"We would like to adopt you," Damian repeated what Emily said to her.
Becca scoffed and let out a cynical and bitter laugh. "Trust me. You don't want to adopt me," she said, "If this some kind of a payback for what I did..."
"It's not, sweetie," Emily said, walking toward her, "We really want to adopt you."
"No. You're lying," Becca said, taking a step backward, "This is just some kind of joke, right?" She directed her question at Mrs. Atkins.
"Mrs. Atkins, please tell me this is some kind of joke," she said again.
"No, Becca. They're telling you the truth. You're getting adopted," Mrs. Atkins told her slowly.
Becca threw her hands in the air. "No... No, no, no! This can't be happening," she said, more like to herself, "In just three more years, I'm going to get out of this shitty place and live on my own. This can't be happening!" She was practically freaking out.
"Honey, you're part of our family now," Emily said to her.
"I don't want to get adopted!" She screamed and stomped her foot, "I don't want you to be my fucking parents! Because I don't have parents and I don't need you in my already crappy, screwed up life!" With that, she turned around and ran out of the room.
"Rebecca!" Damian called after her.
"Just give her time. She will come around," Mrs. Atkins told them.
-----
Becca ran up to her room upstairs. She slammed the door close and sat down on the windowsill, looking out the window. Couple of tears slipped down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away with the back of her hand.
Few minutes later, she heard a knock on the door and the door flew open to reveal Emily and Damian. Becca glanced at them and looked away. "Go away," she said in a cold tone.
"Rebecca, you need to pack your things. You're gonna come home with us, sweetie," Emily told her softly.
Becca glared at them. "First, the name is Becca, not Rebecca. Second, I don't have a home nor will I ever have. And third, you're just nobody to me. You don't get to tell me what to do," she replied sassily.
"Listen, Rebecca. We've signed the adoption papers, so we are officially your parents now and since we are your parents, we get to tell you what to do," Damian told her.
"And what if I don't?" Becca challenged him.
Damian narrowed his eyes and said, "You will do as we say whether you like it or not, young lady."
Becca rolled her eyes. "No."
Damian opened his mouth, about to say something, but Emily held her hand up in front of him. "Damian, let me handle this," Emily said to him.
"Yeah, Damian. Let she handle it. Let's see what she got," Becca said, mocking her.
Emily approached her and sat next to her on the windowsill. "Becca, I know you feel like nobody wants you, but Damian and I really want you to be a part of our family. Can you at least give us a chance?"
Becca lifted her gaze to meet Emily's and she saw something in Emily's eyes that she had never seen in any adults she had encountered her whole life. Sincerity. Something shifted inside her. One last time. Becca decided to have hope one last time and she wished it wouldn't disappoint her this time, like it had countless times in the past.
Becca sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "What choice do I have?" she said and got on her feet. "I'll pack my things and I'll meet you downstairs when I'm done."
"Alright," Emily said with a smile. Emily then strode to where Damian was standing, held his hand, tugged him to leave the room to let Becca packed her stuff.
Becca stood at the bottom of the staircase half an hour later with two suitcases. With ease, Damian took both suitcases from her and went out to load them onto the car which was parked on the driveway. When Damian reentered the orphanage, the other kids were saying their farewell to Becca.
"You're really lucky you know," Michelle said and gave Becca a quick hug, "I'm going to miss you."
"And I won't," Becca mumbled as she moved on to the next girl, but of course Michelle heard her. Instantly, her shoulders slumped and she gazed down. She blinked rapidly to prevent tears from falling.
Emily crouched down and rested a hand on Michelle's shoulder. The little girl looked up at her. "She didn't mean that," Emily said softly.
Becca turned toward them. "Yes, I did," she sneered.
A loud sob came out of the little girl's throat. Emily helplessly watched as Michelle turned around and ran upstairs. When the girl was out of sight, Emily straightened up and gave Damian a sad glance. He wrapped an arm around her and caressed her upper arm gently.
"I am so going to teach her a lesson when we get home and don't try and talk me out of it. You know she deserves it," Damian whispered to Emily's ear as the farewell continued.
Becca reached the end of the line and the last person stood there was Mrs. Atkins.
"I hope you will find your happiness with them, Becca," Mrs. Atkins said to her and gave her a tight hug. Becca hugged her back slightly, but didn't say anything. When Mrs. Atkins released her, she turned to Damian and Emily.
"Ready to go?" Damian asked.
Becca only gave him a shrug. Damian took a deep breath, clearly trying to keep his cool. He turned to Mrs. Atkins and shook her hand. "Thank you so much for your help, Mrs. Atkins."
"You're very welcome, Mr. Osmond."
"Alright, let's go home," Damian said to Emily and Becca and led them to the car.
As soon as Becca got in the car, Damian reached over and buckled her up. "I can do that myself. I'm not five," Becca snapped. Damian just gave her a look that said 'you better shut your mouth.'
Becca rolled her eyes, sat back, and crossed her arms. The whole ride to Osmond Mansion wasn't enjoyable in the least. Along the ride, Damian and Emily asked Becca some questions and she gave them one word answers or said something rude.
Damian had almost lost his patience when they finally arrived at Osmond Mansion. Becca unbuckled herself and got out. She gazed at the house with judgement eyes and raised her eyebrows.
