Sierra
Chapter six
“Take Sam.” It’s a no brainer. She deserves to be in a safe home and she knows them. The only downfall is Colton being there, but I know that Braxton and Zander won’t let him be cruel to her.
“No, Mr. Stevenson, while I appreciate that you’d take me in, I want you to take Sam.
I’ll be eighteen soon. Once I am, then I can be on my own.
I can make it in a foster home for the two months I have left.
If I know Sam is in a home where she is cared for and safe, I can make it.
” He reaches out and takes my hand in his.
“Thank you. Will you please tell Sam I love her and don’t lose hope? Let her know I won’t stop fighting until I’m able to see her again.” I’m trying to stay strong. The only thing allowing me to do that is knowing Sam is going to be safe.
“I will.” He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “She’ll be taken care of and loved. Sierra, I’m going to try to help in any way I can to make sure the two of you are back together.”
He sits there, holding my hand as we’re surrounded in silence. Something is nagging at me and I don’t know why, but I need to know.
Clearing my throat, I speak up. “Mr. Stevenson, why are you doing this?”
His eyes drift to mine. He doesn’t say anything at first and I’m debating if I should ask again when he speaks.
“You’re a good girl, Sierra. It’s obvious how much you care about your sister and I’d be a fool to not see the impact you’ve had on my boys.”
His boys. Guess he doesn’t know Colton hates me. I’m sure Braxton and Zander do as well after yesterday. They’re probably thinking everything Wes said is true.
“Is foster care bad? Are there more bad homes than good?”
He lets out a deep sigh. My stomach quivers, bile rising as I think horrible thoughts about the home I’m going to be placed in.
“I always wanted...” His voice falters as he finds the words to answer my question.
“The boys know, but I was also in the foster care system. My mother was an addict and eventually I was taken from her. She had no other family and my father wasn’t listed on my birth certificate, so I had nowhere to go.
Like you and Sam, I was placed in a foster home.
I’m not going to lie, it was horrible. They were only in it for the money and treated us as if we were servants.
If we disobeyed, we were punished.” He takes a deep breath and reaches up to swipe away a stray tear.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.”
He just shakes his head at me, then forces a smile on his face. “No, I want to. I was lucky; my second foster family adopted me. So, as much as I hate to say it, Sierra, no, not all homes are good. But believe me, I’m going to do everything in my power to help you.”
We sit quietly, the sound of the clock ticking on the wall the only sound in the room. I’m not sure where Mrs. Jenkins went, and what’s taking her so long.
“Mr. Stevenson, why haven’t you asked who did this to me? You haven’t even brought it up.” I turn in my seat so I can face him, his hand still holding onto mine. He’s never let it go.
“You are a very strong young lady. I’ve told you that. With everything that’s been thrown at you in the course of twenty-four hours, I just figured when you’re ready to talk, you will.”
“Thank you for not pushing,” barely passes through my lips when the door opens and Mrs. Jenkins steps inside.
“I’m so sorry, Sierra, Mr. Stevenson, for taking so long.” She crosses the room, placing a file on her desk, before taking a seat.
“It’s fine. It actually gave us a chance to talk. I know earlier we discussed my fostering Sierra, but after speaking with her I’ve changed my mind—” he holds his free hand out before she can say anything. “Nothing bad. She has requested to have Sam take her place. Is that acceptable?”
Mrs. Jenkins moves her gaze to mine. “Is this what you want, Sierra?”
“Yes ma’am. I’ll be eighteen soon and if they can only take one person, I’d rather it be her. I can make it. It’s not much longer.” I force a smile, but I’m happy that Sam’s going to be okay. It just sucks I can’t see or talk to her because of some vindictive asshole.
“Very well. Once I am done with Sierra, I will get Sam and meet you at your home a little later today. How does six sound? That way, we have time for you to arrange what you need at your house to accommodate her.” She picks up a pen and scribbles something on a piece of paper.
“Sounds perfect. We look forward to seeing you and Sam. Sierra, it was a pleasure seeing you again. Please think about what I told you.” He releases my hand and stands to leave.
“Thank you, Mr. Stevenson. Sam is going to be upset. Let her know I’m fine and that I can handle it. Tell her it’ll be like a vacation for me and I love her.” Another tear slides down my face, betraying the strength I’m trying so desperately to hold on to.
“I will. She’ll know what a brave, amazing sister she has. But I have a feeling she already knows. Make sure to do your homework, and I hope to see you back at school soon.” He steps out into the hallway, closing the door behind him.
I let out a sigh, devastated yet happy. My chance at a good home may have been lost, but now Sam gets it.
“Sierra, I need to talk to you.”
