Cleo only had faint memories of her biological parents. She was adopted at age 4 by Katherine and Antwon, but everything before that age was blurry in her mind.
From what she was told, her biological parents had her young. It took them 4 whole years to realize they weren't well enough equipped to be good parents to her, but 'better late than never', as her foster parents always said.
The excuse she was given as to why she was put up for adoption made her resent her biological parents, because she had to become a mother figure to a 6 year old at just 22, and if she could do it, they should have tried harder. Did she and JJ have the best life? No. But what they did have was a love strong enough move a mountain—something she felt her real parents didn't have for her.
Her biological parents never sought her out, either. They would be 50 and 51 now, but she never heard even a glimmer of their nonexistent desire to meet her.
JJ's situation was a lot harder. His biological mom knew she would be a single parent 3 months into her pregnancy, as his biological dad disappeared into thin air after the first ultrasound. His mom died during childbirth, but Katherine and Antwon still honored her wish of naming her son after his deadbeat dad, hence JJ or Josiah Junior. Cleo didn't like calling him Josiah because it reminded her of that man she never met but would kill if she ever saw.
Cleo was up early today. She sat at the kitchen table on her laptop at 6:00 am, scrolling through the endless Now Hiring!'s on Indeed.com. She had consistently thought about getting a second job but was afraid of missing out on time with her brother. Now that he was old enough to stay home by himself, coupled with the thought of CPS trying to mosey their way in their lives, Cleo felt obligated to take action sooner rather than later.
She had an extremely generic resume, the only job she's ever had being her current one, but she applied to a variety of different positions: waitressing, receptionist; even the third-shift factory job received her application.
Cleo turned her head toward the hallway at the sound of JJ waking up and claiming the bathroom. She hadn't done any of her hygiene yet because she wanted him to have the hot water that would come out of the showerhead first.
She focused back in on her laptop, mindlessly applying to anything that Indeed said she was a match for.
She closed her laptop and walked two steps over to the kitchen counter to start JJ's breakfast: frozen waffles and sausage links. She heard the shower turn off, and put the Styrofoam plate in the microwave so it wouldn't be too cold by the time he came out to eat.
Cleo went in the bathroom right after him, quickly undressing and dialing the knob all the way to the red side so she could catch whatever hot water was left. She gave her body a once over with body wash, and got right out, the cold air sending goosebumps up her spine.
She wrapped her body in a beach towel then fiddled through the random items on the bathroom sink to find her toothbrush.
Cleo stared in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. Though, she could barely see herself through the crack the apartment refused to fix after a maintenance man 'repaired the sink' over 6 months ago.
She tiptoed back to her room trying not to wet the floor, and slid on her only pair of black slacks, trying to appear as professional as possible for JJ's principal and CPS. She tied a purple scrunchie around her old box braids and put them into a low ponytail that traced down her back.
The conference started at 9:00am, but JJ needed to be at school by 7:30, so Cleo would have to wait in the air condition-less car until the time came. It was the end of August in San Antonio, and temperatures could reach the high 90's even in the morning. JJ took his plate down to the car and they were on their way.
