CHAPTER 5
I slept in the next morning pretty late. I didn’t notice it until I looked at the alarm clock and saw that it was almost nine. Goodness, I was so tired. I guess it was the comfort of the bed too. The mattress and pillows were easy to go to sleep in. They were soft and comfortable, even more than the bed that I slept in at Gemma’s. The mattress back in the foster home was like a brick with the feels of the springs below it. She had to buy two comforters to sleep on so that she was a bit more comfortable. It was also easy to sleep in when you can’t hear a lot that can wake you up. Usually the kids would turn on the light to wake me up for school.
I stretched as I sat up in the bed. I looked around the room. I had to admit that it was pretty plain. I had yet to add myself to it. I packed light when I ran away, so no CDs or movies or posters for me here. At least not now. I could only hope that I would be able to get my stuff here, that the law would allow me to stay.
I felt the most comfortable here than I have in a very long time.
Getting out of the warm covers, I went to grab my aid and put it on as I went through the dressers to get some clothes out. I loved my new clothes. A lot of my clothes back in the foster home were the same clothes that I had for the past three years. It was nice to get a change. I grabbed my softened out red tanktop that had the Coca-Cola logo in white on it and a pair of black shorts.
After my aid was in, I could hear that there was a radio or television on. I couldn’t tell which one for sure though. I looked in the mirror and put on a little bit of mascara and blush before finding my black hole knitted beanie. I looked in the mirror, looking at myself over before I made a wink at myself, giving myself a smile.
Going out of my room, I looked down the hallway. I could hear more now. I recognized Jax’s voice and another male’s voice while I heard that it was a television that was on and it was a kid’s channel. I could tell by the types of voices that I heard because I knew it belonged to some type of cartoon animal that kids adored. Walking down the hallway, I turned to walk into the kitchen and I saw my dad and a bald old man sitting at the table. Both of them looked up at me and I suddenly felt like an intruder.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” I told them.
Jax shook his head, “no, it’s actually good that you are up.” I saw him motion to the older man that had more than a good number of years on him, “this is Wayne Unser. He’s the officer that we are talking to, getting information out of. He’s good with the club and he’s going to be our easiest insider and info about what to do.”
I nodded and gave him a bit of a wave. Jax got up and he asked me, “what do you normally eat for breakfast? We have…uh, toast, cereal…You like Lucky Charms?”
I gave him a large grin and I asked him, “who doesn’t?”
I saw him smile and he got out the box from the cupboard and I looked around, watching him to try and figure out where things were. Jax told me as he was walking around, getting the bowl, cereal box, and milk out, “I was wondering when you would be waking up. Tara already had to go to work.”
“Sorry. It’s kind of easy to sleep in when you are in a comfortable bed and you can’t hear anything.” I answered him as he gave me a bowl full of Lucky Charms.
I followed him to the table and sat beside him as I placed the bowl on the table. I saw Unser looking at me. He looked back at Jax and told him, “she looks like you enough, that’s for sure.”
My father and I looked at each other. Was it really that? I didn’t see much of my looks in Jax. Did he think I looked like him? My dad made an uncomfortable noise before he informed me, “Unser and I were just talking about you, what to do.”
I began to eat a spoonful of cereal before turning to Unser when I heard him explain, “I was able to get ahold of the deputy up there. It took a little convincing, but I explained that you were safe here. Your dad may be in a biker club, but he doesn’t have a criminal record and his wife is a doctor. They had to get in contact with the family…well lets just stay in the end that you can stay here. There is a bit of legal things I have to go through, but during the time of going through the courts you should be allowed to stay here unless things changed.”
I nodded, listening to him carefully before I looked at my dad. He nodded and I looked back at Unser and said, “you did a lot this morning. I wish I could be that productive.”
