Liz and I keep walking. My thoughts have just been racing and I'm now being pulled back into reality...and I want to fall right back out. I see Liz has stopped and is talking to a women. She isn't quite young, but not quite old. I'm guessing somewhere around 30. She has red hair and green eyes... isn't that supposed to be some sort of bad superstition? I don't know.
They seem to be talking about fostering? No! No Lizzy! Bad Lizzy! We were supposed to like, get to know this person before moving in with a freaking stranger.
"Where do you and your family live Mrs. Moore?" asks Lizzy
" Well sweetie, we do live quite a ways away from here but when we saw the destruction of such a tornado, we came to look for homeless children like yourselves!" What? She did not.
" Mrs. Moore, you are so kind! Do you think we can live with you for a little while until I turn eighteen so I can care for my little sister, Brinna?"
No. No. No. No. No.
"Why of course you can!" the lady gushes. " Let's go now!"
I looked at Lizzy. We are so not following through with this. I'm not living with this stranger. I'm not living in a foster home. Correction: house*.
" Lizzy, I need to talk to you. Away from her." I tell my sister. I don't care if it seemed the least bit rude, I'm never going to see 'Mrs. Moore' ever again.
" Brinna, that wasn't polite. I'm trying to get us a roof over our heads! I'm not going to listen to what you have to say. You don't have a choice, Brinna! We are going to live with these people for just three years. You and I will have each other. It will be fine." I cannot believe my own sister just let those words come out of her mouth. " You also owe Mrs. Moore an apology." Liz adds.
"No" I state
" I really don't care about your opinion right now. You don't have to be happy about this but it's going to happen."
My mouth just hangs open. I don't know what to say. I shut my mouth because I probably look weird. I tilt my chin up, look at my sister and say, " You know, I like you better as a sister than a mom." Then I walk away, introduce myself to Mrs. Moore, and stand next to her while waiting for Lizzy to pick her emotions off the ground. She's my sister, not my mother.
We're sitting in Mrs. Moore's car in traffic. Everyone is flooding away from the death that fills the air.
You know, I'm willing to be weak for Lizzy. I love Lizzy. Mother or sister. I won't love Mrs. Moore. I won't love the foster children. I'm not willing to be weak for them. I'm going to be strong. For my family. For mom, dad, and Lizzy. I'll be there when someone needs a shoulder to lean on. I won't love that person, I will not be weak for that person, but I will be there. Strong as ever. I'm not happy about this time in my sucky life. I'm not going to pretend to be happy. You know why people pretend? It's out of love. From being a pretty princess or pretending to be happy. Love makes you weak. I will not be weak. I will stay strong, not happy, but strong.
YOU ARE READING
Just A Girl Thing
Teen Fiction"The question in life really isn't 'Who do you love?' It's 'Who are you willing to be weak for?'"
