Phoebe

Later in the night, after Mary had gone home, Tommy and Bill were sitting on the sofa watching a movie.
Phoebe came out of the room and sat beside Bill. Bill paused the movie and let the girl scoot closer to him.
"I'm sorry I didn't eat."
"That's okay, sweet pea."
"You're not mad?" Phoebe looked a little scared.
"No. Why would I be mad?"
"Dad always got mad." Phoebe mumbled.
"Your dad got mad at you from not eating?"
"Not my dad." She paused. "Dad."
"What's the difference?" Tommy didn't want to sound rude, but that statement was confusing.
"The man made us call him dad."
"Why didn't you tell Director Frances that?"
"I- I didn't know I needed to."
"It's okay. We can talk to her tomorrow."
"Not mad?"
"I don't think Bill can get mad." Tommy said.
Phoebe gave him a smile.
"Are you hungry now, Phoebe?" Bill asked.
"Yes." She looked away from Bill. She still had some fear in her that Bill would become angered.
"Well let's go get some food." Bill stood up and held his hand out.
Phoebe was tentative to take it.
She grabbed his hand and he just pulled her up into his arms.
She laid her head on Bill's shoulder.
"What are you hungry for?"
Phoebe was confused. She was never asked what she wanted. She was always given an option between two things or forced to eat something she didn't like.
"You can eat some spaghetti if you want." Bill suggested.
Bill took her silence as a bad thing and said, "Do you want to look in the fridge?"
Tommy had followed the pair into the room and said, "I could make her something."
"Like what?" Phoebe asked.
"How about a sandwich?"
"What stuff are you gonna put on it?"
"Well that just depends on what we got." Bill said.
Tommy opened the fridge and got out some meats and some condiments.
"How about we let her try the meat before we make the sandwiches though?" Bill said to Tommy.
Tommy quickly went over and washed his hands before coming back to open the meat packages.
Bill watched as Tommy opened the ham, turkey, and bologna packages.
Bill sat Phoebe on the counter then went to wash his hands as well. He came back and picked up a slice of bologna first. It was his least favorite, but Tommy's favorite.
Phoebe hesitantly took the slice of bologna.
She took a small bite and said, "I like it."
Bill picked up a slice of ham and handed it to the girl.
She handed the bologna back and took the ham.
She took a similar sized bite and had a look of disgust on her face.
"I like it." She lied.
"You don't have to say you like something if you don't like it." Bill said.
"But it's bad to say you don't like something." Phoebe's eyes got wide and teary.
"It's not bad, honey. If you don't like it that's okay. I don't like ham very much either." Tommy said to the child.
"I'm not bad?"
"Of course not." Bill said.
"I don't like it."
Bill and Tommy both gave a light chuckle.
"Okay good. How about we try the turkey next?" Bill asked as he took the bologna. He gave her a slice of turkey and watched as she took a bite.
"Mm." She smiled. "I like this one."
"Which one do you like better?" Tommy asked.
Bill gave her the slice of Ham and she took another bite.
"I like both."
"Okay. How about we just put both?" Tommy suggested.
"Okay." Phoebe shrugged.
Tommy turned around and got the sub rolls out of the bread container. He opened up the bag and got a roll out, setting the bag on the counter. He grabbed a plate from the cabinet beside himself and set the roll down on it.
He laid the meat out then grabbed some mustard. He added pickles then closed the sandwich.
"Thank you." Phoebe said as she grabbed the plate.
Bill took the plate and said, "Let's go to the table first.
Bill handed the plate to Tommy and lifted up Phoebe. They walked to the table and Bill sat down with Phoebe still on his lap.
Tony set the plate down then sat beside them.
Bill turned her around so that she could eat.
"Thank you." Phoebe said to Tommy again.
"No problem, honey." Tommy said with a smile.
She quietly ate the sandwich and chewed with her mouth closed.
Bill didn't know why he did it, but he pulled Phoebe's hair back and started to braid it. Tommy handed him a pony tail holder that he usually used for his own hair.
Phoebe just stayed quiet and continued to eat.
It was nearing 11:00 when she was done eating.
"Can I have some milk?" Phoebe asked.
"Sure." Bill said.
He stood up and set Phoebe down in his chair.
"I'll be right back."
He went to the kitchen area and grabbed a cup to fill with milk.
He heard Phoebe quietly say, "What's your favorite color?"
"My favorite color?" Tommy made a hmm sound. "I really like green." Bill could hear his gentle voice. "What's your favorite color?"
"I like brown."
"Brown is a nice color. Trees are brown and hair is brown." Tommy sort of rambled around kids. "Why do you like brown?"
"I like it cause Bill's eyes are brown."
"Bill does have nice eyes." Tommy thought aloud.
Bill smiled and put the milk away.
He walked back into the dining area and handed Phoebe the cup.
"Thank you." Phoebe said with a smile.
She drank the milk and said, "I'm tired." When she was done.
"Okay. Let's go ahead and get you to bed."
Tommy picked up the plate and cup and brought them to the kitchen. Bill just lifted up Phoebe and brought her to the guest room. Bill saw that all of Phoebe's blankets were on the floor near the window.
"Why are all your blankets on the floor?" Bill asked her.
"I like to be near the window. You can see all the pretty lights."
"Would you like me to move your bed tomorrow so that you can sleep by the window?"
Phoebe looked like she was thinking then looked over to the window. "Yeah. I'd like that." She said.
"Can I ask you a question?" Bill asked the child.
"Yeah." She laid her head down on his shoulder.
"Do you remember the day that you ran to me?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"What were you running from?"
"The man." She tightened her grip on Bill.
"What was the man doing?"
"He was chasing me."
"Why was he chasing you, honey?"
"He was mad. He was really mad." She said quietly. "He hit Yusef in the face."
"Who's Yusef?"
"He's a boy that lived with us."
"Okay. Was there anyone else there?"
"There was Lilly and Ryan and Hannah and Paulie and um J."
"Okay sweetie. That's very good. Do you think you can tell Director Frances about the other kids?"
"But I'm tired."
"Not today, silly. We can tell her tomorrow. Okay?"
"Okay." She sounded confused.

