I had my APUSH textbook and notebook out on my mattress, trying to study. My room was bare now. I had my mattress, blankets and pillows, but everything else was at Lin and Vanessa's apartment. I was supposed to move tomorrow. Anyway, I was trying to study, in reality, I was super nervous. I was scared. A thousand thoughts were running through my head. One after another they came, over and over again. I was trying to process these thoughts and do my homework but it just wasn't working. Suddenly in the midst of all of this my phone turned on.
(What should I wear tomorrow?)
It was William.
(I don't know, I'm wearing a dress, keep in mind, there's going to be a party.)
(I'll wear a tie, and like, jeans. That cool?)
(Yeah.)
(You ok?)
(No)
I feel like I shouldn't of responded with no, but at the same time, that was the honest answer.
(What's wrong? Are you ok? Should I come?)
I checked the time, it was 9:47.
(It's kind of late.)
(On my way, be there in 5)
I didn't respond. I stood up a little, then fell back onto the mattress. I ended up crawling over to my crutches and then standing up. I hated this, hated Nick for doing this, it wasn't the big things, it was the little things like getting water, or carrying something. When I finally managed to make it downstairs I sat down against the wall and cried. I don't know why I was crying, but I just couldn't stop. Whether it was fear, sadness, hatred, I couldn't tell, but I was devastated. A couple minutes later I heard a knock on the stage door, and I stood up and hopped over to it, and opened it.
"Roonie?" William came in quickly, "oh my gosh, Roonie are you ok? What happened?" He enveloped me in a hug, "it's all going to be ok, come on." He grabbed my crutches and then helped my walk, as he carried them.
"You didn't have to come." I said as he helped me walk upstairs.
"Yes I did, my parents weren't home, and you've been alone too long."
"Fair warning, there's nothing in my room." I noted as he opened the door. He propped the crutches up on the wall, and sat down across from me on the mattress.
"Ok. Spill. What's wrong?"
"I'm terrified." I whispered.
"Why? There's no way that it can go wrong now. You'll be fine. The adoption is going to go through. It's ok." He tried to reassure me, but my mind had drifted elsewhere and was now pondering, what else could go wrong?
"I know the adoption is going to go through, but, I'm moving in with them, I'm living with a family who has never had a teen, who is used to just having a baby, what do they expect? How am I supposed to act? What am I supposed to do? Do I just sit in silence, because that's a little rude."
"I'm sure they've given thought to this. I'm positive. It's going to be fine."
"What if the change their minds?" I started crying again.
"They can't change their minds, they're going to take an oath tomorrow that they will never change their minds." He put a hand on my knee, and made eye contact.
"No, what if they change their minds in silence, they'll live with me, and forever regret the decision?"
"I promise you that's not going to happen." He moved so that he was sitting beside me, and he pulled me into him, so that I was leaning on him. "Look." He pulled out his phone, "the day of our first date, I went to see him, to ask him permission, and he asked for my phone number, so he could keep tabs on the date, without you knowing." He scrolled through messages on his phone.
(Did you make it to the restaurant ok?)
(Yes.)
(Send pic)
There was a picture of my reading a menu.
(Good. Tell her she's pretty.)
(Will do.)
I thought back to the date, after I looked up, he told me I was pretty.
(Leaving the restaurant)
(Be careful. New York is dangerous at night.)
I laughed a little. He scrolled down more, there were tons, along the lines of 'keep an eye on her' and 'if you see that little punk today, murder him'
"See, he cares about you, he even keeps creepy date tabs. Just like any dad. He's not going to regret this, it's alright."
"Thank you." I quietly sniffled out, "thank you so much." I let my head rest on him, I was really tired.
"Of course Roonie. No problem." Those we the last words I heard before I fell asleep.
Lins POV:
Tomorrow was the hearing. I was kind of nervous, kind of excited. I don't know how she was going to take moving in with us. How that was going to go. It would be a transition.
"Hey V." I said, turning to Vanessa, "do you think Abigail's going to like it here?"
"Yeah, of course." She yawned. It was 9:55, so I get that, she is the sleepiest.
"I mean, it's just, she's lived in 5 different foster homes, she's experienced a lot, what is she going to think?"
"The last home was abusive. That's not going to happen here. Prior to that, it was the siblings fault, she lived with drug addicts, even her birth parents were drunks." Vanessa responded
"Yeah, I really hate her parents." I rolled my eyes thinking back to a couple weeks prior when I had met the couple.
"I do too, they had no right to come out here."
"I know, almost 3 years after they give up their child, they come to the people trying to adopt her, and try to get her back." They truly were morons.
"Ok, so for the first week or two, we should make it so she has to stay in the living room or the kitchen, that way she's more comfortable."
"Yeah. I hope we're making the right decision."
"Hold up." Vanessa jumped in, "yes we are. You went to go grocery shopping and you came home freaking out because you hated the idea of a 15 year old girl being abused. You told me that if you saw her again, you would do something about it."
"I saw her the next day. She wasn't eating, they weren't letting her eat, she was completely bruised up everywhere. She seemed so terrified to say anything, she still does. She needs us, and I love her so much."
"So do I. So do I." Vanessa responded and in 5 minutes she was asleep. I finished some writing then fell asleep as well.
Thanks for reading!
-Abi