I woke up to footsteps. Celiea was still asleep clinging to my stomach. I looked outside to see the sun was just starting to set. I must have slept for 5 and a half hours. I pretended to sleep as the steps got closer.
"We're looking for a kid, not too young, but not too old." said a woman's voice. The footsteps stopped right outside the door.
"Who are those two?" asked a man.
"The boy is Mike Daniels. 14, abandoned at 1. Had it rough."
"The other?" asked the woman.
"That is Celiea Marcus. 13, abandoned at 4."
The footsteps started up again, but they came into the room. They were slow and quiet. It was probably dark by now. The lights were off. I made it look believable that I was asleep. I slowed my breathing, and relaxed.
"Are they siblings?" asked the woman.
I could tell she was close to the bed, to me.
"Um, no. Just best of friends," said the third person, "never leave each other's side."
The woman started stroking my forehead.
I didn't know if that was her way to wake me or not.
"What's this?" the man asks. I didn't know what she was talking about.
"That is a scar. She came to us after DCFS picked her up," said the third person, "abusive father killed her mother, brother is a drug addict, no other family members, so she came to us." Celiea.
That's why she wouldn't talk much about her family and that is probably why she didn't talk much when I first met her. Abusive father, that's where the mark came from.
"And the boy, Mike?"
"Attacked. Mother was murdered by father, no other family," said the third, "they never found the father. He was sent directly to us. He was told that he was left in a basket, to shelter him from the horrors of his past."
My mother was murdered? Is Father still alive somewhere? My mind was spinning. I was lied to from the moment I could remember things. Celiea's father was a murderer, mother dead, a brother was a drug addict, and not another living relative. Our lives were just too similar.
"What happened here?" the man asked.
"That was the father. Wasn't told details, but he is lucky he survived."
I was tired of hearing all this chatter so I yawned, stretched, and opened my eyes. Celiea was the same way she has always been. But now there were three adults standing around the bed staring at me.
The woman was a tall brunette with olive eyes and pale skin. She wore a pink shirt and a white mini skirt. She held a white handbag with a gold chain for the handle. For shoes, she had pink pumps that were studded with diamonds. She wore cherry red lipstick and mascara, diamond earrings, and a beautiful smile.
The man was tall and bulky with a navy button-up shirt, khakis, and running shoes, without holes. His tan skin at a couple of tattoos, 1 was a very detailed dragon and the other was a name, Vivian H. His eyes were black and kind. He had brownish-blonde hair that was very curly. He had a brown mustache and no beard.
The third guy, I remember seeing before. I forgot his name but he was African American and had no hair, beard, or mustache. He wore a yellow shirt and blue jeans. He had a pair of Nike running shoes on. His eyes were brown and stern. He didn't look like a very nice guy to be around.
"Hello, Mike," said the African American, "I'm Mr. Sternings and this is Vivian and Tod Hash. They're here looking to adopt." Vivian was smiling still and as I looked at Tod he smiled, too.
"Hello," I said sheepishly.
"Hi, Mike," said Vivian, "It's so nice to meet you." She had a country accent. She smiled for so long I thought she had a weird condition or a curse that made her smile. Celiea started to stir.
She pinched her eyes together and tried to sit up. I helped her propping her up against a pillow. She didn't notice until she started to stretch.
"Hello," Celiea said slowly. She glanced at me and then back at Mr. Sternings, Vivian, and Tod.
They all introduced themselves and did the same thing they did with me. After that, they said goodbye and walked out of the room and down the hall. Once, their footsteps faded to a whisper. Celiea turned to me and kissed me on the cheek. She released and sighed. Holding my hand she started to frown.
"What is it?" I asked. She stared at our hands together.
"You were obviously awake longer than me," she started, "I didn't want to say anything. I don't remember much, but what I do remember isn't kind."
I looked at her and put my other hand on her cheek.
"We are too similar," I smiled slightly, "our backstories are kinda the same. You don't have to hide from me. Do you trust me?"
She looked up away from our hands. She studied my face as if that were a tricky question.
"You know I trust you." She finally said. I could see Celiea was starting to cry.
I shook my head, "don't start crying on me now. I am not good with emotional people. It makes me uncomfortable." I said. Celiea chuckled. She pinched her together again to stop her tears.
"Sorry, just promise me this one thing. OK?"
"Yeah, what is it?" I asked, my brows furrowed.
"Don't leave me," Celiea looked serious now, "I've been left too many times in my life. You remember Simon Calf and how he left me. I...," Her words drifted off.
She didn't have to finish that sentence for me to understand. Simon Calf, her sixth-grade boyfriend. Cheated on her and told her it was all her fault. Told her that if she had just done everything right none of this would have happened. Celiea never told me what Simon ever wanted, but I know Celiea had a good reason she didn't obey his commands.
Celiea and I stayed in bed for a while talking and laughing. "OK, 2nd grade, me and my friend, Melissa Cox, were playing tag. It had just snowed, so it was icy." She couldn't stop giggling, "I was running around a corner, and I slipped and fell on the boy I had a crush on. OMG, it was so embarrassing."
We continued to laugh until Mr. Sternings interrupted us.
"Um, Mike, can I speak to you for a moment?" I looked at Mr. Sternings and then back at Celiea. Celiea nodded.
"Um, yeah."
Mr. Sternings took me down the hallway and into the living room. There sat Vivian and Tod Hash smiling at me and holding hands. Mr. Sternings motioned for me to sit on the couch opposite of Mr. and Mrs. Hash. I gulped and put on my best smile.
"Hi, Mike," Vivian began, "You are such an interesting child. My husband and I have come to a final decision and we were wondering if you would like to be adopted by us? We live just a few miles south of here, so you could come back and visit your friends whenever you want."
I was shocked. Why would they want to adopt me? Interesting child? The only thing interesting about me is my hair, and there isn't much of a surprise there.
I sat there for a moment thinking of what possibility I would have that was like this again. A couple didn't come in every week, more like 6 times a year. They put up a really good deal and it would be nice to be part of a real family for once.
"Ok, only if I can go to the same school I go to now," I said looking at them. I expected them to deny and walk onto their next option, but they didn't.
"Ok!" Vivian said with a smile.
"Ok, When..." I said I didn't want to sound like I didn't like it here.
"We'll be here tomorrow. In the morning." Mr. Hash said.
After that, they smiled at me, said good-bye, and left. I watched them go, sitting on the couch, from the window.
They had a nice 2018 Cadillac CTS-V. Of course, they live on the south side. They were obviously rich. The south was the rich side, while the north was poor. West and East were middle-class people, like Tomas. Jack lived on the Southside of town.
I got up and walked over to the hallway. I kept my head down and started walking. Did I make the right decision? I looked up in time to see Celiea.
"Were you picked?" She said in a soft voice. I nodded.
She started biting her bottom lip. She was probably thinking the same thing I was, will we see each other again. "They promised to let me come see you guys whenever I wanted to."
Celiea quickly looked up. "Where are you going?" I was puzzled by that question.
"Well, they drove a 2018 Cadillac CTS-V which costs up to $90,600, which includes the $995 destination charge and the $1,000 gas-guzzler tax, which basically makes it worth $105,000. So, I guessed that they lived in the Southside." I finished hoping that Celiea got all of that.
Her face showed she did.