He's All I Have

•19•

Loud banging on the door woke me up. It took me a while to realise where I was. Once I did, I panicked. I had overslept and it was time for church already. Swarms of people would be coming in and I cringed at the idea of them walking in on me. I quickly put the blanket on one of the chairs and ran to the door. The banging stopped when whoever was outside heard the keys jingling. This is not how I wanted this morning to go. I should have woken up earlier to avoid this. I pulled the last door open and waited for my moment of embarrassment but it never came.

"TC" I heard as I got embraced in a hug.

When she pulled away, Abigail's eyes were watery.

"I am so sorry you had to sleep here. I came as soon as I got the call. I should have been here TC."

It baffled me. Why should she apologize? She hadn't known me for long. We were not best friends or anything like that. Even if we were, she owed me nothing.

"You shouldn't be apologizing. You did nothing wrong. Besides, this church is more comfortable than it looks."

"Be that as it may, we're taking you home with us."

I must've been too shocked to answer because before I knew it, she had pulled me in front of a couple.

"Mom, dad, this is TC. TC, these are my parents."

"It's nice to meet you TC," they said, both extending their hands to be shaken.

"It's nice to meet you too. If I may ask, why would you take me in? You don't even know me." I had to ask.

"We don't need to know you to help."

I wanted to question them further but I decided to let it go.

"You ready to leave?" Abigail asked.

"I need to fix up where I slept and I need to leave the keys with someone."

"You go fix it up and I'll handle the keys."

I went back inside and folded the blanket nicely. I put the Bible back where I found it and made sure everything was back in place. I put the blanket in a room I thought no one would disturb and I was finally ready. When I got outside, Abigail was talking to a lady I didn't know and she handed the keys to her.

"Let's go." She said as she grabbed my hand excitedly and took us to their car.

Once we were all in, the car was on the road in no time. I looked out the window as many thoughts crossed my mind. Did my parents not care where I was? If I was alive or safe? Did they have a good night's sleep without me around? Do parents actually kick out their children for such reasons? They threatened it but I never thought they would do it. My mom always cared but had she stopped caring? Did my father hate me? So many unanswered questions tugged at my heart.

"We're here! Come let me show you our room." Abigail said excitedly.

Her excitement eased my pain without me even realising it. She said "our" room without even flinching. Most people I know would not want to share anything of theirs with someone else. When we entered the house I realized that it was normal. It wasn't fancy and I expected that it would be since they were taking me in. I assumed they had a lot of money.  Abigail took me to her room upstairs. It was a little bigger than mine. It was simple and neat. She had a bathroom of her own which I absolutely liked.

She showed me where everything was and said we had to get ready for church. I showered first. I never knew that a shower could be that great but after all the drama yesterday, it felt really good to refresh. When I realized that I might make everyone late for church, I finally left the bathroom.

"I put a dress on the bed for you. It's yours, I haven't worn it and I think it will look good on you. I have to get ready now." She said as she went into the bathroom.

As if it wasn't enough that she had gotten me this towel, she had gotten me a dress as well. I walked over to the bed and took a look at the dress. It looked girly, something I would never buy myself but once I put it on, I loved it. It was indeed new and beautiful. I swirled in front of the mirror, admiring the look. I took a brush to give my uncombed hair a combed look because I knew, there was no getting a comb through this hair. I tied it up in a bun and swirled again. I really loved it. I was glad I didn't have to ask for shoes because the ones I had from home were still intact. I wiped the dirt on them off and as if on cue, Abigail's mom knocked on the door. She peeked in and invited me for breakfast. My stomach grumbled and she laughed.

I joined her for breakfast and apparently Abigail never had any on Sunday so they were happy to have more people on the table. After the amazing food, we headed for church.

"I would like to thank you all for being so generous and kind to me." I said when we parked.

"Don't mention it." They all said at once and we laughed.

I had never met people like them before and I was happy God sent them to help. That day as I walked into church I realized, this was the first time I was going into church without sneaking out and it was so refreshing.

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09/08/2020