Adopted By Polly Gray

Chapter 5: The Power of Fear

The doctor had came and checked in Starlene. Her injuries were non life threatening and she just needed to take it easy until her bruised on her stomach and ribs that she must've obtained from falling were healed. Polly grabbed a chair from the kitchen and put it next to the couch so she could keep an eye on her daughter until she awoken from her slumber. Ada a while later came sneaking into the house and was surprised to see her aunt asleep sitting up in the chair.

"Aunt Pol." She whispered and tapped her aunt's shoulder. No response.

"Aunt Polly?" She grabbed the older woman's shoulder and shook her a little bit which startled her awake.

"W-What happened? Did Starlene wake up?" Polly immediately looked over to see her daughter still asleep.

"No, Pol. What happened to her anyway?"

Polly looked up at her niece, "That's the question i've been asking since the boys brought her home."

Ada convinced Polly to sleep upstairs in her room while she did her duty as Starlene's favorite cousin to watch over her the rest of the night. The older woman continued to protest until she realized her niece wasn't backing down. She finally gave in after making Ada promise that she would wake her as soon as Starlene was up.

Ada made herself comfortable and grabbed a book to read to help her stay awake. An hour or so went by when she started noticing the young girl stirring awake. Starlene groan as she woke an panicked for a moment not knowing where she was.

"Hey, hey, Starlene, it's okay Star, you're okay. You're home. It's just me." Ada softly spoke as she got up and sat down on the couch next to the scared girl gently grabbing her shoulders to settle her back down.

Starlene was rapidly breathing but relaxed when she realized her cousin was tell the truth. The pain quickly brought her back to reality as she laid back down wincing.

"How'd I get home?"

"Pol said the boys carried you back."

Starlene lightly nodded. "Where's mum?"

"Upstairs, want me to go get her?"

"NO!" she yelled straining her voice immediately regretting her outburst. "Please no." She said a softer tone to spare her aching throat.

Ada was confused, "Why Star? Pol wants to see you."

Starlene started to chew on her lower lip. "Because she will be mad at me."

Ada raised a brow and let out a slight laugh, "Why would she be mad at you?

Starlene paused for a moment looking away, "Because I didn't come home in time. Or do all the chores that needed to be done. I made her worried and she's probably really disappointed in me."

Ada sighed, Starlene always puts so much pressure on herself to be the "good child" of the family. She doesn't want to add to Polly's plate and by doing so overcompensates by putting all the extra stress on herself. It wasn't healthy for an 11 year old to carry so much weight but Starlene kept doing so.

"Star, let me tell you something, Pol was worried sick about you tonight. I found her asleep in this chair because she sat here for hours waiting for you to wake up. She could frankly give a shit about chores or you being home late. It wasn't your fault. She won't be mad, she'll be happy to see you're okay. I promise. All that matters in the entire world to Polly, is you."

"Is she okay? Are you okay? I know the coppers were around."

"We're okay. Is that who hurt you, Star? The coppers?"

Starlene was too scared to answer. If she told her family what happened they would go after them and then her family could get arrested or even killed. She would lose her home and everyone. Officer Jones told her about stepping out of line, what if telling them is doing just that? She could lie to Ada but not her mum. Also, she was taught to always be open with family. That families have no secrets, so she would be going against her upbringing if she told a lie like this. Covering for Ada or Finn is one thing, but for a copper, not in this household.