"So… You took me out from the orphanage and brought me to live in some creepy, random medieval house? This is beyond stupid." She mumbled the last part, but of course with vampire hearing, both Emily and Damian heard her.
"This house isn't just some random medieval house. This is Osmond Mansion. It's been inherited from generation to generation," Damian told her.
"Yeah, no kidding," Becca commented, smirking at her own comment.
Damian ignored her comment and unlocked the front door. He pushed the door open to let Becca and Emily in. Becca's eyes immediately scanned throughout the room.
"Welcome to your new home, Rebecca," Damian said again.
"We'll show you around," Emily said and they gave Becca a brief tour of the house.
"And finally," Damian said while opening a door to a room upstairs, "This is your room."
Becca walked inside the room and looked around. Like every other bedroom in that house, this one was also enormous and spacious. A queen sized bed placed in the middle of the room, already neatly made. Identical nightstands stood on each side of the bed. There was a huge window on the right side of the room overlooking the front yard. Under the window, there was a fluffy couch with fluffy pillows on it. Next to it is a study desk. On the left of the room, there were two doors. One that led to a walk-in closet and the other one led to a bathroom.
Emily looked up at Damian in awe. That was a surprise for Emily too. She had no idea Damian had prepared a room for their kid beforehand.
"Do you like it?" Emily asked Becca, who tried to keep a straight face.
Becca shrugged her shoulders. On the outside, she might look indifferent, but what the couple didn't know was that on the inside, Becca was practically leaping in delirium. She had never had a personal bedroom at the orphanage because she always had had to share a room with another girl. This room, however, was more than what Becca had expected. Damian and Emily really prepared it to welcome her to their home. She was touched, but she refused to show how ecstatic she was for her enormous room because she didn't want them to think she could be bought off by their wealth.
"Okay," Damian said, entering the room with Becca's suitcases in his hands. Becca was so immersed in her own thoughts, she didn't realize Damian went to get her suitcases. He put them down next to her bed. "Go unpack your things, freshen up, and we will call you when dinner is ready, alright?"
"Why can't I unpack later?" Becca complained, scowling.
"Because I told you to unpack now," Damian said in a way that suggest it was the most obvious answer. Becca rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"I had enough of your attitude for one day, young lady. So, you better drop it unless you want to suffer the consequences," Damian warned her.
Becca scoffed, "What consequences?"
"We will discuss it later. For now, just start unpacking your things," he instructed before putting his hand on his wife's lower back and led her out.
-------
Damian knocked on Becca's door a while later. "Rebecca," Damian called her, "Dinner is ready. Come down to the dining room, please."
"Go away, Damian!" she shouted from the other side of the door.
"First, lower your voice. Second, you don't get tell me what to do, and third, we want to discuss something with you after dinner. So, be down in five. Don't make me come up here again to get you," Damian told her sternly.
"Whatever," Damian heard her mumbled.
Damian let it slide, turned around, and used his vampire speed downstairs. Seven minutes later, Becca strolled into the dining room. Damian and Emily already sat down, waiting for her.
"I'm here," Becca announced. Damian's eyes followed her as she made her way to the seat next to Emily, which obviously had been set for her.
"You're late. Didn't I tell you to be down here in five?" Damian admonished as she plopped down on the chair.
"Why does it matter? It was like two minutes. I'm here now, aren't I?" Becca sassed back.
Damian took a deep breath, obviously trying to control his irritation.
"Let's just eat our dinner, okay?" Emily piped up before Damian lost his temper.
"I'm not hungry. I don't want to eat," Becca said, crossing her arms, but her stomach was growling at the sight of scrumptious meal in front of her.
Damian smirked. "Your stomach said otherwise," he teased.
Embarrassed, she avoided eye contact and started to scoop some roast beef onto her plate. Becca took the first bite and it was obvious she liked it. Damian and Emily shared a look, smiled, and took a bite of their own. As he chew on his food, Damian stared at Becca who ate her dinner with gusto. He couldn't help but smiled. He loved seeing her like that.
"What?" Becca asked as she noticed Damian was watching her.
"Nothing," he said without wiping off the smile. She glared at him.
"Why don't you just finish your dinner, Becca," Emily suggested. She reached up to caress Becca's hair, but Becca swatted her hand and scooted away.
"Put your hand off me," she said through gritted teeth.
The smile immediately vanished from Damian's face.
"Rebecca," he scolded and dedicated her with a piercing glare, "Apologize. Right now."
"No," she blatantly refused.
That was definitely the last straw. Damian threw his napkin onto the table and pushed himself off the chair. He walked over to her and with a firm grip on her upper arm, he yanked her to her feet. He spun her around and landed two solid and hard swats to her backside.
She involuntarily let out a gasp. "What the hell?" she lashed out. Her hand immediately flew back and she tried to rub the sting away while struggling out of Damian's grip.
He simply landed another smack before releasing her.
"Owww!!" she protested.
Turning her around to face him, Damian spoke in a low voice, "Finish your dinner and when you're done, go to the living room."
His right hand rubbed the back of his neck as he walked off, leaving the startled fifteen-year-old girl.