Fostered

Chapter Fifteen

My hands sweat in anticipation as I sit on the couch. Beside me, Calla rests her hand on my forearm and continues to give me quiet words of affirmation. Hallie paces frantically and occasionally checks her phone or looks out the window. Esmeralda sits on the armchair across from Calla and I, excitedly watching all of us. I chew the inside of my cheek and shake my leg. Hallie looks up from her phone and her face lights up. I hear the sound of a car door shutting outside and I freeze up. Calla squeezes my arm and Esmeralda leaps off of the chair to answer the door.

 She opens the door and Hallie rushes to greet my new mystery parent. I hear a man's voice and I wonder if maybe the guy is my long lost dad. After all, I never even knew the guy. The man appears in the doorway with a massive smile on his face, towering over Hallie and Esmeralda. He's a big guy with big arms, but he looks incredibly friendly. I muster a smile despite my overwhelming nerves and Calla greets him before I can even remember that I'm supposed to do that. I go to shake his hand, but he pulls me into a gigantic hug.

 "My God, you've grown so much!" He says.

 Before I can even ask him why he said that, Hallie swoops in and begins talking his ear off about paperwork. She takes him into her office and they converse behind the closed doors. I plop back down on the couch and Calla gives my arm another excited squeeze.

 "He seems so nice!" She notes.

 "Yeah... But... What does he mean? I've grown so much? I don't know that guy." I explain.

 "Maybe he's an uncle," Calla suggests, shrugging a bit.

 I never met my uncle. I don't even know if I have an uncle. I knit my brows and run over a list of relatives in my head. He's too young to be my grandpa. I doubt I have a godfather. I don't think that he's my uncle. And I'm pretty sure he isn't my dad. I frown a little and Calla looks at me with concern.

 "What's wrong, Sloan?" She asks quietly.

"I don't know... I guess I'm just nervous. It's not every day that you get plucked out of every home you get dropped into. Now somebody actually wants me there for, like... A long time." I sigh, looking at the floor and trying to collect my thoughts.

 "It's not a bad thing, though. Right?"

 "No. Just weird. What if he doesn't like me?" I say nervously.

 "Why wouldn't he like you?" Calla's fingers roam up my arm, "I like you."

 I feel a smile forming on my lips, "Hmmm... Then that's all that matters."

 She leans in and gives me a long, soft kiss. I feel my heart thudding faster in my chest, but I feel a lot less nervous. Our lips part and I plant a quick kiss on her cheek.

 "You're the best." I tell her, earning a grin in response.

 "I know." She giggles.

The doors to Hallie's office open and she emerges with our guest. They shake hands and she gestures to me.

 "So, since it's going to take a while to get everything finalized, why don't you and Sloan get to know each other? We can work on getting all of her stuff moved later on."

 "Sounds great! How'd you like to go out to lunch, Sloan?" He asks, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

 "That sounds like fun!" Calla encourages, giving my arm a little shake.

"Yeah," I say hesitantly as I get to my feet, "Let's do it."

 "Great!" Hallie cheers on.

 I exchange goodbyes with Calla and Hallie before following the man out to his car. It kind of looks like a nark car. An old Ford Crown Victoria with black windows and glossy black paint sits on the curb outside the home. Attached to the driver's side mirror is a searchlight. I lift my brows as we get into the car. I look in the rear view mirror and see the bars separating the front and back seats.

 "Kinda feels like you're taking me in." I joke nervously, buckling my seatbelt.

 He laughs throatily and shakes his head, "Yeah, sorry about that."

 "I mean, this thing is barred up," I observe aloud.

 "Safety first," He nods, "So, where'd you like to go for lunch?"

 "I don't mind. I'm not picky." I shrug.

 "How about Red Robin?" He suggests.

 "Sounds good to me." I say as we pull away from the sidewalk.

 "How have you been lately?" He asks, genuinely curious.

 I'm a little put off by his willingness to know more about me, but I remember what Dr. Mills has been working on with me. Basically we've been trying to repair years of damage. It's going great for things like my relationship with Calla and even my relationship with Hallie. But it falls flat at meeting new people, or talking to people who I don't know a lot about. Dr. Mills thinks it's a defense mechanism, but I think it just happens without reason. I tense up just a tad in the front seat and rest my arm on the side of the door.

 "Okay... I think," I admit awkwardly, "How have you been?"

 "Really well, thank you for asking. How come you've only been 'okay'?" The man inquires.

 "I don't know," I frown, "It just feels like a lot has been happening. Some of it is good, some of it is bad."

 "I hope me adopting you isn't one of the bad things." He chuckles.

 "No... I don't think so... It's just... I guess I'm confused." I confess, shaking my leg a little bit out of habit.

 "Confused about what?"

 "Why you want to adopt me. Nobody ever has. And... I just... I don't even know you. I'm not trying to be ungrateful or anything, but-" I prepare to defend myself, but he pulls over to the side of the road and I begin panicking.

 The man puts the car in park and stares at me in disbelief. I look back at him, my eyes meeting his and holding their gaze. His dumbfounded expression doesn't fade as I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat. My body prepares to swing the passenger door open and make a run for it if I need to. But he only reaches out and lightly rests a hand on my shoulder.

 "I had the feeling you wouldn't remember me," He punctuates his statement with a bit of a sigh.

 "Remember you from what? From where?" I plead for information, still feeling a bit nervous.

 "I'm not so sure you're ready to talk about it." The man admits.

 "What do you mean? You want to adopt me. The least you can do is tell me who you are!" I argue.

 He nods slowly, "Okay. Alright."

 I grin triumphantly and he takes a deep breath. "I wasn't expecting you to be there when I got the call. Sometimes we'd see violence with the younger people, but your situation was very different. I remember pulling up to the scene and seeing everyone trying to get you to comply with orders. I thought they were ridiculous. I got out of my car and went over to you, picked you up. You didn't like that one bit, but I got you into the car and took you down to the station."

 The man, who suddenly begins to look vaguely familiar, scratches at his wrist, "That night, we kept you with us. We asked you a lot of questions, we tried to find out everything you could, we tried to do whatever we could. I can never forget that night, no matter how hard I try."

 I scan my brain for his name, my eyes welling up, "Officer Heflin?"

 He gives me another nod and all I can do is explode into tears.