The Way of Fate (Book 1)

35. Mika's Story

Chapter 35: Mika's Story

Mika

I was just putting the last of the mostly-full boxes of Allen's shit against the wall for him to look through later when there was a knock on the door. I internally groaned. I did not want to deal with anyone right now, unless it was Allen, in which case, he wouldn't have knocked.

But I couldn't just ignore whoever this was. So I went over to the door and opened it. Standing there was an older woman, probably in her early sixties or so. She seemed vaguely familiar, but that was probably because she was like any other old lady I've seen in this city.

"Hi," she said cheerfully. "I'm Rachel Barnes, from Child Services."

I immediately backed up to give her room to come in. "Of course. This is about Amy, right?"

"Thank you," she said, walking in. "Yes. Are you Allen? I believe I talked to you a couple days ago."

I shook my head, leading her into the living room. "That's my boyfriend. I'm Mika. Mika Simmons. Amy is my sister, and I just want her back."

We both sat on the couches after she declined my offer for something to drink.

"Now, Mika," she said. "I came here to talk logistics with Allen about proceeding with the adoption, with of course, the approval from the Dunhoft's we still need without the proof of their household being unsuitable. However, meeting you today has brought up a couple questions. Allen seemed insistent that he would be the only one adopting Amy, even though he was in a stable relationship, presumably with you. Is this correct?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I, um, probably can't do that legally, even though I want to. At least that's what Allen said. I have a bit of a criminal record for a really minor thing from years ago, but apparently they know I did it..." I let my voice trail off. I hadn't meant to say that out loud, but I guess she would have had to do a background check on me or something at some point, right?

She looked at me curiously. "Like what? I'm sorry to pry, but I need to ask about your personal history, the good and the bad."

I sighed, preparing myself to tell my story. If this was how I convinced this woman to let us have Amy, then I was doing it. "So, I know what the system is like. I went through it my entire life. There was only one home I ever felt comfortable in until it was gone, a week after Daisy officially adopted me. And I was five. That kind of betrayal never leaves you. It's one of the reasons I need Amy out of there."

"Wait, I'm sorry. I thought your name sounded familiar. Daisy Simmons, right? 1999?"

That was weird. "Yeah. How did you know that?"

Rachel gave me a small smile. "Because I was the woman who picked you up from school the day she died."

My mouth dropped open. "She died? That's what happened? Why didn't you tell me?"

"How do you tell that to a little kid?" She shook her head. "You've grown up, Mika. I always wondered what happened to you. We lost track of you when you were a teenager. But I'm sorry, I interrupted you. Please go on."

So I picked up telling her my life story. "I was fourteen when my most recent foster parents left Amy and me behind. I had no idea how to care for a kid, especially not an infant, but I knew I couldn't go back into the system, not with Amy. I couldn't lose her, even at that age, I knew that. So I packed up as much food and clothes as I could into one backpack and I left. We ended up under that bridge, in downtown. I didn't have anywhere else to go."

She gave me a look of pity, but I ignored it and kept going. "The only time I had to steal something was probably about a week or so later. I had run out of food to feed Amy. I went to the closest grocery store and tossed a bunch of baby food into my backpack. That's all I took. But I guess some guy saw me, or something, but he followed me back to the bridge. He told me that he knew a way I could get easy money. He asked if I was eighteen. I lied and said yes, desperate for the money. That's when he made me the deal to give me $800 to have sex with him. I agreed. It's not like I didn't already know which gender I preferred. And besides, that's basically free money. So he fucked me. I was still a virgin and damn, did it hurt. When he finished, he left me on the ground, right there. He came back a couple hours later, handed me $1000 and a disposable cell phone. Told me he didn't realize I was a virgin, but more guys would call for me if I was willing. They'd pay me too.

"I did it for years. Two years after though, I managed to get hired as a dish washer in some bar. Under the table pay and not many hours. I kept up the sex deal to still have money, but it wasn't enough to get an actual place yet. I finally got an apartment when I was eighteen, after two years of jumping between jobs because I could never seem to keep one. Couple years after that, Amy got super sick. There wasn't anything I could do for her, so I brought her to the hospital. I waited there, needing to know if she was going to be okay. They told me she didn't make it. I lost myself that day. But I stopped the selling myself bit. Threw the phone away. What was the point in getting the extra cash if it couldn't save her life? I kept jumping between jobs, finally Allen hired me to watch his kid, which lead to me dating him and then eventually finding Amy again."

Rachel was quiet. I was glad she hadn't interrupted me (besides to tell me about Daisy), but that didn't mean I wanted her to stay quiet now and not tell me what she was thinking. I was starting to worry that maybe I told her too much and she wasn't going to get us Amy after all.

She still hadn't said anything when I heard Sammy's whines coming through the baby monitor. I grabbed it quickly, standing up. "Sorry. I have to get him. Be right back."

When I returned to the living room a few minutes later with Sam, I put him on the carpet in front of the couch with his toy truck that hadn't been packed yet. "Sorry. He had just woken up."

"Not a problem, Mika," she said with a bit of a smile. "So, obviously you haven't had an easy life. But somehow you've managed to end up here." She gestured around the house, her eyes even landing on Sammy briefly. "In your opinion, do you feel confident that bringing Amy into this home - or your new one, Allen did mention the move to me the other day - will benefit her more than anywhere else?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes. God, yes. Allen has given me so much more than I ever expected, just in the last almost year that I've known him. He has a heart of gold and wouldn't even consider doing anything other than spoiling her - I know because this one-" I pointed at Sammy, "is already spoiled and Allen is already planning Amy's bedroom in the new place. And I'm not planning on living off Allen's money for the rest of my life, either. That's why we're moving - so I can go to school to get a real job. I'm going to support this family too."

"That's excellent to hear," Rachel said, writing something down in her notes. "I have to ask a bit of a tough question here. Do you feel like your relationship with Allen can handle all these changes at the same time?"

"Yes," I answered immediately. Why wouldn't we?

"I want you to think about it for a minute," she countered. "You're moving to a new city. You are starting college. He's, what, starting up a new branch of his business, was that it?" I nodded. "And you have this little guy to take care of. Do you really think bringing in a ten-year old girl into your family is the best idea for the sake of the stability of this family?"

My mind instantly went back to what Allen has mentioned to me a couple times. "Allen and I love each other. We do. And we're both really determined, especially to make this work. I think all of this is what we were meant to do with our lives, and if we can't handle that, then what's the point of anything?"