A Step to Love

We walked in Brit’s room and stayed there till Brit’s mom, Patricia, arrived. Alex had returned from school several minutes later with his clothes all messed up, begging Brit not to say anything. She simply nodded and we continued in our silence.

Patricia or Pat, as I call her, was eating lonely in the dining table while George, Pat’s husband and Brit’s stepfather, was nowhere to be seen.

This was our only chance to talk to her calmly.

Pat didn’t have to look up to know it was Brit walking toward her. “Honey, could you please hand me the pepper?” she asked stretching her arm, too absorbed in the newspaper she was reading.

“Sure,” Brit replied handing the little bottle.

Pat looked up. “What? Oh, hey, Lilly!” she turned to me. “How are you? Did you eat something?”

“I’m okay and no. I’m haven’t eaten anything, but I’m not hungry, thank you.” And I smiled.

“Oh, ok.” She looked down at the newspaper again, but then she seemed to notice that we hadn’t moved an inch., so she looked up again. “Is something wrong?”

Brit looked at me and sat on the chair in front of her. She explained the whole situation to her mom and I only nodded in the right places that needed some nodding.

After a while, Pat finally spoke. “Oh, sweetie.” She met my eyes once again. “How can something like that happened? I would never do such a thing.” She put a hand in her chest and gasped. “Her actions are ridiculous. Maybe we should talk to her.”

What would my mother say? What would my mother do? I was trying not to think of her reaction when she found out my best friend and her mom knew. To her Brit was just a meddling kid and nothing else. I couldn’t risk Brit getting into trouble, but then again…I had Pat on my side and if Gaby, Sasha and Joe knew they would probably help, too.

“I agree,” I said; Brit smiled immediately and I hoped she admired my courage. “We should talk to her, but please let it be the three of us. I cannot face her alone.”

Then Pat smiled. “All right.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” I whispered in fear as Pat parked her van next to the mailbox.

“Ahh, don’t be like that, sweetie.” Her hazel eyes stared at my brown ones. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I sighed and got out of the car in an awkward way—not really wanting to continue my way.

Everything was fine until I heard someone yell. Then, my next door neighbor came running toward me and then embraced me in a hug. “Lillian!” she yelled. “I am so glad you are all right.”

“Flora? What—I—I—what?”I tried to brake loose, but she hold me tighter (if that’s possible) and gently started stroking my hair. I tried one more time. “Flora?”

She opened her eyes and let go.

“Oh,” she said.

“'All right'?” I continued. “Why wouldn’t I be all right?”

She glanced at my house and then I knew what she meant. There was a police car in front of the lot with the lights turned off. That must’ve meant they’re inside, right? I turned to her face and she must’ve noticed my expression.

“They’re talking to your mother,” she explained. “I called the police when I heard noises last night They said they would check it out today. I was really worried.”

Worried?

She never paid attention to me since the day we moved in.

She thought we were noisy and repugnant; hated my father when he was alive and he only smiled to her every morning and greeted her warmly with a simple “hi” before he left to work, but that was it. Why would she care now?

Now that was too late.

He—the only person that really cared and loved me—was gone forever and left me with a mom that only beats me every day and calls me names. Most of the time without even having to be drunk.

Flora wasn’t worried. She probably just felt bad because a woman that had always thought wrong of someone and that judged without a reason couldn’t be “worried” all of the sudden.

“Heh,” was all I could tell her.

She raised an eyebrow at me. “You should go inside,” she suggested.

Now she was playing a smart game, eh? But, what the hell. I nodded.

The officer was on the couch with a notepad on his left hand and a pen on the right. He was talking to my mother which was sitting next to him with red eyes from her apparent crying. He was taking notes on everything she was saying.

At the sound of our footsteps, the officer turned around to look at us and then returned to my mom.

“Is that her?” he asked unsurprised as if he had seen me before.

Without even noticing, my mother threw herself at me and both of us went straight to the floor. Her hands were at my neck while I tried to brake free.

“You little…you bitch! I wish you’d die, bastard! I—”

“Mrs. Parker! That’s enough! Please, let go of her!” the officer ordered as he tried to hold her hands away.

I was now kicking at different directions only trying to escape. Her hold was strong and the air was fading. Tears streamed down my eyes in fear when the officer and Pat got her off of me.

My eyes widened and I couldn’t stop shaking or even speak. Pat sat by my side and smoothed my hair softly. “It will be all right, baby,” she whispered.

I let out a sob and buried my face in her blouse when the officer took my mom away to his police car. Then I felt someone’s head rest on mine. I bet it was Brit since there was nobody else left.

An hour later, the officer returned and I moved from Pat’s shoulder to Brit’s lap on the couch while Pat talked to the officer. They seemed to be arguing about me, because one of them would always look at my direction every forty seconds or so.

Brit would not speak. She only played with my hair and kissed me on the cheek every time I started to cry again.

Finally the front door opened and I heard someone sigh.

Pat stood in front of me. “Come with me,” she ordered in a motherly tone, taking my hand and leading me toward her car. Brit followed.

This was it. She was probably taking me to an adoption center or something. I was going to be—if lucky—adopted by an unknown family and never seeing my friends again.

Pat drove silently and I stared at the windows memorizing every house, tree, and person I could, knowing that I would never see them again. All of the sudden, I felt we were going the wrong way.

I knew the way and that scared me a bit. What if the officer had placed me with a scary family I knew?

A neon green house passed next to me. At least I wasn’t going to Mrs. Pharies’ house. That old lady scares the hell out of me. She stays all day in her balcony insulting everyone that passes by. She used to call Brit and me “doonsdrinkles” every time we pass by her house. I shuddered. I don’t even know what that is or if is some foreign language. She’s weird.

The car turned right. Wait. Mrs. Pharies?

“Here we are,” Pat said getting out of the car. I pushed the car’s handle and did the same, but I couldn’t believe it. I was staring at the pink house I was several hours ago. Pat stood next to me smiling and Brit was jumping up and down excitedly.

“Welcome to your new home.”