Haunted

I Was Enchanted To Meet You

April 10, 2016

Taylor's POV:

I stare at the duo sitting with their feet hardly hanging over the edge of their chair and their little hands holding each others so hard that their knuckles are white. I take in the rest of their appearance. Emily wasn't kidding when she said to brace myself.

The twins have bruises that are the same shade as my purple Speak Now dress littering their bodies as well as darker ones that are a deep blue or even black with hints of green. Little cuts appear here and there on their arms and I can see a few faint scars from where I'm standing.

Their clothes look to be the size that a four-year-old would wear but yet they seem to fit the duo perfectly. Their outfits have holes in them in various places as well as stains. Some stains are crimson and I don't even want to know what happened for those to appear and others are different colors. The little tennis shoes on their feet have holes at the toes of them but not quite to where their feet will stick out.

Underneath all of the injuries, I can see precisely what Emily meant when she said that they look like mini versions of Austin and me. I soak in every inch of their adorable little faces. They each have faint freckles across the bridge of their noses and their eyes are the kind that you know get a spark in them when they're excited.

Archer and Lexie's eyes are scanning me. They're wearing expressions that are a mix of fear and curiosity. I take a step closer and then the twins shrink in the seat and grip each other harder. I plant my feet where I am and sit on my knees so I don't tower over the twins in my high heels in addition to my height as it is.

"Hi, I'm Taylor. What are your names?" I ask sweetly. Of course, I know their names but I also know that if I pretend like I don't know things about them it might get them to warm up to me and talk to me. "Archer," says the boy quiet as a mouse. "Lexie," says the girl even more softly than her brother. "So how old are you guys?" I ask. They each hold up five fingers. "Wow five! You're so big!" I say. The twins giggle. Their laughter makes my heart skip a beat in the same way that Joe's does.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you things about myself?" I say. The twins nod. "I'm 27, I have a boyfriend, I love making my music, I have two amazing cats, I live in New York, and I love baking," I say. "What's your boyfriend's name?" asks Lexie. "Joe Alwyn," I say smiling at the thought of him.

I impulsively show them a picture of him and they stare at it in awe. I swipe to the right and another picture of Joe appears except this time, Joe and I are holding hands. As I show them a few more pictures of Joe, I tell them things about him. Then I show them pictures of my cats and point to the one with the corresponding name when I say "That's Meredith Grey and that's Olivia Benson." I also tell them things about the cats since they'll be living with them shortly.

As I mentioned Meredith Grey, it dawned on me that my little sister's name is Lexie, like Lexie Grey. I loved Lexie. She was an amazing character. I mentally shake my head to clear my thoughts.

"Do you two like music?" I ask. "Mhmm. Mother and father play yours a lot," says Archer. Then he claps a hand over his mouth and looks at me with his eyes wide with fear. "What's wrong?" I ask concerned. "I said too much and you're going to hurt me," says Archer. "I would never hurt you. I would never hurt either of you," I say. The twins look at each other as they process what I just said.

"What's going to happen to us?" asks Archer. I guess once he warms up to you, he's a chatterbox. Lexie, however, is super shy and has only spoken if I've directly asked for an answer. "Do you two know why you're here?" I ask. The twins shake their heads no. Oh boy. How am I going to explain what's going on to them?

"Okay... so I'm your big sister, and our mom and dad... they haven't treated you nicely. So I'm going to tak- bring you to my house and you're going to live with me," I say. I switched my wording from take to bring because I still don't know what exactly these kids have been through and I don't want to trigger anything. "Like you're our mommy?" asks Archer. My heart stopped. I didn't even think about that. "Yes," I say. A smile graces Lexie's face for a split second and it was the most magical thing.

The twins hands that were gripping each other loosen and they become more relaxed. Their postures drop a little. I think that they feel more comfortable with me since I told them about me and that they're going to be living with me.

My siblings stand up and walk toward me. They hold hands as they walk and stop in front of me. I'm still on my knees and I stand up. The twins look me up and down and then they allow me to lead them out of the room and into the hallway.

Emily is typing on her computer at the front desk and she looks up when she hears my footsteps. "You leaving?" she asks when she notices the two children standing behind me like little ducklings. "Yeah. We're going home," I say with a smile on my face. "Sign these papers for me. They're the ones that will make you their legal guardian," says Emily. I don't hesitate to sign them. Signing them feels like the most natural thing I've ever done.

Then I'm handed a folder. "In here are both of their birth certificates and medical records along with any other documents you might need," says Emily. I take the folder and trace the outline of the CPS emblem on the front of the cover with my right index finger.

"Now you're all set," says Emily. I smile and say "You two ready?" They nod and I show the twins outside to my car and they get in the backseat where I have two car seats waiting for them. I buckle them in and close the doors. I set the file on the passenger seat and get in the driver's seat. I text Joe saying, On our way.

The kids both stare out the window as we drive. I look in the rearview mirror and they're still holding hands. it doesn't look like they even notice that they're doing so.

We pull up to my Nashville house and the twins stare at the exterior in wonder. "We're going to New York tomorrow, so please don't get too attached," I say jokingly with a smile on my face. The twins don't appear to have noticed that I was joking, but they nod all the same as I unlock the door.

Joe is sitting on the couch working and he looks at me for approval to move. I nod and he stands up and slowly walks toward us.

The twins back themselves into the front door and I hold up my hand for Joe to stop. He stops in his tracks and I say, "Archer, Lexie, this is Joe. He's my boyfriend that I was telling you about. You know the one in the pictures?" "H-hi," says Archer and Lexie together. "Hello," says Joe with a warm smile. I wink at him and he winks back.

I show the kids to their rooms for the night and Lexie says "Can I sleep with Archer? I don't wanna be alone." This melts my heart. "Of course, you can," I say. The twins beam and begin playing with some Legos that I bought for them earlier. Joe and I watch them from the doorway.

It's time for the kids to go to bed and I tuck them in while singing Never Grow Up. They lay crammed into one bed holding hands while I sing to them. The sound of my voice seems to calm them down. I gently kiss their foreheads after they're asleep. And watch them from the doorway for a few minutes before I leave and go to my bedroom where Joe is already in his PJs waiting for me.

I can't believe what has happened today. But I would do it all over again. And again. And again.