Rebecca's miracle

Three

Rebecca Pov

It was the next morning, and I temporarily forgot that I had been kicked out, (mostly blocking out that day will do that though, just saying), because I had slept, even if it was in a bed that wasn't mine, (yes, that does sound strange, but usually I can't sleep in a bed that was not mine), I kind of wanted to cry, but I didn't want to alert the stranger that I was crying, so I didn't cry, (no this is not the healthy response but I wasn't exactly a mentally healthy 11 year old, ok).

I walked down the stairs at the early hours of the morning, (God, I was turning into my mother and that was the last thing I needed), I come to find that Leo was already up, (not being able to sleep is not fun, let me tell ya), but he was more surprised that I was awake, (though I guess that most 11 year olds are not up at like 6 O'clock in the morning on a Sunday).

"Morning, what ya doing up?, most kids aren't up at this time on a Sunday?"
"I'm used to getting up this early for Church"
"Do you want to go find-"
"No!- sorry, no, the way that the Church is run proves to me that Gods not real, because the rules shouldn't depend on who's tell you them"
"That's fair, was just wondering is all, just while I have you here, I just have to go through a couple of things is all"

I thought that I was about to be in trouble, because breathing got you in trouble with my mother sometimes, (yes, that was something that I needed to work on, but I was 11 and fucking traumatised, ok, I didn't know any better), so I prepared myself to be yelled at as that was all I ever really knew, (yes I know that's bad, but no, I can't undo what that did to my natural responses).

"Am I in trouble?"
"No Darling, why would you be in trouble?"
"I usually am when someone wants to talk to me about something"
"Well you're not in trouble Darling, I promise that it's honestly just a chat about we need to have so that you don't have to go back to London"
"Oh ok, I can do that"

So now that I knew that I wasn't in trouble, I felt a bit more relaxed, (not that I was relaxed here, but I wasn't a fit to be tied here, ya know), I couldn't tell you wether or not it was outwardly obvious, as I'm no body language expert here Mate, (and I wouldn't have gotten into half of the shit that I have gotten into if I was an expert).

"I will have to let social services know that you're here, so that I'm not charged with kidnapping"
"That makes sense, do I have to talk to them?"
"I don't actually know the answer to that"
"Ok"

I really didn't want to talk to social services, (I mean, who would want to talk to social services), but I really did get why Leo had to call them, knowing my Mother, she would twist things if she had the opportunity to, (and I hated thinking that of my own mother, but I couldn't put it past her), so telling the social would at least have them on my side, not that it made anything easier for me for going against my own mother, but I had no other option here.

"I'll do most of the talking if that makes you more comfortable"
"Yes please"
"Ok Darling"

It was kind of weird to me at the time that Leo figured out that I wasn't all that comfortable talking to social services, (though looking back on it with perspective, my face probably gave it all away to him), though that knowing all that would not have made me feel any better about the shit show that was my mother, I also think that Leo knew that as the sigh of relief was so long and loud that even I could have gotten it if I wasn't the one sighing, (which is saying something as I'm shit at signalling).

I didn't do much else that morning, as I was mentally preparing myself for talking to more bloody strangers, (yes, Leo was a stranger to me, but he took one at me, thought I was an 8 year old and took me in even after finding out that I wasn't 8 years old), I know that everything was going to change, but that didn't mean that I was prepared for how much was going to change for me, though I wasn't the only child in the house, as Leo had sons, Donte and Donovan.