Misinterpreting Fate (Book 2)

28. Family Matters

Chapter 28: Family Matters

Sam

This week was probably the worst one I've ever experienced before. Sure, I had Jaime and Courtney to sit with at lunch and talk to during some of my classes, but I didn't have Ryan here to talk to. I also had to deal with both Grant and Shawn, who didn't seem to want to leave me alone.

The two of them even started teaming up against me. Courtney tried stepping in a couple times, but she - despite her feisty attitude - was still only five foot six, only slightly shorter than me. There wasn't much she could do against the two of them except yell, which really hasn't accomplished anything.

Currently, I was sitting at the kitchen table watching Poppa cook dinner. Even though it was Friday, I wasn't allowed to see Ryan today. His mom freaked when she found me leaving their house on Monday. I didn't mean to stay as late as I did, and now Ryan was even more grounded than he already was and it was all my fault.

"Any plans for this weekend?" Poppa asked.

I shrugged. The weather was finally cooling off, which means the girls wouldn't want to hang out at the lake anymore. They only liked going there when it was hot enough to swim. 

"I don't know," I replied. "I might text Jaime, since I can't talk to Ryan until Monday. Can she come over later? And Courtney?"

I hated that his mom took away his phone and laptop too. So he was completely cut off from the world this week. I missed him. But hanging out with the girls might help take my mind off him.

"Sure. As long as your room is cleaned before they get here."

I rolled my eyes, turning my attention back to my sketchbook. I was working on a really rough sketch of an old-style castle for a class assignment that was due next week.

The front door closed and a moment later, Dad was practically shouting through the house. "Mika," he called. "I think I have something for this case." It took a moment for him to get to the kitchen. "I found out where Sarah lives today. Honestly, it's probably worse than that apartment you used to live in."

Poppa looked at him, raising an eyebrow the way he liked to do. "Your son is in the room, Allen. Just so you know."

Dad's eyes widened slightly before he turned to me. "Hi, Sammy," he said. "How was school?"

I ignored his question. "Why'd you have to find where she is? What case are you talking about? Does this have anything to do with Regal?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Sam," Dad said.

"Why don't you start cleaning up your room, huh?" Poppa suggested.

I knew they were trying to keep me out of this conversation, but I didn't want to be left out. I felt like it had to do with what I overheard them talking about the other day.

I stood up from the table, but not to leave the room. "You guys want to adopt Regal, don't you?"

Poppa said 'no' at the same time Dad said 'maybe'.

The two looked at each other. "Allen..." Poppa started, seeming to forget I was there. "You know we're not going to win this, no matter how much you have on Sarah. We have absolutely no rights to the kid. Sarah's her mother. No court's going to overlook that. And we definitely don't have the time to care for a baby, Allen. Not anymore."

"I could always watch her after school and stuff," I added, realizing that I was old enough to babysit if I had to. Amy did it for me when I was growing up. Why couldn't I do it for Regal? "She's old enough to be in kindergarten, right? I'd get her after school and watch her until one of you get home. I'm responsible."

"Sam," Dad sighed. "As much as we love you, this isn't a conversation that you need to be a part of."

"Your father's right," Poppa said. "Why don't you head to your room for now? I'll let you know when dinner's ready, okay?"

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms across my chest, not moving to leave. "Regal's my sister. I should have a say in this, shouldn't I?"

"There's nothing to say, Sam," Poppa said. "Doing this isn't even an option, as much as your father wants to disagree."

He then gave Dad a look which I hadn't seen him give before. I wasn't sure I wanted to stick around for the rest of the conversation if it was just going to make them argue. I didn't like when they fought, so I'm glad it didn't happen very often.

"I'm just saying," Dad said. "That's no place for a child to grow up in. She deserves better than living with Sarah."

"Are you saying Amy shouldn't have grown up the way she did? Or me? Huh, Allen? That every kid needs to have a perfect childhood like you to turn okay? Or Sammy?"

I didn't wait for Dad's response, grabbing my sketchbook and heading for the stairs. I didn't want to hear them drag my childhood into their argument either. What did it even have to do with anything? Other than possibly giving Regal the same chances I got? Why would that be such a bad thing?

I knew my life wasn't perfect, like Poppa had said, but it could definitely be worse. I've never once gone hungry, I've gotten basically everything I've ever asked for (except that dinosaur I wanted in elementary school and the rocket ship in middle school). We had money. Why should my sister have to suffer in poverty when I didn't?

Laying down on my bed, I pulled out my phone. There was one person I knew I could talk to about this, so I quickly dialed her number, hoping she wasn't too busy to talk right now.

"Sammy-roo!" Amy answered after a moment. "How are you doing?"

"What kind of nickname is that?" I've never heard that one before and I honestly never wanted to hear it again.

"Yeah... I regretted it as soon as it came out of my mouth. Sorry about that."

I laughed. "How are you an adult?"

"I'll tell you a secret, Sammy," she said, lowering her voice. "Adults are just children pretending to do adult things. Growing up doesn't exist."

"Okay, sure." I sighed. "Amy... Have you talked to Poppa or Dad at all in the past week or so?"

"No, why? Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"My mom showed up. With her daughter."

"Wait, the she-devil lives? And she reproduced again? Everybody run for cover!"

"Ha ha. Very funny." I sighed. "But yeah. And Dad wants to adopt Regal but Poppa doesn't want to. They're arguing and I don't know what to do." I then told her everything that's been going on, hoping that she'd have an answer for me.

"Well..." she started once I had finished telling her everything. "You're not going to get them to stop arguing. They'll figure it out themselves, since they love each other. They always have before. As far as Regal... I can't believe you want to replace me as your sister. Like, how dare you! Just because she has some of the same genes as you, you get to toss me aside!"

I burst out laughing. "Never! But maybe it'll be nice to not be the baby in the family anymore. And if Sarah is treating her poorly or something, Regal needs a better family."

"And Mika will see that eventually. Trust me. He knows what hell looks like. He'll never let another child grow up there if he can help it. And he can help it. He just forgets that we're not still poor sometimes. Even though it's been however many years. How old are you now?"

I ignored the question, knowing she was just messing with me. She knew exactly how old I was. "Thanks, Amy. I miss having you around all the time."

"Aww. I miss you too, baby brother. I'll come visit again soon, okay?"

I quickly agreed before hearing Dad calling me downstairs. Hopefully they ended their argument, at least so that we can have a nice, normal dinner tonight. Then I was going to have my friends over and try to forget this drama for a little bit. Yeah, maybe that'll work.