-

Phoebe woke up the next morning and heard Bill and Tommy talking to each other.
She snuck across the hall to use the bathroom then quickly went back to her assigned room.
She sat by the window and looked down at the city.
She sat in there for about an hour. She heard the faint sound of a door shutting.
She got up and looked out the door.
She slowly walked towards the kitchen area and found Tommy standing and looking at his phone.
"Where's Bill?" She asked quietly and he jumped at the sound of her voice.
"Oh hi." He looked flustered. "He went downstairs to check the mail."
"Okay." She turned to go back to her room.
"Are you hungry?" Tommy asked.
"No." She said quickly. She wasn't supposed to waste food that she wasn't gonna eat so she decided not to eat.
"Are you sure? Bill told me you like pancakes."
"I'm not very hungry." She quickly left the room and went to hers. She pulled the blankets to the window again.
She liked being on the ground and near the window.

-

"Uh I don't know what I said wrong, but Phoebe kind of like ran to her room like she was upset with me."
"What did you say to her?"
"Nothing. I just asked her if she wanted any breakfast and she went back to her room."
"Okay. You didn't do anything wrong, babe." Bill reassured him.
"Maybe you should go check on her." Tommy sighed. "I just feel bad. I don't want her to shut herself off."
Bill walked over to Tommy and kissed his cheek.
"I'll be right back." He said then went to Phoebe's room.
He knocked lightly on the door.
Phoebe looked over at him.
"Can I come in?" He asked.
She nodded yes.
Bill walked over and sat next to Phoebe.
"Are you feeling okay today, honey?"
"I'm fine."
She pressed her forehead against the glass.
"The world looks tiny from up here. Doesn't it?" Bill looked at Phoebe.
"Yeah." She looked down at the cars.