OC's Backstory Continued

I posted the first part of this story the other day, it'd mean the world to me if you could read them and tell me what you think!

The car door slammed shut and the tall, pale man placed a hand on her back, gesturing to her to walk towards the house. She nervously gripped the side-ends of her skirt as she staggered beside him. He poked the doorbell with a bony finger and stepped back.

After a few moments of silence, the door opened gingerly and a tall, solid-built lady appeared at the doorway. Her eyes fell on the girl and her soft, black eyes somehow became softer and blacker and all the more warm. She squatted down to level with the girl, offering her hand.

“Hey, there, sweetie.” Her voice was smooth and gentle, yet simultaneously firm. “My name’s Cassie.”

The girl hesitantly placed her bleach-splotched caramel hand in Cassie’s significantly larger one, the dark-skinned woman’s grip comfortingly warm. “Um, I’m Elyssa.” She paused for a heartbeat, and uncharacteristically, she added pointedly, “With an ‘E’.”

Cassie huffed in amusement at the unexpected sassy remark. “Nice to meet you, Elyssa ‘With An “E”’.” The man nudged Elyssa towards the woman gently. “You’re going to be living with me for a while. Are you okay with that?”

Elyssa nodded her head apprehensively. The ends of Cassie’s rust-brown lips upturned in a soft smile. She stood up straight and directed her attention to the man before he nudged her again, suggesting she familiarized herself with the house.

Cassie stepped out of the house and shut the door behind her, leaving Elyssa alone in the doorway. Everything was strange. Strange smells, strange light, strange people in the strange photographs hung strangely on the strange-colored wall. She was completely alone in a strange place.

Yet for a reason she couldn’t quite place her finger on, she finally felt like she wasn’t alone.