You're Not My Dad

Chapter One

Six year old Frances Laurens sat in the waiting room of a hospital, waiting to see her mom. She clutched her worn-out teddy bear like it was her lifeline.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.  There was a woman there, smiling sympathetically.  "Frances," She said, "your mother would like to see you."

The six year old grinned. She would get to see her mom! "Okay!" She said, excited.  She obediently followed the woman into the hospital room where her mother lay on the the bed.

"Mama?" Frances Asked.

"Frances," Martha said weakly, "come here so I can see you better."

Frances walked over to her mother's side, clutching the arm of her bear, Teddy.  "Yes Mama?" She asked.

She smiled weakly.  "You're here," she had to be strong for her daughter, "listen to me. You're going to be okay. You're going to get through this."

"Get through what?" She asked nervously.  She hugged Teddy like it was the only thing keeping her mom alive at that second,

"Frances, I'm going to go away for a little while."

"Like Dad?" She asked innocently.

"Yes," Martha said, "like your father."

"Will I ever see him?" She asked.

"Eventually, Yes.  You'll see everyone that's gone away."

"I can't wait until then!" The six year old said, not fully grasping the idea of death.

"No, Frances. You want to wait as long as you can."

"Okay," she said. After all, mother knows best.

"I'm going to be leaving very soon. Just remember that I will always love y-"  There was a beeping noise, then silence.

"Mama?" She asked, clutching her bear.

The next five minutes were a blur for Frances.  She could feel herself being pulled out of the room and being sat in a chair that was in front of a very tall desk.

There was a man seated at the desk.  "Hello Frances," He said, "I'm Aaron."

"Where's my mom?" She asked.

"Your mom's going away for a little while, so we have to find you a place to stay.  Do you know where your father is?"  He asked.

She shook her head. "Mama said that he's in the same place that she went to. Do ya think I could go there too?"

Aaron frantically shook his head.  "No, but we'll find you a place to stay that's as good as with your parents."

"Why can't I just stay with my mom?" Frances Asked.

"She's not here anymore.  Now while we figure out where you're going to stay do you want to play with the dolls we have here?"

She shook her head. "Can I draw?"

Aaron nodded and handed her a piece of paper and some pencils.

Frances immediately started drawing her, her mom, and her dad together.  She drew them together a lot, as she always wanted them together.  Why couldn't her dad just come back?  Why couldn't her mom just come back?  Why did she have to be alone?

When she finished her drawing Aaron came back in.  "Frances I have somewhere for you to stay," she said smiling a little.

She grinned. "Is my mama comin' back?"

"No," he said, "someone else is going to take care of you,"

"Okay," she nodded.

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" He asked.

She immediately shook her head and hugged her bear. "No."

"Okay," he backed away from her a little wait his hands up to show her that she had won.

He led her to the taxi and was bombarded with questions. "What do you think they'll be like?" "Will they like me?" "What if I don't like them?" "What if they're not nice?"

"Slow down," Aaron said, "talk less. I I don't know what they'll be like. Of course they'll like you. If you don't like them tell them. If they're not nice to you tell me."

She nodded. "Okay," Frances said.

About and hour later Frances and Aaron arrived at the foster home. Frances took a deep breath and walked towards the house, only clutching her bear.

"What about your other things?" Aaron Asked.

Frances tilted her head to the side. "Whadda ya mean?" She asked.

"Never mind," he shook his head.

Frances ran up to the door and knocked.  A woman opened the door.  She smiled brightly at the sight of the little girl.  "You must be Frances," she said.  Frances nodded at being told her name.  "I'm Ms. Schuyler," the woman introduced herself.

"Hi Ms. Schuyler," said Frances.

Ms. Schuyler looked at Aaron who was at the time standing next to Frances. "Aaron," She said, acknowledging him.

"Angelica."

Ms. Schuyler turned her attention back towards Frances. "Do you want to see your room?" She asked. Frances nodded and Ms. Schuyler led her away from Aaron.

Frances followed Ms. Schuyler up the stairs and to a room.  There were four bunk beds there, three of which were obviously taken as there were girls sitting on top of them.

Ms. Schuyler pinged to the one on the top left. "This one's your bed. I will leave you to get settled." With that Ms. Schuyler walked out of the room and back down the stairs.

Frances turned to her new roommates. "Hi," she said, "my name is Frances and I'm six years old."

"I'm Alia," one girl said, "and I'm thirteen."

"I'm Molly and I'm eight years old."

"I'm Georgia, I'm sixteen," the last girl offered.

"Nice to meet you!" Frances said enthusiastically.

"Kid, listen," Georgia said, "I don't know if you know what happened, but watch your back in here. We'll try to help you, but not everyone can be trusted."

"O-Okay," managed Frances, shifting her mood completely.

Alia glared at Georgia. "It's nothing to worry about," she told Frances sweetly, "we're all friends here. Just watch out for Mary," she added as an afterthought, "rumor has it that she killed her parents."

"What's that mean?" Asked Frances.

Georgia groaner, "we'll tell you when you're older."

"Okay," Frances Agreed.

"I can help you unpack!" Molly offered. The two quickly put Frances' bear on the bunk that she would have.

"Done!" Frances exclaimed. She was having so much fun with her new friends, little did she know that the next ten years would be very different than what she was experiencing now.

A/N

Frances is so innocent. I love writing little kids.

I've actually had this written for a couple of weeks but it was in a notebook. I had lost the notebook but I found it so I just got to transfer it over.