One day

Chapter 30

Fox's POV: 

Everything is quiet for a long time, no one speaking, just looking around at each other to see who will speak first. None of us wanting to break this moment of silence in case we don't like what we hear. Because once we hear it there's no taking it back. Dan shifts in his seat clearly uncomfortable having come to the decision to tell us Hayden's story but for this moment right here, we all need to know not only for sake but for ours too. 

"When she was younger she had a normal life just like you guys did. Happy family, great home life and cute new brother. Every day was a happy day and there was so much love in her family home. Until one day her uncle moved in, things were good and normal for a while until Hayden's dad lost his job. Her uncle, her fathers brother got her parents introduced to his drug of choice. Everything. When the adults were high she was left to look after Jack. As time went on the further her parents fell into the drug rabbit hole, and then they started to have their druggy friends at the house hosting sessions. The only safe place the kids had was Hayden's room, it was the only room with a lock on the door. When she turned 10 realized the potential they had in their daughter and they sent her to for their drug dealer so they'd get whatever money she made or free drugs for the week. She ran drugs for about a year. Until one day she came home from school with Jack and found her parents OD'd on the floor of the front room. She took Jack to pack their bags to get out of there. She didn't hear the dealer in the house until he walked into the room. He went for her but she fought him off and then he went for Jack right after, so she did the only thing she could. She hit him. Over the head with the baseball bat she kept in her room for situations like this. And she just kept on hitting him and he wasn't moving anymore." He takes a deep breath as if almost reliving what she went through in her younger years. 

"Then they ran. I still remember the day I first found them." He huffs out a laugh, smiling at the memory of meeting the pair. 

"They had left a trail of food wrappers from the vending machine to the old medical room that was unused because of the new clinic we had built. Opening that door and moving to take a step, she jumped up and with the bat and was ready to swing for me, standing in front of Jack as if to protect him further. She lives for that kid. It took me weeks to gain her trust and to get her to talk to me. After a while she came to live with me and my wife after that. They had been living with us for for just over four years and rightfully so me and my wife fell in love with them both. So you can imagine our surprise when one day she walks right up to us, chin in the air and says when are we going to pull our finger out and adopt them. In those four years Hayden and my wife grew very close, they were as thick as thieves. They adored each other, everything was going great until Hayden just disappeared, only leaving a note saying 'I'm sorry, I love you Mom + Dad (look after Jack for me)'  My wife was frantic looking everywhere for her day and night. None of Hayden's thing were gone it was as if she was stolen from her bed at night." The guy looks like he's about to cry just thinking back to the day she disappeared.  I'm speechless and can't even comprehend what he and his wife went through.

He carries on, on a deep breath as if this nightmare is happening all over again. "We don't know what happened to her while she was gone but we know it was bad, just by the way she was and the person she was when he came back into our lives. She was found states away by a waitress in a dinner in the middle of no where. She had walked miles to find some help after she escaped. The waitress obviously called the police after seeing a battered and bruised child walking into the diner barefoot mumbling 'help me'. When she was finally home she was so distant, she never came down for dinner, leave her room even. She just shut off. Except until her brother broke his arm, that was when she kind of snapped out of things and became even more protective of him and remained shut off from us and everyone else around her. She was content to be alone, and then she started disappearing and getting into a lot of trouble at school. So one night I followed her to find out where she was going and I found my little girl in a fight club, illegal of course and she was holding her own. I put my foot down and forbid her from going again and made her join a legit boxing club if she wanted to fight. Surprisingly she went willingly. Then out of the blue her uncle up and wanted to get to know them both and be in their lives, and she wanted to leave and live with him and there wasn't anything we could do about it because he was their family and he vowed he had his life together. Which leads us to where we are now. She's 18 looking after her baby brother, who fights for money and for the life she lost when she went missing and has for the first time in years is letting people in and letting her walls down for that to happen. But don't be mistaken, she will shut you out the first moment you giver her a reason to."

Amidst the silence there is an ear piercing scream and then... nothing. I'm up out of my seat striding towards the door to get to her. I had to. I'm stopped when the nurse comes out wiping the sweat from her forehead looking stressed, tired and emotionally exhausted. 

"How is she?" I demand an answer. I need to know. 

"She's stable, there's no major damage. She's all sown up and on her way to recovering just fine. It was a bit touch and go for a while but she pulled through as always. She passed out from the pain right now but she'll probably start to come around once the pain meds start to wear off, you can see her then." She walks over to her husband to hug him and lean on him from exhaustion. 

Real quick chapter for you guys! 

I'm sooooooo sorry for the long wait but it's so worth it! I'm working on the next few new chapters for you all, hang in there! :) 

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