Until she wins

14- reunion

The next morning I woke up to the familiar sound of Fiona shouting at me. These people were draining all my energy and I didn't even fight back anymore, I just reluctantly obeyed them. Every time I left the house and was away from them felt like freedom.

Richard dropped me off at school once again. I made my way to my classroom and sat down next to Dino. We hadn't really spoken since our date.

"Hey!" he said smiling as I sat down. I smiled back at him before laying my head on my arms on the desk. "You ok?" he asked with a hint of concern.

"Mhm, just tired" I shrugged.

Dino paused for a moment before speaking. "I have something I wanna say"

This made me sit up again, wanting to know what was on his mind.

"I really like you Abi... you make me feel something that no other girl ever could"

My heart was beating so fast. Dino had just confessed his feelings to me! I didn't know what to say.

"So what I'm trying to say is... will you be my girlfriend?" he asked finally.

I felt my cheeks blush a deep red as a small smile spread across my lips. "Yes, yes I will" I had the biggest smile on my face now.

--

I was sitting in history class and I thought I was going to die of boredom. All my teacher did was drone on and on about the impacts of the war. I got that it was important at the time but it's in the past so why did I need to learn about it? My mind was wondering and daydreaming. I was thinking about when Max came to the house but then just left again without even seeing me.

That's when a thought popped into my head. I quickly pulled out my phone and checked the date, April 25. It wasn't a race week so that meant that there was a strong chance that Max could be here in Monaco at the moment. 

A few hours later when the school day was over I took my old route home, back to Max's house in the hope that he would be there and I could finally see him again. As I turned a final corner I saw the grand, familiar building staring back at me. Walking up the driveway again made it feel like no time had passed at all. I reached the front door, pressed the bell and waited. 

I waited for a good few minutes before realising that no one was home. My heart broke slightly as all I wanted was to see my brother again. I sat down on the small step in front of the door, with my head in my hands. A tear slowly rolled down my cheek.

Just then I looked up at the sound of a car approaching. It drove all the way up the drive and eventually parked there. I stood up, praying that it was Max. The driver got out the car and I was met with the familiar sight of my brother's face.

"Abi?" he said as he noticed me standing there. He immediately put his shopping bags down and ran up to me. As soon as he was close enough I wrapped my arms tightly around him in a hug.

 "I've missed you so much" I said into his chest.

Max gently rubbed my back comfortingly. "I've missed you too"

Eventually the hug ended but Max had a few questions. 

"I don't understand... what are you doing here?" he asked slightly worried. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with me anymore"

"What...?"

"I came to your house the other day because you weren't responding to any of my texts and I was worried about you. When I spoke to your foster mum she told me that you didn't want to see me anymore and that you thought it was best for me to not be a part of your life from now on."

I stood there, shocked by what I had just heard. So Fiona had lied to my own brother by saying I didn't want to be around him anymore. Anger and betrayal were pumping through my veins. 

"That's not true I swear! Of course I still want you in my life! It's my stupid fosterers who don't want you around! Not me!" I responded feeling like I was going to explode. "They're so strict, they don't let me do anything! They deleted your contact from my phone and that's why I never got your messages!"

"Woah, calm down ok, come inside and we can talk about it in there alright?" Max said sensing my anger growing.

I followed him into the house where we then sat down in the living room. I explained everything to him, from how I got punished basically every day, to how I now had a boyfriend Dino. I had missed talking to Max so much. He never judged me, he just sat there and listened.

After I finished he eventually spoke again. "This isn't right Abi, they can't just cut me from your life like this. I'm gonna talk to the courts and see if we can get you back here, at home where you belong. Even if they don't let you live with me, they should at least let me take you to a race every so often!"

I smiled feeling hopeful. There was a chance, even though it was a small one, there was still a chance that I could be back living with Max again soon.