Jacqueline || BWWM

Chapter One

IN THE PROCESS OF EDITING, READING NOT ADVISED!!

August 20th
All my life I've been waiting for this moment, yet as the blue Mazda 6 approaches, I can't help feeling scared. I try not to think of why I feel this way. It's absurd. I've been through this process far more times than most kids in the system, yet it seems like I'm the only one who can't get it right.

That's okay.

The desire to get it right, to be the perfect foster child, has long left my body. All that's left now is the determination to avenge my late parents and little brother.

I watch Robert McCain, my new foster Father, exit his vehicle. A bright smile covers his face when his eyes meet mine, and laugh lines appear around his mouth. I immediately look away, heart racing.

Atticus once said, who He had those eyes that shone with the light of 'everything will be okay.'

It's like he wrote those words for Robert specifically. The man has an air about him that claims you, makes you want to lay back. Let your guard down. The worst part? It seems natural. If I was anyone else except myself, I would believe it.

Standing with the help of the railing, I push off the airport stairs and meet Robert at the back of his car. He takes my suitcase, easily lifting it into the trunk. I whisper a quick thanks and rush into the backseat before he can start a conversation. Big mistake. His wife, who I'd overlooked in my attempt to get a feel of who Robert is, is sitting in the passenger seat. She turns slightly to look at me, a friendly smile in place.

My eyes widen as if I'm a deer caught in a headlight and my breath quickens. I can feel my palms get sweaty with every second that passes with her looking at me. Finally, as if sensing my unease, she turns back around. I can't help the breath of relief that tears through my body. I hate meeting new people.

Awkward, for Beatrice at least, silence fills the car until Robert jumps back in. Then we're speeding down the highway towards my new temporary home, the third this year. Shaking the thought off quickly, I place my face against the window and stare out at the city in front of me. Buildings and cars pass by in blurry, fast lines. Therefor a moment and then gone the next. Kinda like me.

"We're home!" Mrs. McCain, Beatrice, sings in what I'd soon come to understand is her normal voice. A mixture between high and low, it's the perfect recipe to make one smile. Melodic without effort.

The car pulls into an average driveway. The two-story house to the left of it a beautiful faded green. It has a small, plain yard in front of it and flowers of all kinds along the walls. Compared to my most recent home, it looks like a mansion. It also doesn't hurt that the houses around it look normal too, nothing shady. Thank the good Lord.

Robert stops the car and we all climb out. I walk to the back of the vehicle and meet him there. Here, he opens the little trunk and I reach in to grab my little, puke green suitcase. The color looks just as disgusting as it sounds, but I refuse to throw it away. I've had it for as long as I could remember, and have no interest in getting rid of it anytime soon. 

Beatrice opens the door to their home and Robert and I follow quietly behind. 

"Your room is on the second floor, first door." She smiles, nodding up the stairs. I flash my teeth back at her and lift my suitcase up the stairs. Stumbling into the room that's supposedly mine, I drop my suitcase on the floor and rush to the little window seat that rests a foot away from the twin bed. Pulling the blinds up, I open the window, breathing in the warm city air.