Changed For The Better

You'll Never Know

I stormed angrily up the driveway, so much hatred fuelling my every action, despite the fact I h­­adn't even eaten breakfast yet. Once I was in, Mai Lee came out of the office with an overfriendly smile on her face.

"Ah Marie, you're back. We've been waiting for you. Did you forget?"

"Forget what?" I asked grumpily.

"Luke arranged a meeting with you and the Milligans for today. They're waiting in the office"

"Well Luke forgot to tell me. How long have they been here?"

"Luke that little....They haven't been here very long at all. It's been good catching up with Mike anyway. But they do have a day out planned for you today so you best go get ready to go out then come say hello yeah?"

I nodded my head then ran upstairs. Ryan was in our room.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Terribly" I replied simply as I threw my hoodie onto the floor then opened the wardrobe in a hurry.

"Woah what are you doing? You're not running away or you?"

"No, turns out I have day our with Mike and his wife today. Luke forgot to tell me"

"Oh, what time are they coming?"

"I'd say approximately twenty minutes ago"

"Wait so you mean..."

"Yep they're downstairs"

"Okay well stay calm. It will be fine"

"I'm not worrying about that. It's Harley and that whole situation I'm worried about"

"What? Why?"

"I'll have to explain later. How do I look?"

"Perfect as always"

I smiled and rushed over to his bed where he sat and gave him a quick kiss on the head. "Thanks Ryan. I'll see you later"

"Have a good day"

"Thanks, I'll see you later!" I said as I took off down the stairs. I stopped outside the office door to catch my breath. Mike has seen me worse, but I want to make a good impression for his wife. After everything that has happened in the last day or so, I just want a nice, normal day away from everything.

I took a deep breath before walking through the office and into the quiet room. Mike was sitting next to his wife, opposite Mai Lee, a tray of tea and biscuits in between them on the coffee table. They were all laughing about something, and looked at me when I walked in.

It was weird seeing Mike again. He looked older, but happier. Did e really cause him that much stress? Wow, this new home he works for must be good for him. His wife was smiling warmly at me. She had a set of pearls strung around her neck, and was a short lady, not as short as me though.

"Hello love. You must be Marie?" she started, I think I like her already.

"Yeah, that's me" I said, not really knowing how to respond.

"My name is Agatha, and well, you know Mike. I've heard a lot about you. All good things don't worry" she laughed, but I knew that there was no way at all that everything she heard was good. She has seen my file right? It's not exactly covered in gold stars.

"Shall we get going?" Mike asked. "If we stay here much longer I won't be able to get up. Lovely tea by the way, thank you Mai Lee"

"No worries, it was good to see you again, and hey Marie, if all goes well we might be seeing a lot more of you. Is that right Marie?"

"Yeah" I laughed uneasily. I only just met Agatha an they calm down please? They aren't fostering me yet.

"Right, well we best be off. We'll have her back to you in one piece by six, if that's okay with you Mai Lee?" Agatha asked.

"Fine by me. I'll see you later, have fun Marie"

Why was she treating me like I was a baby or something? And why didn't they ask if I was happy to be about that late? Well, not late but you know what I mean. I could have had plans.

Mike and Agatha lead me round the corner where they had their car parked. Why didn't they park on the driveway? If they had, I might have had some warning.

It was weird sitting in the back of Mike's car. I've only ever been in the front, and that's only ever happened a couple of times. I still had no idea where we were going. I strapped my seatbelt in and we set off. There wasn't much conversation for me. They kept whispering between themselves, sounding excited and serious at the same time.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and decided to text Ryan. It's too awkward for me to gaze out of the window.

M: This is really awkward..

R: What's happening?

M: I don't know where we are going but they aren't really talking to me right now. I don't know if I should start a conversation

R: Things shouldn't be awkward, not with Mike. What is his wife like?

M: Her name is Agatha, she seems nice enough. Quite a typical lady, short, pearly necklace, mini heels and long skirt. She must be lovely though, if Mike is with her

R: I hope it goes alright. Mai Lee is calling us for lunch so I have to go, tell me about it when you get back? Xx

M: Of course xx See you soon xx

I switched my phone off. That was fun while it lasted, but there isn't anybody else I want to text, and if I go online all I will see is that picture of Harley and me. I don't need to think about that right now.

Instead I just closed my eyes and thought about what it would have been like if my uncle never came and started that fire. If my parents had never died, if I had never been taken into care. I mean, it's easy to say my life would have been better, but would it?

Like, yeah, I would have a mum and dad but, would I have met Ryan? Would I have good friends at school? Would I be just another kid in school with average grades, average looks and an average personality?

I wouldn't have my scar on my neck. I would never have been in any of the fires or lost in the woods when we went camping, but I also wouldn't be so confident with my singing voice. I wouldn't have gone on those amazing holidays that we have been on.

It's weird to think about what could have been, because it will never be so you can never really know for sure. It can be sad, if you think that another version of your life would be better, but again, you'll never know.

I opened my eyes as I felt the car come to a stop. I looked out of the window, and saw that we were by the seafront. How long did I have my eyes closed? Mike turned in the seat to face me, a massive smile on his face.

"You ready for an awesome day out?!"

"I was born ready" I replied, playing up to his enthusiasm, even though I kind of don't want to be here. I would rather be somewhere else.

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A/N

So, my first blog post is up so it would be cool if you checked it out! I mean yeah it isn't great but I wasn't sure what to do for my first post but I hope you guys enjoy it, since after this book ends it will be my only writing to be doing...

https://www.bloglovin.com/@missmariebee

There's the link :)