"Hey, Cherry?" Elle said as she walked around bouncing a fussy Christine.
"Yeah?"
"I love you. Thanks for kind of adopting me."
Cherry laughed. "I love you too. Kind of adopting people is sort of a family tradition at this point."
She wasn't wrong. Elle had met Richie when he came up shortly after the twins were born. He had been so excited about meeting his "grandchildren" that he actually cried and Scott had to pat him on the shoulder.
He had adopted Scott as a son and now Scott and Cherry had adopted Elle as a little sister. None of them had any family so they chose each other.
Elle knew better than most that families were built on love rather than blood or paperwork tying them together. Darlene, Elizabeth, and Alice had never truly been her family. They hadn't showed her the slightest bit of warmth.
