The London Paradigm (book 4 of Adopted by the Josephs)

34. Samantha

The day went along pretty much as any normal day should. People stared when my name was called during attendance, and there were whispers I could hear around the hallways. But, for the most part, people left me alone. A few people did come up and ask if I was okay and offered some sympathy for my situation. If anyone was negative, I didn't hear it.

A couple of my teachers held me back at the end of class to reiterate I could come to them at any time.

I had a bit of homework, and that'd be easy to deal with when I got home.

In homeroom we'd gotten agenda books with all the school codes and rules in it, plus all the forms we'd need to get our parents to fill out.

When the bell rang at 3, I headed to the front of the school. Jill and I had English last period together so she walked out with me. She took the bus anyway, and needed to be out front.

We stopped inside the doors so I could look to see if Dad's car was outside. I saw John get out of Dad's car and come towards the doors. So I went outside. I waved goodbye to Jill.

"How was school?" John asked as I went over to him.

"It was okay," I said.

He opened the door for me and I climbed into the car. Dad was driving.

"Hey there kiddo. How was school?"

"It wasn't too bad," I said.

"Anyone give you a hard time?" He asked.

"No, actually," I said. "A few people came up and told me they were sorry about all this stuff but otherwise, no one bugged me about it."

"Good," Dad said. "Um."

"Um, what?" I asked.

"There might be a little more press outside the house," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"The courts decided to hear the case. Now, before you panic, Mr. Greyson is still convinced that we'll win. The law is on our side, but I thought it only fair to warn you."

As we turned onto our street I slid down in my seat and put my bag up against the window again and my face in my bag. Dad opened the gate and drove up the driveway.

"Okay, Sam," John said. "We're home."

I peeked out from behind my bag and looked out the window. We were in front of the garage.

I got out of the car and went into the house. Mom saw me and smiled.

"Hi, honey! How was your day?"

"Fine," I said and went upstairs to my room and slammed my door.

My phone pinged with a text as I was lying on my bed, trying not to cry. I looked and saw it was from Uncle B.

"Hey, kiddo. How was your first day? How are you holding up?"

"It was okay. I'm okay," I replied.

"I saw the news today. Are you really okay?"

I sighed before I answered.

"I guess so. For now."

"You sure? You usually send me novels of text."

"I know. It's just a little overwhelming, all this stuff Mark is doing."

"Have you spoken to him since?"

"No. I refuse to."

"Can't say as I blame you," Uncle B said. "Aunt Sarah says hi."

"Say hi back for me," I smiled.

"You know if you ever need to talk, Aunt Sarah and I are here for you any time, okay?"

"I know. Thanks, Uncle B."

"Any time, darling. We love you."

"Love you, too."

"I have some work I need to finish up, but you reach out any time. I'll check in with you again later or tomorrow. K?"

"Okay. Thanks," I said.

I stayed laying on my bed. It was quiet in my room.

A little while later, there was a light knocking on my door and Mom poked her head in with Rosie. She came in and sat on my bed.

"Hey, there sweet girl. You okay?"

I shrugged.

"I guess," I said, sitting up and taking Rosie, who was reaching out for me. "I just wish this wasn't happening."

"I know sweetheart. Same here. You've had enough. This is just cruel."

"You know," I said. "When I left England, I was calling him Uncle Mark. But Uncle Josh and Uncle Brendon have been more uncle-like than he has been. They've never done anything even slightly mean. Mark just ruined so much for me."

Mom pulled me into a hug.

"I know, baby. I'm so sorry that this turned out this way. I was so happy that you could finally maybe have a connection to your mom. And then he pulls this."

"Am I going to have to go to court?" I asked.

"Probably. Not for every day of the trial, but you might have to testify. The judge might want to hear from you. And they're definitely going to want to know where you want to live. And that's your decision and yours alone. The court may decide differently while considering your best interests, but your opinion will be considered. And the fact that you're 15, plays well in your favour. And ours, if I'm honest."

"Oh. Do we know when we're going to court?"

"Mr. Greyson was at the courthouse today for the preliminary to see if the courts would hear the case. He was fighting to have it dropped. He said a date hasn't been set but he's pushing for it to be sooner than later. But no. No date is set yet."

I sighed. I could be going to school with a security guard all year.

"Sam," Mom said. "We're going to do our best to try to keep everything as normal as possible, okay?"

"Nothing can be normal anymore," I said. "I can't leave the house without press shouting questions at us. I can't go out with friends without John. I can't go to a friend's house without the press following us. As if going over to Jill's is somehow an indication of whether I want to move to England or not. There is no more normal. I was even an announcement during the assembly this morning!"

"Everyone has your safety in mind, sweetheart. It's frustrating, I know. But we are trying our best. I can't imagine how frustrating this is for you. But we're all trying hard to keep you safe, okay?"

I nodded. Mom gave me another hug, asked about homework and told me I needed to come down for a snack because my blood sugar was getting low. I decided I could do my homework downstairs too.

Mom took Rosie and I followed her downstairs. I hated feeling so caged. The last couple of years, I'd been able to really learn how to move around the world and, don't groan, spread my wings. Now it took planning just to go shopping.

I sighed as I sat at the kitchen island. Would my life ever resemble something normal? Despite Dad's celebrity status, we could move around Columbus pretty much unnoticed. Now, with Mark's lawsuit against Mom and Dad, everyone knew who we are.