The Troublesome Tale of Robin Tyler

..::< Meeting - 5 >::..

It had been two days since I was given the news of my untimely departure. Today was June 11th, the day I would be leaving Mr. Henderson's Foster Home permanently. My room sat nearly empty and all my belongings were put away in a single suitcase. I had nearly nothing to pack except for my clothes and some personal knicknacks. But even though I had so little, it took me the entirety of the past couple days to finish. Obviously I had no motivation. I was still reluctant on leaving, but my fate had been decided for me. My final days in the only place I had called home dragged by slowly. I should've used those moments to spend with all the kids in the home, but honestly I was too emotionally deprived to leave my room.

How terrible, what most orphans would call the best day of their lives, and I'm sitting here sulking and saying it's the worst.My feet were dangling off my bed, when a sudden knock at my door caused every muscle in my body to stiffen. I didn't want to move, definitely not at this moment. I knew that knock meant it was time to go.

Thankfully I didn't have to get up to answer the door because the person who had knocked was deciding to let themselves in.

"They said it'd probably be best if I were the one to come get you."

I let James approach me, but I refused to look up at him. My eyes began to sting, and I knew this wasn't going to be a dry goodbye.

The evening Mr. Henderson told me of my adoption, I had sulked back to my room and found James awaiting me with a melancholy looked plastered on his face. I realized he had known what was going on. Immediately I had fallen into his arms and found myself crying even more. We didn't say anything to each other, we didn't need to. He had just held me and played with my hair while I sobbed into his chest. If my life were one of those depressing teen movies, that definitely would have been the heartwarming scene that would've made the audience cry along.

But my life isn't a movie, it's just shit.

"He's here I suppose?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, waiting in the gran hall with Mr. Henderson." He replied softly.

"Have you met him?"

James sat next to me and I instinctively rested my head on his shoulder. "He seemed to be a kind-hearted guy. He's excited you're coming home with him and he really wants to impress you."

I shrugged non-nonchalantly and the welling tears in my eyes dissipated. What man with a kind heart would leave a kid in the dark for so long? My body began to warm as I felt angry again. But the feeling died when James put his hand under my chin and made me look up to him.

"Promise me you'll give him a chance, Robin?" He pleaded

His eyes were glazed with tears that dared to fall out, so I quickly nodded my head, knowing that if I saw James cry, I knew my heart would break.

He let go of a breath and smiled, standing up and giving me his hand. I tangled my fingers in his as he helped me up. My legs felt shaky. Not sure if I was nervous or just had been sitting too long.

With his free hand, James grabbed my single suitcase and led us out to the hall. I looked back one last time at the bare room that would no longer belong in my name. Our footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, making me realize the other kids must have been elsewhere.

The day after I was told the news was when I decided to let the other kids know what was happening. Even though I had never seen so many sad faces at once, they were all happy for me. They all wished me luck and gave me hugs as I made sure to say goodbye to every single child. They were all special in their own way, and they'd all stay with me in my heart as family.