Just have Faith {EDITED}

Fresh Start

*Faith*

As soon as I close the door to the shared room, the girls start screaming at me, apart from the twins, who are still sleeping.

"OH MY GOD!

YOU'RE GOING HOME!

I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU!

SOMEONE WAKE UP THE TWINS!"

There is suddenly a lot of chaos in the room as everyone is yelling and screaming at each other. I block it out well enough to send a message to Zak and Dakota.

*to Zak*

'u r coming to take me to ur house?'

*to Dakota*

'did u know about zak coming to pick me up?'

Then I start crying. uncontrollable sobbing. Everyone stops what they're doing and rushes over to me.

"What's going on? Why are you crying?" Melissa asks as she hugs me.

'I'm scared, I don't want to leave you guys' I sign to them

"Oh, Faith. You'll be okay! This guy seems to really care about you and it seems like he's trying to do everything to make sure you're in a safe and loving environment. Plus, you have our phone numbers, you can always text or call us!" says Afsana

I sniffle and wipe my nose on my sleeve. They're right. I will still be able to text and call them, so I shouldn't be so upset. Yet, I'm still scared of what the future holds for me in my new life.

The girls help me pack up my clothes and they help me change into a pair of sweat pants. About 30 minutes later, as Melissa and Afsana are making me look 'presentable', the twins walk into the shared bathroom.

Melissa was helping me shave my legs around the cast, put on some light makeup, and giving me a manicure. She was already doing my nails by the time the girls came in. Afsana is pulling my hair into a couple cute little braids in either side of my head, leaving some hairs out to frame my face.

Melissa explains what's happening before the twins even ask. They sign back a half hearted 'ok, hurry up' before going back to bed. We giggle a little at their reaction. The twins are always so unbothered by everything when they wake up. Just as the girls finish up my look, there's a knock on the bedroom door.

"Girls! It's time for Faith to go!" Joanna calls through the door.

We all look at each other and nod.

"Let's get you downstairs with your new foster family." Melissa says smiling gently

"And let's tell the twins." Afsana adds

The Twins help me get ready and give me one last hug before they got ready for their day, while Melissa and Afsana help me get downstairs with my clothes in a plastic storage container. Once we make it to the landing, we're met by Joanna we leads us to the one classroom that is used for private meetings with foster families.

Joanna motions to the door with her hand. I adjust my crutches and take a deep breath. Jo opens the door as I walk up to it. Behind the door stands Zak. He's flipping through a book he presumably found on one of the shelves. Jo clears her throat and he turns around. His smile lights up the whole room when he sees me.

I feel myself relax and start walking over to him. The door closes behind me and we're left in privacy. Zak hugs me so tight, I think he might break some of my ribs.

"Oh my god! I can't believe this day has come! Look at you! So healthy and glowing like a young woman!" He says "I missed you so much."

I just hug him again.

We sit together for a minute before Joanna comes in and starts explaining what's gonna happen next. She doesn't tell me where I'll be moving but she explains that I'll be going to a new school and that I'll be staying with Zak until he either adopts me himself or unless I'm adopted into another family. There's also the chance I could age out of the system. Zak also assured me that he's going to keep me safe and keep tabs on how I'm adjusting to the whole process.

Once he and Joanna finish up the paper work, Zak helps me up out of my chair and wraps me into a tight hug. Then he helps me adjust my crutches and we're leaving the room.

"I've missed you so much, kid." He says to me

I just look up and smile at him. There's nothing better in this world than being able to finally feel safe from everything around you.

~~~~~~~~~~

My goodbyes to the girls were sad, we all hugged for a really long time and they all gave me their phone numbers, but I knew that I was gonna miss them anyways. Zak led me off towards the bus as they waved at us from the door.

"So what do you wanna do on our way back to your new house?" Zak asks me.

I shrug. There was never anything I really wanted to do.

"Well are you into haunted stuff? There's a couple haunted places in Oregon and California that we can stop at on the way there." He says

I nod. I always liked the haunted houses. Zak leads me to the RV in the dirt driveway. As soon as he opens the door, all four guys jump out and start screaming around me.

"SURPRISE! WELCOME BACK!"

I'm quite startled, honestly. My eyes go wide in shock and they all laugh at my reaction. I let out a wheezy little chuckle before they all get back in the bus, literally picking me up and taking me with them. They put me down at the table where I can rest my legs.

"Okay so first things first, we're going to stop at the store really quick for snacks and gas, but on our way home we're gonna stop at a couple places and start making some memories!" Zak says pulling out a digital camera.

I suddenly remember something I desperately wanted that I didn't have enough money to get. I pull my phone out of my jacket pocket and frantically start typing in a note.

'Can we stop and get a Polaroid camera? One of the girls at the home has one and I really really like it.'

I hold the phone up to Zak, who bends over to read the note.

"Yes we can. I will buy you anything you want, you deserve it." He says smiling

Anything I want is a stretch but if he said we could get a Polaroid camera on the way to my new home, I'll accept the offer. I start thinking about how long it'll take to pay him back.

"And you don't have to worry about paying me back. I have no problem spending money on you, Faith." Zak says

I smile. I'm finally living with a real family.