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

48. Samantha

"So, Samantha," Dr. Peterson said. "I have here that you are 15."

"Yes. I turned 15 in June," I said.

"Okay. What did you do for your birthday? Did you have a party?"

"Sort of. I had a bunch of friends from school, and girls on my basketball team over and we had a bit of a pool party."

"Sounds fun."

"It was," I smiled, remembering the day. "It was perfect. You know. Friends, Dad barbecued. Mom and I made some salads. They got a birthday cake that was really nice.  It was a lot of fun."

"That's great. What is your best memory of that day?"

I thought for a second.

"Probably my sister," I smiled.

"How so?"

"Well, she's just a baby, but she was trying to get into everything and make everyone sort of notice her. She's really funny and so cute."

"You love your sister?"

"I do. We're really close, if that makes any sense."

"Sure," Dr. Peterson said. "How about your mom and dad?"

"What about them?" I asked.

"How do you feel about them?"

"I love them. They're my parents. They're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"How so?"

"The saved me. Literally. My biological dad, Stanley, used to beat me. More after my mom," I paused for a second. "After he killed my mom."

"What do you mean?"

"He'd hit me."

"No, I mean what do you mean by he killed your biological mother?"

"Oh. He was going to shoot me, because he said I was nothing but a useless girl wasting space. But my mom got in the way and he wound up shooting her instead."

"Where were you?"

"In the kitchen. At the table."

"Where are they?"

"In the kitchen. By the fridge and stove."

"So you saw this all happen?"

I nodded.

"How did you feel?"

I frowned at Dr. Peterson.

"Don't think me rude," I said. "But I was eight and my mother's brains were all over the kitchen. I was terrified. I screamed for her. And then I hid, because I knew Stanley wanted to kill me."

"But he didn't. How come?"

"A neighbour came to the door. They'd heard the gunshot. Stanley said a robber came into the house and was trying to rob us, and that my mom was trying to protect us."

"But really, he killed her."

"Yes."

"And you kept that secret?"

"I had to. Stanley said if I ever told anyone, I'd go to jail because it was my fault he killed her."

"Do you still believe that?"

"No. Doc and Mom and Dad have helped me understand what happened and how it wasn't my fault."

"How did you happen to come into the Joseph's care?" Dr. Peterson asked.

"It's been in all the news stories," I said.

"I don't read the news related to cases I might be called to assist in. So I haven't read anything or heard anything."

"Oh. Well, Stanley got mad at me for something stupid. I think my bed wasn't made to his liking. It was something in my room anyway. And he was going to beat me. Again. So I ran. It was thundering and lightning and pouring rain, and cold. But I ran because I couldn't take another beating. He'd used his belt on me the night before and I had cuts and bruises and I couldn't handle more. So I ran. And he chased me. Eventually, I came to a fence and I climbed it. It was in the woods, and I didn't know what was on the other side. But I knew Stanley couldn't climb it. When I ran, I wound up on their back lawn. I didn't know it was theirs, though."

"And then what?"

"Well, I'm diabetic and my blood sugar was low. I didn't know it at the time, but it was. Dad, well, he was just 'Tyler' then, well, he was just some guy really, then, came out asking what I was doing in his yard. Then I passed out."

"What happened when you passed out?"

"Jenna and Tyler called 911. And they came to the hospital with me to make sure I was safe. Tyler, Dad, heard Stanley screaming in the woods."

"What happened at the hospital?"

"They stayed with me overnight there. And then Jenna went home and washed my dirty clothes and came back to the hospital with them. And the social worker was able to get them emergency approval for them to be my foster parents. But when the police found out that Stanley had actually killed my mom, his rights were terminated and Mom and Dad asked to adopt me."

"You we're all under the impression you didn't have any blood relatives, right?"

"Right. I knew my mom's maiden name but she always told me she had no family. And Stanley didn't have any family either."

"How did you feel about the Josephs adopting you?"

"Well, I was happy, sort of. Back then, and I make it sound like it was so many years ago, I still had all the negative thoughts Stanley raised me on. That I was useless, no one would ever want me and being diabetic, I cost too much. So sometimes I was scared they'd realize how expensive diabetes is and they'd just get rid of me the first chance they had."

"But they didn't."

"No," I smiled. "They made sure I took the right amount of insulin. Stanley made me ration it, so I was always sick. They also got me an extra test kit and made sure I tested properly. Before and after every meal, and they got up every night around two in the morning to check my blood sugar. Now I have a continuous glucose monitor, so it sets off an alarm if I go too high or too low. And an insulin pump, which makes dosing so much easier."

"Those are both very expensive devices," Dr. Peterson said.

"Not as expensive as going to the hospital all the time."

"I suppose not."

Dr. Peterson and I talked for a lot longer. We talked about everything.  Eventually she asked about Mark and how I felt. I told her the truth. That I hated what he was doing. That he's promised he wasn't going to disrupt my life. That I had been so stressed I'd been getting sick. That I hadn't been able to eat properly, or sleep. And everything that happened in England and things they did that made me realize after the fact that they were trying to keep me.

When we were done, she thanked me for being open and honest and I went back into the waiting area with Dad and John. Dad gave me a right hug and asked if I was okay.

"Yeah. I'm okay. It wasn't pleasant going over some of the stuff again. But I'm okay."