the foster child » lirry

Prologue

Amelia Anderson was never one for staying in one place for long. She was a mover and change was all that she'd ever known. Amelia was born from a teenage mother and her mum just didn't want her. She was put into the foster care system and went through many foster homes.

Her first family had an abusive father and her mother felt that it wasn't safe for Amelia to be there, so she was sent back to the orphanage. She was only six. By the time that she was eight, she had a new family, but that family died in a car crash, unfortunately on her birthday. It really broke her. Her third family adopted her for the money and when the police found Amelia, she was in bad shape. She was skinner than thought possible, cuts and bruises all over her body. She was only ten. Amelia's fourth family was amazing. They were a nice and caring Catholic family. Only, Amelia made the mistake of coming out to the family and so, they sent her back to the orphanage.

Now Amelia was sixteen. She was a completely different person. Going through all that she had, how could anyone expect her to be the same baby that she used to be? Amelia was broken, really. You couldn't expect her to be perfect after all that she had witnessed and endured. Now, Fleur, her foster agent, was adamant on finding her a permanent home. Amelia was sure that it was impossible. Fleur had some friends named Harry and Liam Payne. They were newlyweds. Amelia was supposed to be staying with them as Fleur looked for her a home.

As Amelia stood in front of the small townhouse, she admired it. It was cosy and had a family feel to it. Though, Amelia didn't know the slightest thing about family. After all the families that she'd been through, she wasn't quite sure if she should trust this family. Obviously, nothing was permanent and Amelia was just staying there for the time being, but even if they were Fleur's friends, could she really trust them?

"Amy, meet the Paynes." Amy snapped out of her thoughts and turned around to be met with the faces of two men. She didn't really know who they were, but one of the men had a pudging tummy and the other a protective arm around the bigger one.

"This is Harry," Fleur said, motioning to the bigger man and pointed at the other, "and this is Liam." Amy smiled slightly and shook hands with Liam. Before she could shake hands with Harry, he pulled her in for a hug.

"Sorry if you're not big on hugs. And I'm sorry for crying, it's just... hormones." Harry said, eyes slightly teary. Harry was pregnant. Obviously it was nearly impossible for men to get pregnant, but that never stopped Harry. Harry wanted a child and he was getting one.

"So, Amy, Liam and Harry here are my two best friends. I promise you that you're in good hands." Fleur assured the orphan.

"Have you, um, have you ever had any experience in raising children?" Amy asked the couple and Liam answered, "Yes, we have. We have a son. He's four and our daughter will be here in a few months."

Harry croaked, "And we had our little Corie for awhile."

"Corie?" Amy asked.

Fleur leaned toward her and whispered, "Corie had bipolar disorder, PTSD, and severe social anxiety. She killed herself."

Amy gasped, "I am so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what it's like, but I can relate to losing someone so important."

"Why don't you three get to know each other? I'll be back soon." Fleur suggested as she gave Amy's temple a quick peck and drove off.

"Please." Liam said as he walked Amy to the house.

The house was just as beautiful--if not more beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside. The walls were made of brick and it was very antique looking. Amy put her bag on the couch and walked to the fireplace, where pictures stood on the ledge. There were a few pictures. A picture of Liam, Harry and Fleur. A picture of a smiling red-headed girl. A picture of the girl and a small boy. A picture of Liam and a woman holding hands at a wedding, it seemed to be his wedding and Harry and another man. A picture of them kissing. It was confusing that Liam and Harry were married, yet pictures stood of them with different people.

"Quite confusing, innit?" Liam's voice spoke, causing Amy to jump, being startled.

"Uh, yeah it is." Amy finally answered back.

"You see her? She was my wife," Liam said pointing at the woman he held hands with, "and he was Harry's fiance."

"What, um, what happened to them?"

"Elize had cancer, and well, Jude just was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Liam answered. Elize was beautiful no doubt, with dark skin and long eyelashes. She looked effortlessly breathtaking in her wedding dress. Jude had a darker complexion than that of Harry and Liam. He looked to be Spanish or possibly Middle Eastern. He had eyelashes that shadowed his face and bright hazel eyes that could light up a room. Both Elize and Jude were beautiful.

Amy pointed towards the red-headed girl, "Is that Corie?"

Liam nodded, "She was beautiful, wasn't she? I miss her everyday."

"Daddy!" A soft voice yells as Amy sees a mixed boy with soft curls run up to Liam. Liam laughs and picks him up.

"Julian, meet Amy. She's going to be staying with us for awhile." Julian was a cute little thing and Amy had to assume that he was their child, but he didn't look a thing like Liam.

"Hi, Am. Can I caw you Am? I'm gonna caw you Am. My 'ame's Julian. J-U-L-I-A-N. Daddy calls me Edward when he mad. That's my miffle name. Do you like Teenag Mutat Ninga Tutles?" Julian blurted out and Amy chuckled softly and nodded. Liam put Julian down and Amy bent down to his level. The boy had a lisp, but it was okay. At one point, so did Amy.

"I fink that we gonna be bestest buddies!" Julian exclaimed as he jumped to hug Amy. She laughed as the boy flew back into her arms and she felt content really. Never had she really met a child as energetic as Julian and a family so willing to take in a orphan, when they had already been through so much.

"Ian, bud, calm down." Harry said as he came with a cup of tea for Amy.

"Okay, mum." Julian said as he went to sit next to Harry on the couch. Amy giggled. She sat next to Liam on the opposite couch.

"So, Amy, tell us about yourself." Liam asked, turning his attention away from Julian and towards her.

"Um, well, I'm sixteen. I've been in foster care since I came out of the womb. I'm a bit untrusting of people, so please forgive my standoffish behaviour. I, um, I play guitar. I sing. I can do a few accents. That's about it, really."

"Alright, well, I'm Harry Payne. Originally, Harry Styles. I'm twenty-eight. I was engaged prior to meeting Liam. His name was Jude and we were in love, but he was murdered. Liam and I met at a support group, actually."

"I'm Liam Payne. I'm thirty-five. I was married to a woman named Elize and I loved her. We had a son. Ian. Almost had another, but the cancer made her miscarry. She died right before Ian turned one. It was kind of a surprise. No one knew. She kept it to herself. I didn't know until a few months before."

"A year after we lost our partners, we met and we just liked each other, I guess. It just kind of happened. There wasn't really any build up to it. Three years ago, we adopted Coralie. We called her Corie. She had some health issues and we wanted to give her the love and care that she needed. Because she was as mentally ill as she was, the slightest things set her off. She was with us for two years, until she killed herself. She killed herself because she spilled hot chocolate all over Liam's favourite shirt and it set her off and she ended it. Safe to say that it was the absolute worst day of our lives," Harry teared up telling the story of how they lost Lillie.

"But we are so excited to invite you into our home and we are pleased to have you for as long as you need." Liam smiled softly, trying to lightened the mood as Julian held his sick mum.

Amy felt so bad for them. No one should ever have to lose a child and that thought broke her heart. So, she put on a brave face and smiled, "I'm glad to be here for as long as you want me."

This was her start. In a new home with new people and she was beyond scared. She was out of her comfort zone and she didn't know how to feel. All she really knew was that as long as she didn't get attached, everything would be fine. That backfired right in her face. Little did she know how much this little family was truly going to mean to her.