Abandoned

chapter sixteen.

"Hello, Miss Pattie Mallette..." The man's voice leaving the message rang through the phones speakers. "If this is not the place to reach you, or we are reaching the wrong person, please notify us. If it is, then we'd like to speak with you about a student you should be familiar with. She and a younger sister may be without a proper guardian and we wanted to ask a few questions regarding what you know about her, being her counselor. Thank you for your time, and please get back to us at this number or at the State of Kentucky Social Services when possible."

The machine beeped and was once again silent, the voice still drifting around in my head. I stared at it as little puzzle pieces started to click together in my head.

"Oh, God." I took a step back, officially freaking out. "They know. Someone's been assigned to us and they know about our mom and the eviction and... oh my god." I put a hand to my forehead, ignoring the heaviness of my breathing.

"Ray, it's fine. It-"

"No," I shook my head, interrupting. "Do you know what will happen if they take her? They'll put her in a- she'll... Oh my god." My voice wavered as I felt tears well up in my eyes. They can't take her. I'm almost eighteen, they can't take her now.

"Hey," Justin grabbed my wrists, stopping me from flailing my hands around and gripping at my hair. "Look at me." He said sternly. I did, and his deep brown eyes maybe calmed me by a very tiny fraction.

"It's gonna be fine, okay? They don't know you're staying here, and that guy hardly even seemed very urgent. Here," he released my hands and proceeded to click the delete button on the phone.

"Message deleted."

"They'll get her cell number." I hugged my arms around myself, calculating all the things that could possibly go wrong now that we are on their radar. The list was infinite and everything led to the same result: Rose being taken from me.

"Hey! What's taking so long?" Rose's voice called from where I left her in the living room.

"Um..." I tried to respond, but my voice was weak and quivering.

"One sec!" Justin yelled. "Pick out a movie, alright?"

"Okay!" I heard Rose exclaim happily. Justin turned back to me.

"Nothing will happen to her." He said it like he truly believed it, like it was a known fact. That comforted me a little bit.

"But..." I sniffled, wiping a few tears from my face.

"She'll be fine, Ray. Everything will be fine." He assured. I shook my head.

"You can't know that."

"I know that there's nothing we can do right now and there's no use in agonizing over it."

"Okay." I quietly agreed just for the sake of not going on and on about it.

"Okay." He repeated, testing the word, but I had a feeling that everything would end up being far from okay.

***

"Do I really have to go?" I groaned to Justin for the fifth time already as we shoved bags into the trunk of Pattie's car.

"Not up to me." He shrugged. Pattie stuck her head out the front door, eyeing us standing by the car.

"Everything ready?" She called. We called back a 'yes' and she smiled.

"Alright, let me find my earrings and we'll be off!" She chirped, the most peppy I've ever seen her, which is saying something.

I sighed. Somehow, I had been dragged into going to their family thanksgiving. I had politely rejected and rejected and rejected and eventually begged to not go, assuring Pattie that Rose and I would be fine at the house by ourselves on thanksgiving. Pattie, of course, wouldn't have it. So here I am, being forced into a nearly four and a half hour drive to visit and stay the night at a house of some people I don't know. And, with Justin nonetheless.