Unconditional

05

"Who was they?" Ms. Deb asked protectively. Keiran and I just hopped into the truck after saying goodbye to Edward and his friends.

"A few people we met a couple months ago that's all. They gave me the chance to get in the studio again," I smiled thinking about the memory.

"Oh yeah? Speakin' of the studio, why you ain't been writin' and singin' as much as ya used to?" She asked still focused on the road.

"No reason." I said trying to cover up the sadness in my voice. Momma Deb knew me so well though, it was easy for her to see right through it. She grabbed my left hand with her free one and gave it an assuring squeeze.

"Kamryn. Baby, you can't let ya problems take the joy outta doin' what you love. If anythin', take them problems and them issues, and put'em in your music. Everything is gon' be okay. Ya hea'?"

"Yes ma'am," I sighed giving her a small smile. Only Lord knows how thankful I am for this woman. What caught my attention was how quiet Keiran was, Momma Deb noticed too.

"Keiran, what's on ya mind baby?"

"We're here." Those two words were enough to snap me back to reality. The reality that we were currently outside of the social work building. Even though it's in L.A. just the fact I've been in-and-out of these types of buildings in Oakland all my life was enough to bring back bad memories. We got out of the car after Mama Deb said a little prayer, and we walked in with the presents in our hands. Mama Deb told Keiran and I to sit and wait while she talked to the lady at the front desk. The whole time Keiran was shaking in anticipation.

"Bro, calm down." I said placing my hand in his. He looked in my eyes before smiling a little as I gave a smile back.

"I'm sorry. I'm nervous though Kam. What if they're not being treated right, man I swear--"

"Stop," I said immediately cutting him off, "the last thing we should be doing is being negative. They're fine, and when we can show the courts we're stable enough we can get them back."

Before he could respond we were being called into a small visiting room that had game consoles hooked up on the wall, and long black couches occupying the opposite wall. Fitting for a teenage visit. We sat down waiting for our siblings impatiently, after-all it's been a month and a half since they'd been taken from us. Ms. Deb insisted on staying with us for a little while just to meet them, then she'd give us some family time. She told us the social workers were only giving us two hours to visit, then we had to go. A soft knock on the door got our attention, then the twins walked in along with a tall slender woman. I was confused as to why only the boys came in though when the arrangement was made to see all my siblings. Keiran noticed as well because he glanced at me from the corner of his eye, confused. I decided not to address it however, I was grateful that we were able to see two of them than none at all. I made a mental note to ask what went wrong afterwards though.

"Hi, you must be their older sister and brother. I'm Paula Simmons, their social worker." She said smiling and shaking each of our hands. However, she stopped at Momma Deb giving her a questioning look.

"Oh, this is--"

"Debra Lee. I'm a close family friend." She stated with a smile, cutting me off.

"Oh! You own the diner downtown, my mom loves your food. Well, um, it was nice meeting you all I'll let you guys visit now but I will need to talk to you alone after." She said seriously, pointing to me. I nodded and she walked out of the room after giving one last smile. The room was silent as we all just took in the moment. I looked the boys over as they did the same to Keiran and I. When they were with us we were all pretty skinny because we never ate much, but they looked anorexic now. That thought alone made my heart clench. However, they were very clean and had better clothes than the torn ones they had when they were taken. It seemed like their outward appearance was being taken care of, but not the inside. I met Kayton's eyes and I saw the same pain I've been trying to get rid of over the years. What broke my heart was the tear that slipped from his eye.