Chapter 56
I sat in the room waiting. A police officer now stood at the door as if I had just committed a crime. If the judge doesn't take into consideration what I said, then what's going to happen? Will Ashton be deemed a bad parent? Irresponsible? He's not. I have to make it clear he's not.
Alicia walked in. She had been crying and was holding David's arm tightly. I couldn't tell what emotion was on her face as she looked like she was secreting her actual emotion.
"Valerie, sweetheart, that was beautifully said." She said going to her purse and pulling out a small plastic wrapped pack of tissues.
"What's happening?" I said looking directly at her. She looked at David to avoid eye contact.
"Well, it's kind of confusi-" David tried before I cut him off.
"What is happening? Am I going with my dad or not?" I said beginning to cry.
"They're scheduling another court date. They need to ask more questions from you and your adoptive family. They also need to do research to see if you have any remaining family members." Alicia said confidently.
"But the good news is, you can go home with him until the next date is scheduled." David said smiling at me.
A sense of relief washed over me. There's still a chance to make this right and stay with him. I still can be with him. Tears streamed down my face as I hugged both Alicia and David. They wiped my tears away and helped me get my stuff together. I walked out of the room and saw Calum sitting near it waiting. I started crying again as I ran to him and hugged him. He held me tight, as if he didn't want to let go.
"Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you, I promise." Cal said brushing his fingers through my hair as I stuffed my face in his chest crying.
The boys drove in separate cars for privacy purposes. Alicia and David took me back to their house while Calum followed to help me take my stuff. I thought it was weird that Ashton wasn't the one coming, but maybe everything is a little weird for him right now. I've been used to moving around from when I was in foster care, so I didn't have that much to take. I'm used to getting rid of things I don't need. Alicia brought in some boxes to put my stuff in while Calum took them to the car. After we finished, Cal said he'd meet me outside so that I could say goodbye to Alicia and David.
"You have a big heart, Valerie." Alicia said sitting down on one of the chairs in the dining room.
"Thank you...for everything." I said looking down.
"Stay determined, sweetheart. You'll get through this." David said smiling.
I hugged both of them and ran to the car. Calum looked at me after I sat down and buckled my seatbelt.
"What do you say we grab the others and go grab a bite to eat?" Cal said smiling.