Page 30 of A Foster Fling
After about half an hour of losing myself to the breeze, Derek waves me down, tapping his wrist to tell me it’s time to go.
Rolling over to where he is, I stop and pop my board up into my hand. “Mind if we swing by my place before we pick up Mags? Gotta get a change of clothes for later.”
“Yeah, man.”
Derek told me on the way to the skate park that he’d invited a few people from school to his place tonight. He’s gotten hold some new bud that he’s dying to try out, and wanted to share with as many people as he could. He does that every time he gets something new. I’m gonna miss doing this with him when I leave for college, but I’ve got to get out of this place.
I need a fresh start where everything isn’t coated in my past and shrouded in a darkness I wish I could shake. I know running from my problems won’t fix them, but I’m going to fucking try like hell anyway.
Before long, Derek turns onto my street and slowly pulls into my driveway.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I bite out, anger burning a hole through my soul.
“What?” Derek asks, confusion coating his face.
I open the door and get out before he even comes to a complete stop. Storming to the front door, I angrily push it open and step inside. “What the fuck, Ma?” I call out, looking around the house to find her and Frank sitting at the kitchen table.
“Cole, don’t start.” She says, giving me a pleading stare.
“No, I think I will. Why are you here, Frank? We don’t need any strays, you can leave!”
“Nice to see you too, Cole. He isn’t going to be an issue, right?” Frank turns his attention to my mom.
“No, he won’t,” she states firmly, looking at me with an ill expression. “He’s leaving soon for college and Liam is aging out in a month. Cole stays out with his friend most of the time anyway.”
Liam…Why does that name sound so…
“Wait…” I whisper, the room around me begins to spin. “Wait, wait, wait.”
“Cole?”
“Not the kid who was here when Gabe…Mom, no. You can’t be serious?” Just as I say those words, he comes into view. His tall frame and sharp jawline bringing forward memories that have haunted me for years.
His icy blue eyes catch mine, and for a brief second it felt like time stood still, like the world focused in on us and I knew something catastrophic was about to begin. I could feel it in my bones.
“You,” I whisper just as everything turned black and I hit the floor.
Chapter Four
Liam
Everyone in the room rushes to catch Cole before he hits the ground, but no one makes it in time. He lands hard on his back, knocking over the little table next him that holds old mail and a decorative bowl for keys.
The kid that came in behind him stares at me like he’s going to rip my head off.
I nod in his direction. “We got a problem?”
“I think we do,” he says, stepping right to me with his chest puffed out. I laugh. He’s at least a foot shorter than me, but I’ll give it to him for his bravado.
Frank steps in between us. “I don’t think this is going to work.”
Ms. Harris scrambles to her feet, “Oh, no. I promise everything is going to work out, Frank. I really would appreciate it if you could just forget how all this went down. Cole won’t cause any problems, and neither will you, Derek, not in my house!”
Derek steps back, never taking his eyes off me. I smirk.Fucking punk.
“Angie, this can’t happen again. Any outbursts from anyone and you will lose your foster licensing permanently. It took a lot to get you back in.”
“You have my word, Frank. I—I need this in my life again. I have to do what makes me happy and helping children does just that.”