Fostered

Chapter Seventeen

 The house is the total opposite of the McKinnons' house. It's much smaller than their house, but it's quaint. It's situated on a few acres of land and the neighbors are a good distance away. The house is a craftsman style building with cool stained glass doors. Hallie gets out of the car with a few of my bags and heads her way up to the front porch. I hesitate as I pull a suitcase out of the trunk. Calla's hand on my arm soothes me almost instantaneously.

"Hey," She smiles at me, "It's going to be ok. Look how nice everything is."

I've already seen it, but the way she tells me to look makes me want to look again. My eyes roam over the entirety of the front yard. Lush, green grass covers the expanse of property, interrupted by a winding stone path that leads to the front porch. On both sides of the steps, there are little flower gardens. The pyramid-like columns that support the front porch almost look like they were painted recently. This house looks like it's loved. That's something I've never seen before.

"Yeah," I breathe, pulling up the handle on the luggage.

"C'mon, let's go meet your new mom." Calla says as she takes hold of my hand.

I close the trunk and grab my suitcase, leading the way down the path. Calla follows me and squeezes my hand every now and then. I reach the front door and nudge it the rest of the way open. Hallie is talking to my new parents in the kitchen. I wheel my suitcase to where Hallie left my other bags and leave it there. Calla nods toward the kitchen, as if to encourage me to go interact. I feel anxiousness bubbling in my stomach.

"There she is," Hallie grins.

I round the corner and enter the kitchen. Officer Heflin stands by a woman his age. She's short and looks nothing like how I imagined the vice president of a fashion company would look. Her long, brown hair is pulled into a slick ponytail and she has on almost no makeup. She wears a little black sundress and a pair of black sandals. If I passed her on the street, I'd never peg her for a rich person. She smiles from ear to ear when I step into her view.

"Hi," I say nervously.

She rushes over to me and pulls me into a surprisingly strong hug. I laugh a bit as she rocks me from side to side. She grabs my arms and pulls away from me, giving me a good look.

"Look at you," She says quietly, shaking her head.

Calla leans against the doorway of the kitchen and smiles at us. Hallie also grins uncontrollably as she looks on.

"Oh! I should probably introduce myself." She laughs as she steps back, "I'm Rose Heflin."

I smile politely, "It's nice to meet you."

"It's even nicer to meet you! I was so disappointed when I left on my trip and I couldn't meet you, but now you're here and... Just, wow." Rose says, clearly very excited.

"I love the enthusiasm." I chuckle.

"I'll show you your room!" She tells me, starting toward the hallway, "Right now, it's just a mattress and a closet. But tomorrow we can take you to get some furniture. We wanted it to be your own."

"That's... Really cool." I admit, "Thank you. That means a lot."

Calla nudges me on the arm as we walk down the hall with my bags. Rose takes us to the last door on the right and opens it up. A decent sized room is completely barren. The walls are white, but I'm sure that can be changed. A queen sized mattress sits on the floor beneath a window across from a walk-in closet. Its been so long since I've had a room that is actually meant for me, not just some extra space that I'm assigned. I set my bags aside and Rose examines the room.

"It doesn't look like much now, but soon it'll be your very own." She assures me.

I don't expect myself to get all choked up, but I start to feel a lump in my throat. Thankfully, no one notices. And for the millionth time, Hallie saves my ass.

"Rose, could you come here for a minute? We have some final paperwork to go over!" Officer Heflin calls from the kitchen.

"You two can get everything settled in. Join us in the kitchen when you're finished!" Rose says warmly, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Calla looks at me with a sappy smile. I try to avert her gaze as I stand in the middle of the room and gaze at all of the empty space in awe. I still can't believe it's mine. She sits down on the mattress and turns around to look out the window. I turn on my heel and open up the closet door. There's so much room for the clothes that I don't have. I close the door and turn around to see Calla with her arms folded and a smug look on her face.

"What's that look for?" I ask, quirking a brow.

She cocks her head, "You're such a cheese."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw you."

"Saw me what?" I reply defensively.

"I saw you feeling feelings." Calla accuses.

I roll my eyes, "Pfft. No."

"Yes. I know what I saw. I saw Sloan Hauser being a big cheese."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I tell her as I sit down beside her.

"It's okay, you know... To be excited about all of this. Maybe even a little bit scared." Calla says, placing her hand on mine.

I look down at her hand. It's smaller than mine. Her fingers are skinny and short. Her well manicured nails show stark contrast to my bitten ones. Her thumb runs back and forth over the back of my palm. I look back up at her.

"Yeah," I respond quietly, "I know."

"So then let yourself feel it, Sloan. It's okay."

I shift to lie on my side, resting my head in her lap. She runs her fingers through my hair as I continue running my eyes over every inch of my bedroom. I can feel a tinge of excitement. I can feel a bit of fear. I can feel a tiny sliver of hope. But I don't know what more she wants me to feel. I'm not even sure there's anything left to acknowledge.

Calla brushes some hair behind my ear, "Did you ever think you'd find yourself here?"

"No." I answer, "I always thought I'd end up like my brother. Or worse, like my mom."

"That's crazy talk." Calla says, "You're nothing like your mother. And I think Ethan's really proud of you."

"I hope so." I exhale slowly.

"I know so. Because I'm proud of you. I have no doubt that he is, too."

"Are you trying to make me puke?" I snicker, trying not to notice the tears welling in my eyes.

"No, of course not. But one of us has to be the softie, right?" Calla teases.

I groan, "You don't have to be."

"Fine, then maybe I want to be. Can you just let me finish expressing my love and appreciation for you?"

"Sure. Go on about how perfect I am." I prod.

"Gladly." Calla nods, "As I was saying... I'm really proud of you. There were a lot of odds stacked against you, but you overcame them... Now you have a family, Sloane. Now you have a home."

I feel tears rolling down my cheeks and I sit up, "Ah, fuck."

"I'm really proud of you... Really. I love you, Sloan."

"I love you too, Calla. Thank you for never giving up on me." I say, slightly embarrassed at my own cheesiness.

Calla smiles at me with tears in her eyes, "I didn't doubt you for a second."