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

37. Samantha

I didn't want to talk about the night I wound up at Mom and Dad's. But Mr. Greyson was easy to talk to. Some of his questions were hard. Not because I didn't know the answers. Obviously. But because it was things I didn't want to remember.

He asked about when Mom and Dad fostered me, and he asked about when I was kidnapped and what happened then and how were Mom and Dad when I got home.

He asked about the times I ran away and why, and about the accident last year. He asked about the seizures and he asked about school and my friends. He also asked about the time I went to my other school and if I missed my friends there. I told him I didn't have any friends at Maple.

I told him about being in Iceland with Dad, and being on tour and how I felt when I found out about Rosie. I told him how Stanley had made me think Mom and Dad would get rid of me because of her. And that that's what caused my accident last year. But I also told him about Rosie and how much I love her. Mom and Dad both interrupted and said there's a bond between us that they can't explain.

He asked about school now, and how high school is even though it's only been two days.

Then he asked about Mark. And I really didn't want to talk about Mark.

"Samantha, when you first met Mark, what did you think?"

I frowned.

"He looks like my mom did. And when he hugged me, I felt safe."

"You went to visit him a couple of times?"

"Once for Spring Break, with Mom and Dad and Rosie. And then for July. But he lied to me," I said.

"How did he lie to you?" Mr. Greyson asked, sitting forward.

"He called Mom and Dad and told them there was a festival in their village that he wanted me ti see, but he told me Mom and Dad had to go California for a week for Dad's work and asked if I could stay an extra week."

"And what happened during that week?"

"Benji and Emma had to get ready for school so Carol took me along to where they get their school uniforms. She kept talking about Emma's school and made me try on a uniform. Then she told me they looked into the school and they had a place for me and I should stay and do a term there. Then Benji stole my passport the night I was supposed to come home. I don't know if he did it because he didn't want me to leave or if Mark or Carol told him to."

"How do you feel about your uncle now?"

"I hate him," I frowned. "I know hate is a strong word but I know I can never trust him. Or Carol. And I don't trust people easily."

"I can imagine not. What about your cousins?"

"They're 10 and 7. Even if they did what they did, well, Benji, if they did it because their dad or mom told them to, I still can't blame them. They're still just kids."

"Okay. Did you make friends in England?"

"A couple. Taylor and Brittany. They both do to Emma's school, but they're my age. They're in the upper school."

"How did you meet them?"

"At a barbecue at Mark and Carol's. Mark wanted people to meet me because of Stanley and what he did to my mom. He took her away from her family. They never knew where she was and that I was born."

"Did Mark ever talk about Stanley?" Mr. Greyson asked.

"He told me about how he isolated my mom from her family and made it so she could never contact them. And I remember my mom never used the phone. If it rang, she jumped like she'd been shocked or something. But she never answered it."

"Did you answer the phone?"

"Once. I was six. I don't know who it was, but Stanley grabbed it from me and threw me across the room. He beat me after he got off the phone. I was unconscious for a while after."

"Hmm," Mr. Greyson said.

Dad's arm slipped out of my and he put it around me. He pulled me in for a hug and kissed the top of my head.

"Sam?" Mr. Greyson asked. "Who is your best friend?"

"At school, it's Jill. For sure. Blaine, Morgan and Patricia are great, but Jill and I are really close. At home it's my sister," I grinned. Mr. Greyson laughed.

"What's the worst thing that has happened to you at school?"

"Um, either when Adam beat me up. He was a bully and I stood up to him. I guess no one ever had before. So he beat me up," I shrugged. "Or when Jill was mad at me for not telling her I have seizures sometimes. Jill's got epilepsy, and she felt like I should have told her. I had a seizure at her house when we didn't sleep much the night before. She got mad and didn't talk to me for almost two weeks. She started when she had a seizure at school and I helped her."

"Even though she was mad at you?"

"She was mad at me. I wasn't mad at her. And I knew what to do because she told me and she'd had a seizure at our house the year before."

"How would you describe yourself?"

I shrugged.

"A year or two ago, I would have told you I'm a useless girl. But now," I looked at Mom and Dad. "I'm a daughter. And a sister. And I'm someone who cares about other people."

Mom smiled, with just a hint of a tear in her eyes.

"How do you think other people would describe you?"

"I don't know," I said. "I never thought about what other people think, other than when I thought poorly of myself. I'm a little self-conscious even now."

"She's loyal and compassionate," Dad said. "I have no doubt people would say that about her. And funny and smart."

I blushed.