The Devil Child

Chapter Fifty-Seven

 Minny, Kenzie, and Tom stood at the threshold of Polly's uncle's house. Inside, they watched as Polly's aunt wrangled Jenny into her father's office, the tone of her voice angry with the younger girl.

Polly's uncle invited them in. "Come, sit down. Excuse my daughter; she's not being particularly kind about the current situation upon us, so we'll talk in the kitchen."

The trio followed Polly's uncle into the kitchen, where they took a seat at the table. Kenzie was the first to speak up, her entire demeanor determined. She was rightfully upset at what had happened to Polly, and she wanted to make it better.

"We need to bring this to court. To make you Polly's legal guardian."

Polly's uncle agreed, as he had when Kenzie had first brought it to his attention. He too had been thinking the same thing, but there were many obstacles to go around.

Kenzie dug around in her backpack, producing a paper form, not a wrinkle in sight. "I printed off the form, looking it over to find out about our obstacles. Polly's parents are the biggest one. If they refuse and put up a fight, you'll have to bring this to court."

"It'll go to court anyway," Polly's uncle said, reaching for the form. He'd already looked it over on his own time, but a second glance wouldn't hurt. Kenzie had written on the form, outlining what needed to be done step-by-step, highlighting the important things. It was impressive for a high schooler to be so organized about this type of thing.

"What is the timeline for this type of thing?" Minny asked, pushing his sleeves up to his forearms. He wanted to see Polly safe and sound as soon as possible, as did everyone else. It was important that the ball was moving.

"It could be weeks, months, depending on the court and when our issue can be discussed. I'll pull some strings at the station and see what I can do. When Polly moved in with us, I knew this was always a possibility, so I had her write a statement of what happened, how her parents treated her, and so on. So, we have her statement already. And, if abuse is a cause, or abandonment, the state of Vermont doesn't require parent permission. And, Polly has been abused and abandoned."

"Walk us through this. What needs to happen?" Kenzie straightened her back, pencil poised to take notes. She'd come prepared.

"Well, the first step is to file a petition with the probate division. That's easy, we'll just print off the form from online. Then, the court schedules a hearing and sends notice to interested parties, and because Polly is over the age of 14, she'll have to attend the hearing and sign off on her new guardians. I'll have to get a lawyer and prove that Polly was abandoned and abused, and then the court will decide."

"So, we'll win, right?" Tom's tone of voice had an hint of worry in it, as if it was hard for him to believe that Polly could be safe and sound once again.

Polly's uncle nodded. "I'm fit to be a guardian, and have a child and the necessary space to house another child. Polly wants to live with me, and my wife and I have proven able to care for her. The biggest issue is her parents' claim to kidnapping."

Kenzie stood up, Minny and Tom following her actions. "Alright. We'll be in contact. You know more about this than we do, but please keep us informed. I just... I need to know about Polly's wellbeing. I need to know if she'll be okay. If I don't, it'll drive me insane."

Minny put a hand on Kenzie's shoulder, squeezing it to let her know he was there for her.

"Don't worry. I'll be in contact with you three throughout the entire process. Polly will be back with us before the elections are over, don't worry."