Chapter 10

After an hour of talking about simple things with James, we made it to my new home. James pulled into the driveway and parked the car in front of the two-car garage. It was a beautiful two-story house. The outside of the house was grey with white accents. There was a white porch with a roof over it that went across the entire front of the house. I immediately fell in love with it and knew that I would be spending time there reading as it rained. The walkway was made out of grey cement and lead to the front porch, starting at the driveway. There were all kinds of dying flowers and bushes placed in front of the porch and wrapped around the side, probably going all the way to the back. I guess Tessa liked gardening unless they had a landscaper. It probably looked beautiful in the summer. James got out of the car and walked around the front, opening the door for me. 

“Before we start unpacking, I’d like to give you a tour and show you your room.” I simply nodded and followed him up the walkway and the steps of the porch to the front door. 

As James reached to open the door it was pulled open by Tessa instead. She looked more excited than I had ever seen her. She had a bright smile on her face and it was only then that I realized she wanted to adopt me as well. Before it had only seemed like it was James that wanted to adopt another kid. She warmly welcomed us home and invited me in. 

I was immediately in awe of the house. The door led us into a small mudroom completely covered in wood. Wooden walls, wooden flooring, even a wooden bench. There was a fancy coat rack and a door that probably led into a closet. 

Following James and Tessa further into the house, the mudroom opened up into a giant living room that was beautifully decorated in various tan colors and different decorations. 

To the right was the kitchen. It was separated into a different room but there was a hole cut into the wall creating a bar like area completed with stools. They quickly lead me into the kitchen to show me more of it. It was also very beautifully decorated, and I was getting the feeling that the whole house would be. However, the kitchen was black with silver appliances. 

Taking me back out into the living room they lead me across to the other side which had a bathroom for the downstairs. Lastly, there was the master bedroom which belonged to James and Tessa. I followed them upstairs and was met with a long hallway with doors lining it. The first door was opened to reveal an office. 

“This is our office,” James explained. “I run my own accounting business and Tessa is an author.” Wow, not only was he really nice, he was smart too. I’d never met an author before either. I’d have to read some of her books 

They continued to show me the rooms, most of which belonged to the kids they previously adopted. They kept them the same in case they ever wanted to visit or needed to move back for some reason. There was also the upstairs bathroom. Once we reached the last door, I knew that it would be mine, unless they expected me to sleep on the couch. 

“And this is your room,” James explained as he opened the door. Immediately my jaw dropped. The room was painted yellow with the faint smell of fresh paint lingering in the air. 

“You...you painted it yellow? For me?” James shrugged like it was no big deal, but to me it was. 

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “Tessa and I took a few hours and painted it together. We wanted you to feel at home.” I glanced around the room and fell in love. It simply couldn’t be better. I would never have thought something like this could be mine. I turned around to face them with a real smile on my face. 

“You guys really didn’t have to do this for me… but thank you.” They both nodded and left me to look around, going to start bringing up boxes. 

Not only were the walls yellow but so were a couple of other things. The bed had a white frame, but the pillows and blankets were yellow. I walked over to it, running my hand along the side. It was sooooo soft. Next to the bed was a small white table with a lamp and a clock. There was a rather large dresser that was white as well and on top of it was a yellow vase filled with different colored flowers. The wall that was opposite of the door and bed had several windows that looked out onto the street. One of the windows even had one of those seats. I’ve always wanted one of those. Between two of the windows, directly in front of the bed, there was even a flat-screen TV hanging on the wall. 

I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like a fairy tale. My daydream was cut off by a box landing on the floor. I turned around to find James looking at me with a smile. 

“Do you like it?” With another real smile adorning my face, I nodded. 

“I love it.” 

After they brought all of the boxes up they left me to unpack and after a few hours, I was almost finished. I opened up the last box and froze. Inside, laying carefully on top, was the pictures of my mom. With all that was going on, I had momentarily forgotten about everything that had happened and why this was happening. Although, I could never actually forget what I did, though I wish I could. 

I started unloading the pictures and setting them up around the room, making a mental note to ask for a couple of nails to hang up some of them. Before I realized it, I was crying. 

Tears steadily rolled down my eyes as silent sobs racked my body. I missed her so much. Why did I have to be so selfish! If only I hadn’t asked--- suddenly, there was a knock on my door. Quickly, I wiped my eyes and cleared my throat hoping my voice wouldn’t crack. 

“Yeah?” I winced as my voice did exactly that. Slowly, the door cracked open to reveal James. If he noticed my red face and puffy eyes, he didn’t show it. 

“Dinner’s ready, Sera.” 

“Oh, okay, I’ll be down in a second.” James flashed me a smile and then closed the door just as gingerly as he opened it and left me to myself again. I allowed a few minutes and then headed to the bathroom. Splashing my face with cool water helped to lessen the signs of crying just enough that I was pretty sure they wouldn’t ask any questions. After drying my face with a fluffy towel and taking a few deep breaths I plastered a smile on my face and headed downstairs. 

Opening the kitchen door revealed the dining table that was set for three with a pizza in the middle. Despite my earlier episode, I started drooling at the sight. James looked over to me and his smile grew at my face. Maybe he did notice earlier. But before I could debate the topic anymore he asked me what I wanted to drink and motioned for me to sit down. He brought me a glass of Mountain Dew before taking his own seat and handing out slices. I took my first bite and my jaw dropped. It was sooooo good! 

“Who made this?” 

“Oh, well, we both made it together,” Tessa explained. 

“Well, I really like it.” They both looked really pleased and happy and we all continued eating. 

After we were done we all did the dishes together. Tessa washing, me rinsing, and James drying and putting away. With all three of us helping it didn’t take more than ten minutes. 

Afterward, they asked me if I wanted to watch a movie, but I told them I was pretty tired and I wanted to go to bed. They accepted that and let me go upstairs. While I was actually a little tired, it wasn’t really the truth, I just wanted to be alone. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything, instead just sitting on my bed and trying to remember happier days while blocking out the bad ones. 

* * *

The next several days were pretty much the same. I ate my meals with them, helped do the dishes and whatever other chores needed to be done, but other than that I spent my time in my room, staring at the ceiling and trying not to cry. 

It’s not that I didn’t like it here. I did. James and Tessa were really nice. They didn’t pester me and didn’t try to talk to me about anything that could potentially make me upset. My room was really nice too, it was obvious that they had put a lot of effort into making it nice. And Tessa always made sure that she wouldn’t cook something I wouldn’t like.

It’s just when my life was the way it was, you can’t get over it. I remember every bruise, every cut, every injury that my father gave to me. And I remember every bad word he ever said to me. Everything he always called me, it’s etched into my brain. My scars don’t let me forget it, no matter how much I wish I could. 

But on my fourth night there, they dropped something on me, something I really should have expected. 

That night while we were having dinner, I watched as James and Tessa kept sharing looks with each other. I knew something was up and finally, James spilled the beans. 

“Sera, we’re just gonna come right out and say it. We hope you aren’t too unhappy about it. But, we had to enroll you in the nearby school and their Thanksgiving break is over after this week, so you have to start school again. We understand that it’s hard to start at a new school, both of us moved several times while in school, so if you have any problems, feel free to talk to us about it. Chances are we’ll know what you’re going through. Just be yourself, I’m sure you’ll have a great time.” 

I wish that would’ve been true because that’s not even close to what happened when I started at school a couple of days later.