New Home, New Hope (On Hold)

Unwanted Vistor

Annabella

It’s been a day since the mall incident, and Camden has already called me a many of times, and has texted me a lot as well. It’s Sunday, and I’m getting ready to go to church in a few minutes. I know Windle doesn't want me to go because of Camden, but he also knows that the church is my safe haven, so he doesn’t voice his thoughts. I wish Windle would come, but at the same time, I don’t know if I really do. Camden will probably be there, and even though my brother doesn't want me to, Cam and I have to talk and sort out what happened, as well as why he followed me yesterday. “Anna! If you want a ride to church, be up in two minutes! I’ll drop you off on my way to the store.” This is why I like Lauren and Tom, they actually offer to take me, and are glad that i still go. Which is cool, because no other social worker or foster parent wanted to take me all the way to my church. “Alright Tom!” I yell back down to him, “ I’ll be up in one minute!” After that, I grab my phone, put on my boots, and head upstairs. Tom is at the base of the staircase, and when he sees me, he gives me a high five as we head into the kitchen. I think I’m Tom’s favorite because I take the shortest amount of time to get ready. He pours his coffee, and we head out to his car. As we near the church, he asks, “So when do I need to pick you up?” “Oh, you don’t need to pick me up, I have practice with Cody, and he will drive me home.”, I lied. Don’t get me wrong, I do have practice with Cody, but I have no way of getting home. Except, I don’t want to tell him that, he and Lauren already have a lot on their plate as it is, and I don’t want to add to it. “Ok, well here we are,” he says, as he pulls up to the entrance. “Hey Annabella, I love you kiddo.” I look back at him before I get out of the car and tell him, “Thanks for the ride, I love you too Tom.” He sighs as I shut the door. I know he wants me to call him ‘dad’ like all the other kids do, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I’ve only had one ‘dad’, and if i call Tom my dad then I feel like i’m letting my real dad go, and I never want that to happen. I sigh, and walk into church.

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“I’ll see you guys Wednesday,” Jack said,” Have a great week everybody.” Service just ended, and gather my things, and take them to the back room where I have practice. About halfway through service, Camden showed up. I would be lying if I said he didn't look good… He was dressed in work boots, jeans, and a white button down shirt. I smile as I put my stuff down, remembering how even though he was late, he made sure to sit right next to me, even when there was about 10 other open seats. I exit the room, and head out to go tell everyone that’s leaving goodbye. When almost everyone had left, I heard someone behind me clear their throat. I turn around to see Camden standing their in all his glory, with his hands in his pockets rocking back and forth. “Annabella…. Please, can we talk.” Right as I was about to respond, Cody yells over to me, “Hey Anna, you ready?”  I look back at Cam, and give him an apologetic smile as I tell him, “Sorry, I have to go. I have practice I’ll uh… I’ll talk to you later.” With that, I turn around, and heads towards the back room. An hour and a half later, Cody and I finished up, and he heads out, leaving me to close up the church. I grab my stuff, and start making my rounds of turning off all the lights, making sure all the right doors are locked, and that everything is put away before I finally head towards the exit. If you can’t tell, I close up the church a lot. As I walk toward the door, and head out, I start singing my new favorite song, Automatic by Miranda Lambert. And when I got to the door, I turned around to lock the door. “If you had something to say, you’d write it on a piece of paper, put a stamp on it, and they’d get it three days later”  “You have an amazing voice, did you know that?” I jump when I hear the voice behind me, but I didn’t bother to scream, because I knew that voice. I could recognize it anywhere. I can’t believe he is here…. Slowly, I turned around and said in the calmest voice i could, “Why hello to you too Nick.” He looks at me with his constant smirk as I said, “The uh… the service ended two hours ago, but there is another service tonight at five if you want to attend that.” He chuckled as he laned back against his car. He looks at me straight in the eyes, and his next words put chills down my spine…  “I didn’t come here for the church, I came here to pick up my Bella.”