Page 32 of A Foster Fling

I roll my eyes and grab my backpack of the little belongings I have. Getting to my feet, I wait for Frank to finish what he was doing before we take off to my new placement home. I give it a month tops before my mom gets her shit together and I’m back at home with her. That’s how it happened last time, anyways. She took her courses, passed the home inspection, and passed each drug test they gave her. This time it was only marijuana, so I don’t think it should be more than a few weeks before everything goes back to normal.

“Ready?” Frank asks.

“I don’t have a choice but to be.” I remark.

With that, we head to his car and begin the journey to my foster house. It doesn’t take long before we’re pulling up to a two-story house in a nice suburban neighborhood. The front porch light is on and there is a blonde woman standing outside, waiting with a smile on her face. Frank was right, she looks sweet.

We get out and walk up to where the lady is waiting. Frank shakes her hand. “This is Liam. Liam, this is Ms. Harris.”

Ms. Harris takes a moment, looking me over, taking in my body language before she decides to stretch her arm out, extending me her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Liam.”

I nod in her direction, keeping my hands to myself and ignoring her gesture. She simply smiles and waves for us to go inside. “Come on in. Gabe is upstairs, and Cole is in the living room.”

Frank and Ms. Harris head inside while I stay rooted in place. I don’t want to go in there. I don’t want another temporary home, I have a permanent one already.

My mom isn’t a bad parent, she just makes bad choices. I don’t blame her for what happened. I blame Dennis. He’s always trying to get her into trouble. She tries so hard to stay on the straight and narrow, but he’s a bad influence. I’ve always hated him, ever since the first time she brought him home. It’s like he’s a bad luck charm she won’t get rid of, all because she “loves him”. He’s a piece of shit, in my opinion. He brought the drugs into our home, he dealt them and did them under our roof. It should be him getting in trouble, not us. Not my mom. Not me.

“You coming?” Frank snaps me back to reality.

Reluctantly, I follow him in.

It’s only temporary, it’s only temporary, it’s only temporary.Those words play on repeat in my head as I walk into the living room. There’s a big wraparound couch against the far wall with a glass coffee table sitting in the middle. Paintings and pictures line the white walls. There’re a few spots that are lighter than the rest, my guess is some photos were taken down.

I don’t like the feeling that washes over me as I take the place in. It’s odd. It almost feels like I’m home…I don’t think so.I shake my head and turn around, getting ready to walk out and run as far away as I can, but Ms. Harris stops me.

“It’s okay. We don’t bite, I promise.” She gives me a soft smile. “Cole, come here. I want you to meet someone. Gabe!”

I really don’t want to do this. I just want to be in my own bed, listening to my radio, by myself. I just want…my thoughts come to a haunting halt as a meek boy comes into view.

Holy shit.

My chest aches with a pounding heart as I take him in. He can’t be any older than thirteen, maybe fourteen. A few freckles are sprinkled across his cheeks over his nose. He has shaggy, blonde hair and striking green eyes.

“Cole, this is Liam. He’ll be staying with us for a bit.” Ms. Harris says to her son. He locks eye with me, his freckles disappearing behind a blush so vibrant it makes his eyes stand out even more than they had before. His gaze causes goosebumps to sprawl over my skin, making my groin twitch. He looks so innocent and sweet. Not like any of the other boys I’ve been with.

Where I live, all the kids and teens have all been toughened by the shittier things in life like juvey, abuse, drugs, and homelessness. We’ve all been subjected to shit no child should ever be subjected to. The last kid I hooked up with was two years older than me and he was living behind the Stop-N-Go in a broken-down car with his prostitute mother. He wasn’t a good kid. He got arrested two nights before I was brought here.

“You called?” Startled, I turn around and see the person who just walked in.

“Oh, this is Gabe, my eldest son,” Ms. Harris speaks up, pulling him in closer.

“Sup,” Gabe says, nodding in my direction.

Fuck me.I mentally groan, looking between Gabe and Cole.

Maybe this stay won’t be as bad as I’m expecting it to be.

Chapter Six

Cole

My lungs burn as I chase the morning sunrise to the pier. My feet hit the pavement with a rage that could shake the earth to its core. I thought things couldn’t get any worse, but the universe must have thought otherwise.

When I saw him standing there, so many things went through my mind at once.

How could she bring him back?

Why him?