Adopted

Chapter 8

"Hey, hey kid?" a voice said.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been sitting there, but it wasn't that long. I looked up and there were two cops standing above me.

"Kid, you okay?" one of them bent down to my level.

"I lost my parents." I said, sniffling.

"What do you mean, lost your parents?" he asked.

"We left a restaurant and got separated and I don't know this area. I don't know where they are."

"Well, what's your address? What's their phone number? We can call them, or take you home."

"I don't know," I cried. "They just adopted me today. I don't know my address and I don't know their phone numbers."

"Okay, okay. You're fine kid. Come with us. We'll take you down to the station and I'm willing to bet they'll come find you there." He put his hand out for me to take and I got up.

They had me get into the back of their car and we drove away.

"Anything look familiar?" They asked as we drove.

"No." I said quietly.

We got to the police station and the two cops let me out of the car and walked me into the station. They led me over to a desk and one of them sat down and turned on the computer.

"Okay. What's your name, kiddo?"

"Jessica."

"You got a last name Jessica?"

"Brahn. B-R-A-H-N." I said.

"Okay, and your parents names?"

"Which ones?"

"What do you mean 'which ones'? How many parents have you got?"

"Well, the ones who adopted me or the ones who died?"

"Well, I doubt the ones who died are going to come looking for you, so how about the ones who adopted you?"

"Brendon and Sarah Urie," I said.

He stopped typing and looked at me.

"For real, kid." he said.

"For real," I replied. He sighed.

"Look, kid, I want to help you and get you home. But if you're going to lie to me, I'm not going to be able to help you."

"I'm not lying!" I said. "They adopted me today! Call the orphanage!"

He looked at me. Just then, there was a commotion at the front of the office.

"Jessica? Is Jessica here? Jessica?" my name was being shouted. I turned around in my chair and saw a panicked Sarah being held back by an officer. Brendon was looking around, also looking panicked.

"Sarah! Brendon!" I said, and ran to them. They both grabbed me and hugged me tightly.

"Jessica! Oh, honey. We were so worried. A group of fans came and asked for Brendon's autograph, and we turned around and you were gone! What happened?"

"I bent down to tie my shoe and we got separated by that group." I said. "I tried to find you but I got lost."

"Why didn't you go back to the restaurant?"

"I got turned around and got lost." I said. "And I didn't know your cell phone numbers or our address."

"Luckily," the cop who had been taking my information said coming up to us. "A neighbor walking his dog saw Jessica sitting against a wall and was concerned. So he called us. We brought her here, and she was telling us that you adopted her today?"

"We did," Brendon said.

"Do you have ID? Maybe an adoption certificate?"

Brendon showed him his driver's license.

"I didn't think to bring the adoption certificate out with us tonight."

"Alright," the cop said. "You're lucky kid. You've got a pretty good set of parents." he smiled at me.

"Can we take her home now?" Sarah asked.

"Yes. I will have to report this to social services, which means you'll probably hear from her social worker, but you're all free to go."

"Thank you. Thank you for finding her and keeping her safe," Sarah said.

We left the station and Sarah climbed into the back seat with me and held me in a tight hug the whole way home.

"We were so worried," she said. "We turned around and you were gone. I had a million horrible images of what could possibly have happened."

"Rampaging alpacas being at the top of that list," Brendon said. I laughed.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. It's a new area, and you're right, you didn't have our numbers. First thing tomorrow when we go shopping, we're getting you a phone and we'll put our numbers in it. That way, if this ever happens again, at least you can contact us."

Sarah wouldn't let go of me the whole way home, and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm just so glad you're safe." she said.

I settled into her.

I was home.