You're On Your Own Kid

I Know Places (Change pt.2)

01/02/2023 around 1pm (After the DCFS appointment)

[Taylor's pov]

"Okay guys, theres some people out there right now, you see em?" I ask looking at the confused girls at my feet. "They want some pictures and to ask some questions, we aren't gonna let them do that though. We are gonna pull up your hoods and put your heads down and go straight to the car. Okay?" I say while watching the guards block off the crowds of people and making the paparazzi put their stupid cameras away.

"'m scared Taylah." I hear from my feet, along with a little pull of the bottom of my coat. I pick up the short girl and rub her back, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. I look at the taller girl who is rubbing the back of Willow's head, she nods and starts walking to the door. Grabbing her hand I walk through the open door and straight to the car. Flashes, everywhere. The girls are obviously scared, but they are doing great. We make it to the car and get buckled in before I notice Lottie, sobbing in her car seat. "Taylah, why they do that?" she sniffles while hugging her stuffed Lion that she hasn't let go of since I found her.

"I don't know Lottie, but you did really good. How about we go get something to eat then we can go shopping and get you guys some new stuff?" I ask before pulling up the address to my favorite secret shopping center.

"The scary people gonna be there?" Asks the small girl, sneaking a pet of the large dog sitting in the middle of us. I shake my head, smiling at the girl before getting a phone call.

"No, just us while we shop. I need to talk to my boss really fast, is that okay?" They nod and look out the windows as we start the 45 minute drive down to the shops. "Hey Tree, whats goin on?" I ask, hopping she hasn't seen anything.

"Tell me I didn't just see that you kidnaped two girls off the street." She says with a harsh tone that I'm not unfamiliar to.

"I uh, yeah I guess I kinda did, didn't I?" I say with a nervous chuckle, while pulling up a movie for the girls to watch on my laptop before setting it on the center console. "We just got out of a DCFS meeting, their kinda mine now I think." I say before rolling the window down and preparing myself for the lecture I'm about to get.

"Wow, thats uhh. Wow." She says before I hear typing on the other end of the phone. "What did you sign? I need to make sure you didn't sign the rights away to your life. Again." Rude.

"It was just that I am allowing someone to come do a home check and that I am responsible for the girls. Nothing too bad, I'll have the caseworker fax them over to you." I say typing up an email of a few extra questions I had for Mrs.White.

"So, you gonna tell me about them or just make me guess everything about them?" She says sounding a lot less mad than I expected.

"Uh yeah, the older one is... 7 named uhm, Colette Emmeline Franks. We call her Ette though." I say scanning through the files I got handed before we left. "The younger one is, Charlotte Elodie Franks, she only responds to Lottie and it says here she is... 4!" I exclaim finding the girls birthdays and some more information about their parents.

"Okay, send me all the information you have on them and go ahead and take care of those girls. Okay?" She says clearly done with the conversation.

"Uh okay? Is that all?" I ask, fully prepared for a bomb of yelling and lots of repercussions for my stupid choices. 

"Uh, yeah. There are pictures of you guys everywhere by the way, I'm gonna think of a way to address all of this and get back to you." She says and hangs up before I can say bye. I turn around and look at the pile of sleeping kids and dog and smile to myself before looking at the map to see we are only 5 minutes away from the shops, so I wake up the girls and get them out of the car. Me and the jumpy smiley girls start heading to the first store ready for a fun day.

-

About 9 hours later, the girls are in feed, in matching pjs and asleep while I scroll through my phone, seeing what people are saying about the girls. Mrs.White has said that instead of fostering I will be legally adopting the girls because no one has come forward for them. I'm going to have two daughters, when yesterday I woke up sobbing because I felt I could never be loved again. Now I have two little girls who are asleep, 50 feet away from me, who will wake up and rely on me for everything that will happen in their day. I'm in charge of getting them, up, feed, washed, entertained, and back in bed at the end of the day and I have never been more excited to go to sleep and wake up the next day.

"Taylah?" I hear from the top of the stairs as I'm typing up an Instagram story to post, addressing the pap photos that had come out over the day.

"Hey Lottie, why aren't you asleep its... 10 at night?" I ask as she crawls up onto the couch, Bubba in her hand and tear stained cheeks.

"Scary dream." She whimpers hopping into my lap and wrapping her little arms around my neck. 

"It's gonna be okay honey, I got you now." I say rubbing her back and pulling the blanket and the couch next to us over her tiny body and turning the lights off before closing my eyes and falling asleep. Right in the place I want to be.