“Mrs. Jenkins, I told you no one did this to me. Just tell me what I need to do to clear my name of the accusation against Sam so I can see her.” I shift in my seat, sitting up straighter.
“As I stated before, it all depends on the results of the investigation. Now, we’ve had some information come forth about you.
We have someone who reached out to us earlier today claiming to be a biological relative.
He’s already provided a cheek swab and blood work to the lab.
We just need to perform the same procedure with you so that we can verify if he is correct.
Mrs. Lancaster, my assistant, is going to take you and have it done, then bring you back here while we wait for the results.
We’ve placed a rush on it. Do you have any questions? ”
Uh, yes… but I don’t even know where to start! A blood relative? That’s not possible.
“But I don’t have any family. Aunt Sarah is all I have left other than Sam.
Our dad left a long time ago and we haven’t heard from him.
He wasn’t exactly dad of the year, anyway.
Mom provided everything for us.” Hell, I don’t even remember what he looks like.
He left when Sam was young, shit, so was I.
Now that I think about it, I don’t even think I have a picture of him.
If I do, it’s stuck in the box of pictures Mom had up in her closet from when she was younger.
I just never could look at them, the pain from losing her was still so fresh.
“Once we have the results, we’ll discuss it. No need to get you excited if it’s not even true. Like I said, we’re putting a rush on it, so we can get the results today.”
It didn’t take long with Mrs. Lancaster at the Health Department.
They drew my blood, then had me open my mouth, while they ran a long Q tip along my cheek.
Once we finished, Mrs. Lancaster took me by the foster home to pick up the small bag I packed yesterday.
It just had a couple changes of clothes in it for me, Sam had her own bag with her.
Once we were done, she took me back to Mrs. Jenkins’ office. The minutes tick away as I sit across from her and wait.
Crap! I need to make sure Mr. Stevenson can get clothes from me for Sam.
“Mrs. Jenkins, Sam is going to need clothes and her schoolbooks. Is there a way I can get them to her?” I run the palm of my hands along my jeans, the roughness of the denim material feeling good against them.
“We can arrange for a meeting there with Mr. Stevenson so we can get the items together. I’m sure you need some clothing yourself?”
“Yes, ma’am, but I’m more worried about her.” Just then, her phone rings and she picks up the receiver.
“Mrs. Jenkins, how can I help you?” She pauses, listening intently to the person on the other line.
It gives me time to think about everything.
Someone found out Sarah wasn’t with us. Accused me of hurting Sam. Now there’s a family member I don’t even know. Braxton and Zander saw me looking like this. And Cyrus. This is all just so much.
“Thank you very much.” She hangs the phone up, then shuffles through her papers before she picks up the phone again and dials a number.
She doesn’t even get a chance to speak. As soon as she opens her mouth, she quickly shuts it, nodding her head with whatever the person is saying.
“Yes, this is what I was calling you about. If you could please come back to our office, all the tests came back.”
She smiles, but I’m not sure what it means. Do I have family out there? Do I switch with Sam and have her go with our newly found family member or leave her with Mr. Stevenson? Then again, would I even want her going with this new person? What if they turn out just like Sarah?
I think I’m going to be sick!
“Yes sir, our office closes at five and it’s nearly four thirty now.” She pauses, smiling sweetly at me. “Perfect, I'll be looking for you.” She hangs up the phone, placing her hands on her desk, tapping her fingernails.
The silence, except for the clinking of her nails, is nerve-wracking. Someone’s coming who claims to be my family. Well, according to the DNA, we are family. And I don’t have a fucking clue who it is.
Mrs. Jenkins clears her throat, startling me and I jump, my eyes jerking up to her. I’m a nervous wreck. The anxiety over what’s to come building with each passing second.
“Sierra, I really need you to tell me who did this to you. It’s important. We’ve not had success finding your aunt. It’s as if she’s disappeared. It would also help to speed along the investigation on you regarding Sam.”
“I’ve. Never. Hurt. Sam!” I enunciate each word to her, hoping that it sinks into her head.
“I really wish you would see the severity of this, Sierra.”
The fucking gall of this bitch. I don’t see the severity of the situation? I’ve been beaten up, removed from my home, separated from my sister and accused of abusing her. I think I understand it completely.
“Very well. You’re only making this more difficult. I need to get some paperwork together. Stay here and I’ll be right back.”
She presses her hands down on her desk as she stands, her chair rolling back. It doesn’t take her long to make it to the door and walk out. Once again, I’m left alone, allowing me more time to stew in my thoughts and grow more miserable as I wait for the mysterious family member to arrive.
He can’t be worse than Aunt Sarah. Or can he?