Give Me a Reason to Believe

Adopt me? Did I hear correctly. These people, who's house I stole from I may add, wanted to adopt me. I stared at both of then mouth open. These people were obviously crazy or just stupid.
"You...what?"I finally managed.
"We want to adopt you. I know it seems out of the blue but Lindsey and I talked about it."The man walked up to my bed and sat down. "Believe me I know how this sounds but it's what we want."
I didn't know what to say. I stared at them. No, I stared through them thinking of my options. I had almost one year left in this sorry excuse for a home. No matter what I chose I'd be free when I turned 18. My choices now were to either spend my remainder as a minor in a shit hole with 15 other kids and have no privacy or spend it in a house with three other people where I would get some privacy. I probably wouldn't be hungry all the time either or have the urge to scream all the time. This was my escape. From the moment I stepped foot into the orphanage I wanted to leave and now I could.
"Ok."I stated looking down at my book again.
"Really?"Lindsey beamed.
"Yes. It's not Ike you needed my permission anyways." I remarked.
"No we didn't."Gerard confessed. "But it's nice to have it. We want to be a part of your life but more importantly we want you to be apart of ours."
I nodded. They probably interpreted it as me agreeing to be a part of their life's. I didn't care, at this point I only focused on the fact I was getting out.
"Perfect." Gerard said standing up. "I'll talk to Mrs.Smith about it all right now. We'll stop by every day until it's official. I promise."
I watched as they both exited my room. I waited until I could no longer hear then on the stair before I jumped out of bed. I slowly tip-toed down the stairs until I could hear voices.
"Adopt her? That's wonderful!" I could hear the tears in Mrs.Smiths voice."I'll call the social worker right now and get back to you later tonight."
Then they exchanged a bit of information then goodbyes and I heard the front door open and close. I hurried back to my room before Mrs.Smith noticed me and continued reading.
---
Over the next couple days the Way's kept to their word and stopped by everyday. They kept me updated on how the adoption was going. The way it worked was the older the orphan the shorter the adoption process. They just wanted to get them out. By the third day it was official, I was the Way's 'daughter' or at least according to the state of California I was.
The day I moved out was bittersweet. I was glad I was finally leaving but at the same time it was the only real home I've known for years. I didn't have much to pack, all my personal objects fit in my backpack and all my clothes in two small suitcases. All the kids and Mrs.Smith were waiting for me at the front door. It was a tradition, every time someone was adopted everyone met up at the front to say goodbye. All the little ones were dressed in their Sunday best and once they saw me they all began hugging me. I stiffened at their touch, I didn't like being hugged or touched at all.
"You don't know how long I've hoped for this day."Mrs.Smith cried."Now it's finally here."
She pulled me into a hug before I had time to react. I could feel here tears soaking my shirt and it made me feel uncomfortable. I awkwardly stood there until she pulled away. After the goodbyes were completed I picked up my bags and walked outside.
Gerard was leaning against the car and straightened when he saw me. He grabbed my bags and put then inside the trunk as I got into the car. On the way to the house he explained that Lindsey was at home. She was with their 4 year old daughter Bandit kind of preparing her to meet me. I wondered if she's remember me. I hoped not, that would make living with her a whole lot worse.
"Do you like reading?"Gerard asked when we were a couple blocks away.
"Yeh...I read everything."
"Good. When we bought the house there was two rooms downstairs and we turned one into a library. We're in the process of turning it back in a room. As of now there's just a bed in it."
"That's ok. I don't mind don't mind the books. I've just never had my own room before."
"Not even before the orphanage?"
"No."I replied softly looking out the window. "I shared with my sister."
"Oh. I didn't realize..."he trailed of.
He had read my file, all potential parents had to review the file of their possible kid. Mine was about the size of a hundred page novel. Most of what was in it was bullshit but at the end of the day it was all fact.
"It's ok." I stated as we pulled up the driveway.
The house didn't look any different from when I first entered it but it felt different. It was probably the idea that I would be living here now or the fact that I had gotten arrested here. Gerard took hold of my bags and led the way to the front door. I followed closely behind him to the point where I was almost hidden.
"Welcome to your new home."He announced pushing the door open
This is usually the part where the adopted kid goes completely nuts exploring their new house but I didn't. I had already explored the house so I just stood in the entrance unsure of what to do. Lindsey and Bandit,I assume, could be heard approaching from the living room.
"Bandit, this is your new sister. Her name is Charlotte Rose." Lindsey said smiling as she held Bandit.
I cringed at the word sister. Bandit stared at me and I stared back. She was a perfect mix of Gerard and Lindsey. It was undeniable that they were her parents.
"Hi."I said waving slightly at her
"Hi."she smiled back waving her hand frantically. "Want to see your room?"
I nodded mechanically and watched as she wiggled out out of Lindsey's arms. She reached for my hand but I instantly retracted it. Bandit looked at Lindsey confused and Lindsey smiled encouragingly. I followed her with my hands behind my back into my new room.
Just as Gerard had said, the only bedroom qualities it held was a bed. It was one of those sofa ones but it was still bigger than my old bed was. Everywhere I turned there were books from the ground to the ceiling. I tossed my backpack on the floor and looked around. I had not other choice but to be appreciative. These strangers were taking me in for a year and any room in this house would've worked. Shit I would've been fine on the floor as long as I was out of that hell hole.
It wasn't until I sat on my bed, that's right it was my bed now, that I noticed a small blue box one the nightstand. It had my name on it so I took it in my hand. It had pretty light blue wrapping paper and a silver ribbon wrapped around it. I toyed with it a little before I began unwrapping. Underneath all the wrapping paper was an iPhone box. I took the top off and took the phone in my hand and it light up to life.
"It already has the house, Gerard's and my number in it."Lindsey said in the doorway."We figured you'd need one."
I started at the phone stupefied. I had never had one before. Most people my age were already on their like on their like third and here I was with my first. I probably won't have any other numbers in it. I didn't have friends.
"We just have some ground rules. No using it past midnight unless we're out late, no one over without our permission and curfew is 10 on school nights and 11 on weekends."
"You don't have to worry about that. I don't have friends and don't really plan on making any here. I'm just looking to make my last year as a minor as easy as possible. That's all."
I turned away from them and begin unpacking my clothes. My whole wardrobe consisted of too big shirts and pants. They were all secondhand from thrift shops so it was hard to find clothes that fit perfectly. I was just glad they were all clean and had no trace of their previous owner.
I'm guessing Lindsey and Gerard got the hint that I wanted to be alone because the slowly filed out of my room with Bandit leading the way. When they were gone I sat back down on the bed and stared outside the window.
"Please don't think we adopted you out of pity. You might want to shut us out but we don't want to do that to you. We want you to be a part of our life's. Just give us a chance to prove it."Gerard said suddenly popping his head back into my room.
I nodded but didn't respond. It sounded like he didn't believe his words so I had no way of knowing if I was supposed to. His words just went in one ear out the other. I didn't turn but I could feel him staring at me. This was going to be a longer year than I thought.

Notes