The PinUp Coffee Shop

Chapter Twenty-Two: Nightmares are made of Memories

***Trigger Warning!!! Read with caution. Mentions of abuse and suicide ahead. I have written the events in bold text if you would rather not read it.***

Lacing her fingers together and cracking her knuckles, the young woman began typing on her computer. Her fingers flying over the keys as she did her research. After Jace had mentioned the group home, Clary's mind kept dragging back to it, even as she made breakfast, fed and dressed both her child and her, and held phone meetings and did paperwork that required immediate attention. However, as soon as she had a relatively free moment, she began trying to find information on the status and situation of the group home, but all she could find was an address of the home. There was no website or contact phone number for them, but after a quick chat with her old social worker, Clary had discovered that the place was real, and that the situation was quite bleak. She was the one who gave Clary the address, but she was unable to give her the phone number due to confidentiality.

An Ounce of Hope was a girls' home that was in a neighborhood that was considered, privileged, and the neighborhood occupants were not exactly welcoming of the foster children that lived in the home. They often made complaints to the NYPD and even went as far as making complaints to Child Services. Frequent visits from would determine no wrong doings and that the kids were looked after, but the NYPD took the complaints seriously and would often fine the home for all of the "disturbances and violence." They were often dismissed due to Child Services arguments, but it was still a hassle.

And from the research Clary had done on the address, she was able to see that the house was built many years ago and had not been updated in decades. The landlord was trying to sell the house three years ago, but after failure after failure, it suddenly dropped off the market. However, the ownership of the property hadn't changed. Since it had become a group home, Clary believed that it was a rental at this point, but she didn't have full knowledge of the ongoing situation. All she was aware of was that the landlord wanted to sell again, and was trying to get the group home leader, to buy it, but she couldn't afford it so she was trying to find a loan, and no one was willing to put money into it. That was why the social worker was able to give Clary the address; the group home leader was putting together a fundraiser, trying to save the home.

Clary asked the social worker for the flyer, but she didn't have access to it at that time, all she knew was that it was going to be held at the house. She had no clue yet if the contact phone number was on the flyer which was why she couldn't give it to her. But as soon as she got her hands on one, she was going to fax it over to the young businesswoman.

This left Clary at a loss. She knew she wanted to help, but she had little to no information to go on. All she had been able to find were the disturbance calls, acquitted charges, the landlord information, an address, and a name. Most of the other information was purely confidential and Clary couldn't gain access. She couldn't just show up at this house without reason. She hadn't seen the flyer, neither had a social worker which meant that there wasn't one yet. She also couldn't just show up and say, Oh, my boyfriend told me about your denied loan through Herondale Hedges and thought I could help. That kind of information could get Jace into trouble, expose their relationship to everyone, and get Clary and Jonny exposed, and that in turn, would make life harder on all three of them. Not to mention, Clary was young, and they would think it was a trick. She had to find a way to tell them about who she was, how she can relate, and why she wanted to help, all while keeping her privacy. She knew better than others that these girls wouldn't feel so kind to a stranger that was walking around telling them they were going to help them. That was something they had heard time and time again only to be let down. These girls are defeated and scared, and they had no reason to believe a word she said. This was something that had to be done with grace and patience. But she didn't have all the time to be patient, she had to do what she could, get things into place before as a safety net, and then see what was really going on.