The Anti-Love Story

I barged through the police station doors with Connor on my hip and a pose behind me. Emily, Taylor and Amanda, Michael, Ashton, Calum, and Luke followed on my heels. I got to the front desk, where a woman in a police uniform sat looking disinterested. I cleared my throat hoping to get her attention. "Exscuse me?" I said politely when that didn't work. She looked up surprised I was standing there.

"Oh I'm sorry Miss I'm hard of hearing. Shhh don't tell the Captain." She said jokingly. "What can I do you for?" her voice dripped of her sweet Southern accent.

"Thank you...Well I got a call from child serives..."I told her.

"Do you know the name of the social worker?" she asked sympathetically.

"Rhonda Parker." I said my stomach was churning, I felt like I was gonna puke all over the police station lobby, similar to the Exorsist.

"Okay let me go her for you. Take a seat right over there." she pointed toward an empty chair against the wall. I took Connor amd went over to the seat. I sat him on my lap and just hugged him. I was worried more what would happen to him than me. I was turning eighteen tomorrow. I paused my train of thought.

"What's today?" I asked Michael since he was right next to me.

"Saturday." He said simply.

"The seventeenth? Already? What time is it?" I asked.

"3:30 in the morning.. Why?" My head just dropped. Go fucking figure.

"Today's her birthday." Emily answered for me. Of course today of all days at 3:30 AM, my father would get arrested. He would ruin what was probably the best birthday of my life with his bullshit. I wanted to punch a wall, I wanted to punch my father, but that would do me or Connor any good. Why today? There's that word again "why" the word that describes the past two years of my fucking life.

Michael had been rubbing my back as I held Connor close to me. "Rayne Donovan?" A voice asked from the front desk. I looked up to see this big burly black woman. She seemed all business on the phone, but by the look of her she seemed like the kind of woman you just wanted to hug when your life felt like shit.

She came up to me with a warm smile on her face, "Hi I'm Rhonda Walker." her eyes were just as warm as her smile. She looked at me with what I thought was love, but what would I know I hadn't felt or seen love on two years. I'm pretty sure what I was feeling for Mikey in the past few hours wasn't love but Idolized adoration. "This must me Connor." she assumed. "Well why don't you come on back? Was there anyone you wanted to come with you?"

I immediately thought Emily. She had been there for me through all of this. I knew I couldn't bring Michael he barely knew me. He might have thought he did because of my post on social media, but social media only shows what I wmat to show the world. He didn't know anything about my life, as much as wanted him to, he didn't. "Emily." I said softly.

She got up from her seat amd came over to me. I could see the disappointment on Michael's face but then I caught a flash of understanding. He understood the situation. He knew he wasn't in loop evwn if he hoped he was. Just as I turned my back to walk back to Rhonda's office I got a text. 'I'll stay as long as I can, but I have to be in Texas later today. I'll try and bring back Emily's car if I have to leave. Keep me posted Raynebow Dash' My heart swelled at the thought of Michael being there when I got out, but I had a feeling Em'a blue Honda would be waiting instead.

Em held my hand as we walked through to a cubical where Rhonda was stationed. I sat down with Connor in my lap amd Em sat in front of me in a folding chair. "Okay well we've question your mom, officer's haven't questioned your father, we're waiting for him to sober up. So I just have a few questions for you Rayne. Just answer to your best ability okay." she said sweetly. She was way different in person that on the phone. "Okay first how long has your father been abusive?"

I wasn't going to beat around the bush when it came to these questions. I'd been wanting my father gone for awhile now. I know i shouldn't say that, he is my father, but he caused these feeling of hatred toward him. "Two years."

"Do you know what brought about the abuse?"

"He got laid off from his Plant job."

"What Plant did he worl at?"

"Citgo."

"Is it nust your mother he abuses?"

I took a deep breath, the inportant questions were coming, the questions that would make or break thsi case vased on my answers. "My mother gets the brunt of the abuse."

"Do you know why that is?"

"Well I make sure my father can't get to Connor. He's occasionally beaten me, but only when I've called the police or been in his way. My mother makes herself the most available to him because she 'loves' him."

"Why do you put air quotes around love?"

I looked at Emily. She had heard me rant about my mothers love for my father plenty. "I know she loves him. They have been together twenty years, but..." I paused for a deep breath, I was getting frustrated thinking about the past 18 years of my life and how for 2 years it was shit vecause my mom loved my father. "I know 20 years can't erase 2 but from the way the past 2 years have been it wasn't going to go back to the way it was before."

"Why not?" she was prying for my feelings on the situation.

"Because after maybe about 5 months after my dad got laid off he gave up. He stopped looking for jobs, he gambled away most of our money amd know he spends most of what's lwft on beer. He just sleeps and drinks. I've never actually seen hom consume an actual solid food." Emily cleared her throat. "Okay sorry that's an exaggeration, I'm just angry talking about it."

"I understand, I'm honestly glad to see you don't blame yourself for the situation, most children do. It's probably because of your age when it happened. You were able to comprehend everything at the time and make sense of it." she explained.

"Yeah probably." I started. "Actually I have a few questions." she nodded as if giving me permission to continue. "What is going to happen to Connor? My eighteenth birthday is today, but I'm not in a position to turn my life around and become a lom full time, instead of being his protective sister." Connor looked uo at me amd I could see he had tears forming, but he knew I would if I could. He knew I loved him.more than anything.

"Well what we'll do is see if there is any other family around to take both of you guys in. If not since you are already eighteen we would try to help you get started on your feet bit most likely he'd be put in foster care." I hugged Connor toghter than I was before. I couldn't bare thinking of him in foster care. "Do you know of any family near by?"

I nodded. "We have grandparents. My mom's parents, but i haven't seen them since all of this happened."

"Do you think they would take you and Connor in?" I thought back to when my father first flew off the handle. Theu tried to get us to come stay with the but something always got in the way, mom. I had heard from them in over a year, i had no idea if they would take us in. I shrugged knowing Rhonda needed an answer. "Well I'll give them a call, just be sure."

The phone on Rhonda's desk began to ring.