it was so easy for her to do the same thing for Faith, but a million times more difficult to do for herself ??
Just as she was about to give up and throw it into a pony, a soft knock sounded through the room before the door was gently pushed open revealing Carina
"are you okay, bambina?" Her foster mother asked, being able to see the young girl due to the bathroom door being slightly left open, "need any help?"
Evelyn wanted to refuse but for some unknown reason she found herself nodding and handing a now grinning Carina her hair brush, "what way would you like it, Evie?" The Italian asked variably brushing out the girls soft blonde hair
Carina was Ecstatic, she'd dreamed of the day she'd be able to do her daughter's hair since she was a little girl herself!! "a- a french braid please"
Carina nodded parting the girls hair, "just a single one?" Evelyn nodded, "Nessun problema, one braid coming up"
Within two minutes Carina had successfully braided her foster daughters hair as she smiled at her through the bathroom mirror, "t-thank you"
Without thinking Carina placed a kiss on the side of the girls head, "you're very welcome, la Mia
Bambina" she said moving to leave the bathroom, "I will leave you to finish getting yourself and the Tesoro ready— anything in particular you'd like for breakfast?"
Evelyn thought for a moment, "c-can I just have some fruit please?" Carina was shocked, she was half expecting the teen to say she wasn't hungry
The Italian smiled, "Sì, of course, fruit I can do"
Baby steps
Maya carefully parked in the staff parking lot, making use of Carinas privilege as a doctor here at Grey Sloan memorial Hospital
Once the car was in park mode, the small family exited the car, Evelyn protectively holding Faiths hand as the girl insisted on walking as she was a 'big girl'
They were a half an hour early to Evelyn's doctors appointment as Carina suggested they should go check out the hospital daycare as it would be where Faith would be staying during the day when Evelyn starts school soon
Evelyn agreed in reluctance to let Faith stay there during her appointment as she didn't want to irritate her foster parents by admitting she was scared to leave her even if it was for no more than an hour
The teen followed her foster mothers into the hospital and down to the hospital day care were some other kids were playing happily together
The room was colourful and covered in children's drawings posters, stickers and some bookshelves. There were toys practically in ever corner of the room and the kids there seemed to be having fun
"Hi Dr Deluca" one of the day care workers greeted at they walked into the room. Faith at the presence of the stranger nervously hid behind her mothers leg, Evelyn wanted to do the same with Maya
"Ciao Natalie" Carina smiled to the redhead who smiled in return before greeting Maya and then Evelyn who smiled politely in return and mumbled a quite hello in greeting
"and you must be Faith" the carer grinned crouching down to her height. Faith nodded, slightly poking her head out form behind Evelyns leg, "well it's nice to meet you honey, do you want to come play? We are about to do some painting" she said enthusiastically
Faith hesitantly looked up at her mother for assurance who in turn looked towards her own foster mothers who both nodded in encouragement, "you can go baby"
" 'ou come back?" the toddler asked hopefully to which Evelyn nodded "yes Fifi, we'll be back really soon I just need to go see the doctor"
That only worried the toddler more "sick?" She sacredly asked gripping onto Evelyns leg tighter
Maya stepped in crouching down to the toddlers height, "no Fai, Ev— your mommas not sick, it's just a check up to make sure she's strong"
"Kay" she said, "see 'ou soon. I go paint" she said hugging Evelyns leg one last time before taking Natalie's hand and running off to play
Evelyn stood watching, still hesitant to leave Faith here "she'll be fine bambina, I promise. Natalie or one of the other workers will phone me or Maya if something is wrong. Sí?"
Evelyn wiped her glossy eyes sniffling slightly before giving the woman a tight lipped smile, she hoped she was being truthful, she really wanted Faith to have a good time here and maybe finally make some friends her age "okay"
Maya checked her watch, 12:17pm, "okay let's get going you two we don't wanna be late" Maya reminded directing them to the elevator and pressing the paediatric floors button
Carina laughed jokingly rolling her eyes towards her foster daughter at her wife's anxiousness knowing if they were even a second late it would send the woman into a panic,
"c'mom we don't want to keep 'Maya the clipboard Fanatic' waiting"
a note from the author<3
happy Saturday!! And thank you all so much for reading chapter six of to build a home!! Next chapter is Evelyns doctor check up, who do we think will be her doctor?? Also this chapter is not my best — it's more of a filler!!
question— why do you think a big, important chunk of Evelyns file is missing?
Requests for this story are always open and I'll try my best to include them all!!
see you next time<33