Hearing Jax chuckle once made me smile and Unser even gave a smile. He informed me, “I’ve been looking over the legal aspects that Jax has, but I can’t do too much in that aspect. I’ve been suggesting lawyers to him. The best one to buy is going to be your best. It might be a tug and war. It wouldn’t be against the foster family. It was made clear this morning that they can’t make a case on you.”
“Let me guess. They didn’t know that I was missing, huh?” I asked.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Jax tense up a bit. Unser nodded and answered me, “well…yes. It was pretty easy to make a case that you stay here when social services and the police saw that your foster parents couldn’t account at all where you were.”
Nodding, I ate another spoonful before Jax told us, “we were exchanging numbers for lawyers.”
Unser nodded and got my attention again, “now, I know that I can’t make promises, but if everything goes well, it seems that you could have a very good shot. You have a history to explain why it’s better you stay with your birth father. The social worker will be coming tomorrow to okay the house and see that it is safe for you since you are still a ward of the state.”
I nodded and asked, “but they should approve of this place, right? If not…I’d be given to a girl’s home.”
“What’s that?” Jax asked me.
“It’s basically an orphanage. I’ve been them a couple of times between homes,” I answered him, “the one I went to was girls only.”
Uncer and Jax nodded before Unser said, “they should as long as it’s a clean house and you have a safe home. You have your own room and good food here, that’s something they will check. Safety, however, they might have a problem with and it will be up to the social worker in the end. Your dad may not have a record of anything too dangerous or abnormal, but when they catch wiff of the biker club aspect, it may be a problem.”
“What is your social worker like?” Jax asked me.
Shrugging, I answered, “her name is Amelia Harris. Tough to approve unless she knows it is for the best for the kids. If she thinks I’m going to be better here than at a girl’s home then she’ll sign me off here.”
“Do you think she will do that?” Jax asked me. I could already hear the slight worry in his voice. It really surprised me. I’ve never had someone worry about keeping me before.
And it surprised me more because we just met.
I nodded and told him, “I can’t promise, but I think so. She usually does girls homes as a last resort deal. However, she probably won’t like the biker club aspect. Tara might level it out though and the fact that this is a secure home.”
“How do you know that this is a secure home?” Unser asked me.
I raised my eyebrows and told him before I ate another spoonful of Lucky Charms, “believe me, I know this is a secure home because I’ve lived in houses much worse and they labelled it secure. This is a holy grail of a house.”
Jax looked at me worriedly and I saw it. My past was not something I was going to bring up with him. I gave out vague details and that is what he would needed. I told him, “plus, in general social workers and the courts will prefer to place the kid with their birth parents. I think we have a good shot, at least until the court gives you full custody.”
Jax nodded and Unser told me, “who knows, by the time this blows over, you might be eighteen anyway.”
I nodded and looked at Jax and gave him a smile. He gave me one too, “we’ll get it, Sidney. I don’t want you going back to places like that.”
It was weird to have someone care about me that much. I knew that Amelia cared, but not like this. And it felt different too. I never been to a place where I actually felt as though that I was wanted, that I was hoping to be kept. I was mostly just a government check, but this was different.
I guess that’s what parents did.
Unser told me, “we’ll get in contact with a lawyer. The social worker said that she would take your things here. Your clothes and books and things like that.”
I nodded, “sounds good to me.”
Unser sighed and Jax went to get the phone, “I guess we make some calls…Sidney, would you mind staying here all day? I have a computer if you want to use it, Abel and Thomas will be having their naps after lunch if you want the television. I’m letting them have it right now so that they are occupied while we do this.”
I nodded and gave him a smile. The computer would be nice. It would be a way for me to talk with the kids from the foster home and see how they were doing. I could also check up on my friends, but I could also text them and see if they can visit me now. I missed them already, but I knew that I would be creating some distance when I came back to find my dad.
Answering him with a smile, I said, “I’ll be okay. Thank you.”
“I told you Sidney, you don’t need to thank me.” Jax told me and it felt weird to know that he meant it.