Foster Care

The hallway was cold. It was so weird being so close to police officers, but not being in handcuffs. I wanted to run and hide. I wanted to scream that everything was wrong, and plug my ears. I wanted to put on headphones and block out everyone. I felt Justin's hand grip mine. A lump formed in my throat. I needed to be strong for him.

We got to the room. I turned to Justin. My heart was hammering in my chest. My stomach was doing flips. I put my hand on his shoulder and kissed his forehead. Then I turned to the door and went in. One officer followed me, the other stayed with Justin.

Laying on two tables, were my parents. They were badly cut up, but they were...

My breath caught. I felt like I was about to throw up. It was so hard to imagine my dad, my strong Daddy, dead. My mom… Her stringy hair was untied. Their lips were blue. They almost looked like they were sleeping.

My knees gave out and I collapsed on the floor. The officer knelt beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. I began sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's okay. Take your time."

I shook my head and tried to wipe away my tears. "I need to get to Justin," I stuttered between sobs.

The officer handed me a small package of travel tissues. I looked at him, wondering why he was so nice. His face was sad, like he had pity for me. I looked away and wiped away my tears.

I got up and faced the door. I didn't look at my parents.

Justin ran up to me as soon as I left the room. I hugged him tightly. Without me needing to say anything, he understood. He burst into tears.

"I miss them already," he whispered.

"Me too, buddy. Me too."

When we got back to the house, there was a car parked outside. A tall, thin woman, with dark hair and dark skin was standing next to the car. She seemed nice.

As we got out of the squad car, she walked up to us. Justin hid behind me.

"Hello, Gabriella and Justin. I'm your social worker. My name is Ms Bloodson. Let's go gather your clothes."

"I want to stay here," Justin said. "What if I need something that I forget to take with me?"

I put my hand on his shoulder. "I'll make sure you pack everything, buddy."

The car ride to our new foster home was a little long. We were in a new town. About thirty minutes from our home. Justin and I each had a trash bag full of our clothes. Justin had a few of his toys, and I made sure I had hidden our Switch and a few games in Justin's bag.

Ms Bloodson walked us up the walkway and up to the door. She rang the doorbell and smiled at us. We waited patiently. I held Justin's hand tightly.

Justin bit his lip. I gave his hand a squeeze.

"Don't bite your lip," I scolded him gently. "It might bleed."

He looked at me. His bottom lip fell out from between his teeth. I smiled at him. He smiled slightly back. I squeezed his hand a little tighter.

Ms Bloodson looked at us with a small smile. "There's no need to worry, guys. You two will be perfectly safe here. Mrs Thomas is a sweet lady."

Before we could say anything, the door opened. A thin woman opened the door. She had a stern face and cold green eyes. Her hair was pale blonde and pulled into a tight bun. She was dressed in dark blue jeans and a white pullover hoodie. She smelled like cats.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "My name is Mrs Thomas. Come on in."

We stepped inside and looked at Ms Bloodson. Ms Bloodson turned to Mrs Thomas, who hadn't stopped staring at me.

"If you have any problems, don't hesitate to call me. I gave you my card earlier, and I've always got my phone on me."

Mrs Thomas looked at Ms Bloodson.

The front door let us into the living room. It was plain and brown. My fingers were itching to sketch on the walls. It was too plain.

There was a simple, old TV to my right. It was facing the opposite wall where a white couch sat. It had a knitted black blanket draped over the back of it. Across the room from us was a staircase. Just past the staircase was a doorway to another room.

Justin and I shared a look. Abbey looked at us and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I know I said I could take care of two children, but I've been looking at the girl's file."

We all looked at Mrs Thomas. I crossed my arms.

"What does that mean," I asked.

Mrs Thomas looked at me. "Look at you, you look like the devil just dragged you out of hell. Your file is filled with your disrespect and destruction. I can't have a child like you in this house."

Anger boiled in my chest again. That screaming feeling intensified. I wanted to rip this woman to shreds. How dare she say those things about me?

"I can't leave Justin," I said calmly. "He's only eight, he needs his family."

"What Justin needs is stability," Ms Bloodson said. "We can't just rip Justin away from this home when he's just got here."

Justin looked at Ms Bloodson. "But I need my sister."

Ms Bloodson sighed. "I'm sorry. Come on, Gabby, let's go."

I tried to not cry. I tried so hard. But it was impossible when I saw Justin's heartbroken face. I hugged him tightly.

"I'll come back for you, kid. Be yourself, and you'll be fine. Sock anyone who tries to hurt you."

I felt him nod against my shoulder. He sniffed and I tried not to break down sobbing. A few tears slipped out as I rubbed his back.

"Gabby," Ms Bloodson said. "Let's go."

I stood up and pulled away from Justin. I looked at Mrs Thomas. "If you hurt Justin, I'll turn into a Satanic worshiper, so he can drag you to hell."

Mrs Thomas looked shocked. Her already pale complexion got paler. She pursed her lips and straightened her body. Her head was held high. "This is why I can't have you in this house."

I rolled my eyes and stormed out of the house. I slammed the door shut, then got into Ms Bloodson's car. Idiot forgot to lock it. I sat in the front seat and began chewing on my thumb nail. I hadn't chewed my nails in forever, but today was a special occasion.

Ms Bloodson came out to the car around a minute later. She got in and looked at me. "That was not a good exit. You scared both of them."

I rolled my eyes again and examined my thumb nail. It was uneven. I nawed on it some more, to even it out.

"Whatever. It's not like I can actually do anything. I'm just a useless kid. I just wanted to scare her. She doesn't deserve a kid as sweet as Justin."

Ms Bloodson sighed and started the car. We drove another thirty minutes to another new town. I got bored on the ride, so I began rummaging in my backpack for my sketchbook and sketch pencil. As I rummaged, I found a few photo albums. I smiled. Justin must have slipped them in there.

I found my sketchbook and put my pencil to the paper. A lot of the time, I just begin sketching. I don't have a plan, or construction lines. The pencil just starts going.

"Look," Ms Bloodson said after a while. "I'm sorry that everything is happening like this. It wasn't the plan. However, I think you'll like this family. They don't foster very often, but they're a nice couple, with an older son."

Oh great, I get the family with siblings, and Justin gets to be an only child. That sucks. However, Justin deserves it, he's put up with a lot of crap.

"I'll be nice to them, if you never call me Gabby again. Only my family can call me that."