Everlasting Love

Chapter 1

"We are going to miss you, Derek," Luca says wrapping his arms around him. A group of the boys pull him in for a large hug. They hold it for a long time as he looks up to the ceiling. How could this woman, who came from nowhere, be telling him to pack all his things. Upon arriving at the orphanage, he had hoped for a loving family again. Soon, he learned that the only ones that the couples choose are the young ones. Derek definitely wasn't young. In fact, he was 16 and had been there for years.

"I'll write. You know I will and I'll call the main phone every week. And, if anything happens, you can always call me. Okay? " He asked, trying his best to be strong for the kids. He was two times older than any of them and often was seen as the model child. It wasn't fair to everyone that he was leaving. However, he was just a little bit glad that someone thought they would love him.

"It's time to go Derek." A woman calls from the door and the boys pull away with grief. Most of them are crying and he knows that the ones that aren't, want to be strong in front of everyone.

"Coming!" Derek yells as kneels on one knee to be eye level with the oldest kid. "Listen. Now that I'm going, you're going to have to be strong. Take my phone, I know that number and my parents will probably give me one. I know the number by heart so I'll call as soon as I can."

Luca jumps into his arms and he smiles rubbing his back. "I know you can do this. I believe in you." He whispers in the kid's ear as he pulls away. Waving goodbye, he picked up his backpack. It was filled with just clothes and his father's ring. He made it a habit of wearing it but it could look suspicious to the parents.

As the car traveled through the city he knew, it was bright and lit up as the sun was hung low in the sky. He fiddled with the silver wedding band and rolled it between the fingers of his right hand. His hair was shaggy and it needed to be cut but he had been spending his allowance on toys for the kids. As the buildings passed, they drove into a town on the outer edge of the state.

"Rockland, Maine Population... 7000" He aloud. "I'm going back to Rockland?" He asks. His parents were both born here and stayed here till he was 7. Then they moved to New York.

"You're going to love them. And I also have seen a girl in the house that's next to yours." The woman smiles and parks the car in a driveway of a large white house with gray rafters, slightly covered by solar panels.

At least these people care about the environment. He thought as he stood in front of the oak door, decorated with patterns and designs. "Wait, your hair." The lady laughed and pulled a comb from her purse before running it through his hair.

"Your dad is the owner of a bar and your mom is a hairstylist."
"They aren't my parents." He spits out in disgust.
"Just try to be kind okay?" The lady asks, standing next to him.
"Fine." His lips pressed into a hard line as she knocked on the door.

It was opened immediately and there stood a couple maybe in their late thirties. They smiled warmly and he nodded as the lady walked in. He immediately took off his shoes and carefully placed them by the door. When he looked at everyone, they were staring.

"Sorry. Habit. My parents made me leave our shoes at the door so I wouldn't track dirt into the house." He explained as the couple smiled and nodded. As they walked through the house, he soon realized that they were a mediocre family. The decorations were modern and it was clean. Almost too clean but it was nice.

"And this is your room." The woman said, pointing to an open door at the end of the hall. He glanced between the parents and the man nodded, urging him to go into it.

He stepped into the room and stood on the carpet floor. There was a white, queen-sized bed in the middle and it had a slanted ceiling. A small part of the wall had been filled in to make a shelf until the large window. It was perfect and it had plants. The desk was modern there was a computer on it that he probably wouldn't use. A closet was built into a wall and he pulled it open to reveal clothes that were just his size along with a few extra hangers. Two small bookshelves were next to the bed and he kneeled at them. He chuckled lightly as he pulled out The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice or Moby Dick. Standing up he nods and smiles.

"I love it." He smiled softly and they laughed in relief.
"We have one more surprise." The woman said, pulling out a box.
He stared at it, his jaw dropped. It was the new iPhone in black. It wasn't anything he had imagined it to be. The family, the house, and the room. Walking to the parents, he wrapped an arm around each one. The woman stood behind them and he winked at her nefariously. She rolled her eyes and smiled as she chuckled. Pulling away, the parents lead them to the marble kitchen island to work out the details of his fostering.

"So, one year of being foster parents and then adoption?" She asked curiously and they nodded happily as they signed. Derek smiled as his dream was coming true, he would have parents that actually cared about him.

"That's all I need." The woman smiled, closing the file. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how good it feels to find him a home." She nods. "I've been on Derek's case ever since his father passed when he was eight."

"Oh. That is so sad but more for now, where is his suitcase?"
"This is all I have." He replied, holding up his bag and smiling. "They don't let us keep much at the home because we move around too much." He explained as the woman stepped out.
"I'll check on you in two months." She smiled before getting in her car and driving away.