"Cosette this is Mr. Gifford. He and his wife have agreed to take you," Olivia said introducing Cosette to an older man and his wife.
"Nice to meet you Cosette," Mrs. Gifford said pulling Cosette into a hug. Cosette patted Mrs. Gifford on the back awkwardly and looked pleading at Olivia.
"Mr. Gifford, Mrs. Gifford here are the forms you have to sign," Olivia said hurriedly. Mrs. Gifford released Cosette and took the pen to sign. Olivia took Cosette off to the side and handed her a business card.
"This is my number and on the back is my private number. If you need anything at all give me a call. Try to get along with the Gifford's'. They're not bad once you get to know them," Olivia said looking down at Cosette.
"Thank you," Cosette said looking down at the floor and shoving the card in her pocket. They rejoined the Gifford's and Elliot, who was explaining something to Mr. Gifford.
"I'll be in touch," Elliot said, but Cosette didn't know if it was directed at her or Mr. Gifford.
"I hope you like a good home cooked meal," Mrs. Gifford said as the reached the suburbs. "I have one cooking at home and you look like you could use a couple of good meals."
"Yes," Cosette answered, although she wasn't sure why she had said it. Attachment was the top thing on her list of things not to do. No matter what happened, Cosette had never got attached to anything. It makes it harder to run away, or in Cosette's case, walk away slowly and let the pain sink it. It was her punishment for walking out on her life years ago.
"Is everything alright honey?" Mrs. Gifford asked as they walked into a small house on the edge of the city.
"Yes," Cosette answered again. It was a mechanism. She couldn't say anything else.
"You'll eat and then get some rest. It must be tiring, staying in that police station all night," Mrs. Gifford said leading Cosette into a small dining room. She put some food onto a plate and set it in front of Cosette then left to prepare her own plate. Cosette stared at the food. She was hungry, but gorging herself now would ultimately make her sick later. She ate a few bites and moved the rest around on the plate to make it look as if she had eaten more.
"Done already?" Mrs. Gifford said upon entering the room. "Well I didn't expect you to take to us too soon. I'll show you to your room."
Cosette lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. She could hear the old chimes in the house echo 12 times. Now was her chance. If she didn't leave now then she might not be able to later.
Cosette leaned over the window ledge and estimated the height down. She was on the second floor, but a bush below her window provided an ample landing spot. Carefully so that she didn't fall, Cosette climbed out of the window and hung on to the ledge. Taking a death breath she dropped onto the bush with a loud thud.
"Damn second stories," Cosette muttered as she stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants. She crept to the front of the house and looked around. A single car sat on the side of the road and Cosette could just barely make out the shadows of two people in the car. "Smart," Cosette said approvingly, "but not smart enough." Walking to the back of the house Cosette ran the length of the yard and vaulted the fence. "Later suckers," Cosette said as she ran towards the city.