You saved me Maddie

We all need someone.

I barely slept that night. 3 hours at most. Waking up to check the door every hour or so, and even though he was never there I could never shake the feeling of his eyes on me. His small brown eyes that looked nothing but dead.
I had to wait until 15:23 for the social worker to arrive.
"I'm gonna go sign you out" the social worker said "gather your things."
She handed me a black plastic bag and walked out. I slipped out of bed and started to put all of my belongings in there. A magazine about life crises in women, a deck of cards that Maddie gave me, and an origami bird that I folded myself. I wore a pair of old sweatpants and a hoodie that a nurse found in a lost and found bucket. That was it. All my belongings described in two sentences.
The social worker came back in after a few minutes.
"Are you ready to go?" She raised her eyebrows.
I nodded and stood up. We started walking out of the ward, her on my right side and half a step in front of me.
"Will I stay in prison?" I asked, not knowing if I wanted the answer or not.
She shook her head and continued walking. I felt the knot in my stomach loosen up a bit.
"What is a group home?" I asked her as we were walking.
"It's a place where multiple kids stay" she said.
"Oh" I sighed "Is there a mom and dad there?"
She turned around. A sad look in her eyes.
"No" she said, her response short and dry.
"Okay" I felt my feet dragging as I walked.
We walked in silence for a while before stepping in an elevator. The chirpy elevator music filled the awkward silence between us. When we stepped out of the elevator the afternoon daylight shined in through big windows in the ceiling. The social workers heals clacking again the marble floor as we walked towards the exit.
"Will I stay in the group home forever?" I hoped I would.
"I don't know" she said, not turning to look at me.
"Oh, okay" I swallowed.
We walked out in to the afternoon air. In the parking lot there was a few cars. One blue Audi stood close to the exit. The social worker walked up to it and opened the drivers door.
"Get in" She pointed to the other side of the car.
I looked at the door handle.
"Uhm, I've never opened one of these before" I stuttered.
The social worker looked at me with pity. I wrapped my hand around the handle.
"Figured it out" I said as I tugged on it and the door swung open.
I sat down. The social worker pointed to my seatbelt and told me how to put it on. After that we rolled out of the parking lot.
"Where are we going?" I asked her.
"Your placement for the week, while they get your bed at the group home ready." She didn't take her eyes of the road.
"Okay"
The rest of the car ride was dead silent. The only thing that broke the silence was the sound of the car as we drove towards the city. Even though the car ride was awkward I didn't mind. I was busy looking out of the car window, seeing things I'd never seen before. Tall buildings, people walking their dogs, children, grownups and old people. This was all new to me. Life felt brand new and exiting.
We pulled up at an apartment building, still quiet.
"We are here" she broke the silence.
I stepped out and waited for her to take the lead . Then we walked to the door and she rung the doorbell. I heard steps and then locks kicking before the door swung open. In the opening stood Maddie, grinning from ear to ear. The social worker patted me on the back before handing something over to Maddie and leaving.
"Come in" she said, stepping aside.