The Lost Daughter

Chapter 2: Gianna

The officer, who turns out to be a social worker, herds me into a room which looks to be for children a lot younger than me as i look around at the small furniture and colourfully painted walls,

"Gianna?" the woman, Laura, she told me, asks gently,

"uhm, sorry, yes?" i stutter, clearing my throat, redness rising to my cheeks at the thought of how stupid i must look,

"i just have to ask if you are aware of any family you might be able to stay with while we get something figured out, i know you're turning 18 in only a couple months so i don't know what the chances are of getting you somewhere more permanent," she tells me honestly, i'm glad she doesn't feel the need to sugar coat everything for me i'm not some delicate flower, i know what happens to kids my age when they need a new home and it's nothing good,

"no...no Jenna and Riley don't have any other family," i mumble quietly, Laura frowns at my use of their names but ultimately shrugs it off,

"how about this, we can draw some blood and send it off to see if it gets any matches, which should take about a week, and until then i'll find a foster family to take you in until those results come back?" she offers cautiously, i just nod in agreement, it's not like i have much of a choice,

the process of getting my blood taken and waiting for hours as Laura finds me somewhere to stay passes in a blur, right up until the moment that she drops me on someone's door step, a tired looking couple open the door, i'm not surprised it is pitch black outside, i have no semblance of time right now but i'm sure it's the early morning,

they are nice enough as they tell me their names, Jack and Grace, and show me to my room while giving me a quick rundown of the rules,

i absorb the information before thanking them quietly and attempting to fall asleep,

i fail miserably so i lie in bed, my eyes drifting in and out of focus as i map out every little mark on the ceiling, i'm not too worried about not getting any sleep, Laura already told me that i won't be going to school for at least a week so i have plenty of time to catch up from the past few years of deprivation,

Me and the foster family co-exist peacefully, i can count on one hand the number of conversations i've had with them because if i'm not in my room hiding, we're sharing a meal in silence,

the gruelling week is over before i know it and Laura comes to pick me up to take me back to the station for my DNA test results,

my hands shake slightly as i lift the large envelope and Laura places a comforting hand on my forearm, unknowingly pressing down on the fresh cuts painfully,

i gently tear the paper, pulling out the sheet that might very well determine my future,

in large writing, at the bottom, it says

"Enzo De Luca, 98.72% match, paternal."

my breath catches in my throat, what does that mean, Riley wasn't my father? was Jenna even my mother? i never did bear any resemblance to either of them now that i think about it, my next exhale rattles on the way out, grating against my throat and forcing it's way through my clenched teeth,

i feel Laura's cold arm wrap around my shoulders in a shockingly comforting embrace and my tears begin to drop, they don't flow down my cheeks but fall straight down onto the piece of paper that has just altered my life,

Laura talks me through what's going to happen next, she's going to contact my father and then we'll find out if he's willing to take me in, i'm going to stay overnight at the station and then they'll see if i need to be sent back to a foster home,

my fears are creeping up on me, i can't decide what would be worst, if my father took me in and was just as abusive as Riley or if he decided he didn't want me after all, i would probably be put in a group home and start doing drugs or something equally as illegal,

as my eyes flutter shut i dare to hope that my father would want me, care for me and maybe, just maybe, love me.