Stef
I held Jude's hand as I walked us into the school to find Lena. "Sophie!" I smiled at Eva who was one of the office ladies. "Lena is in a meeting at the moment." Her voice trailed off as her eyes gazed to Jude who was staring down at his laces.
"Sorry, I need to talk to her about something important." I spoke softly and smiled at her to reassure that Jude is okay. "How long is she in the meeting for?"
She looked down at her computer then looked up at me. "I would like to say a good hour until she is finished but I can get her to come out if-"
"Don't worry, we will wait on the beach but could you let her know that we are here?" I interrupted with a smile knowing I still needed to make sure Jude was fully okay. "And excuse Jude from his classes.." She nodded with a smile and I walked us slowly back outside into the sunlight.
"Why can't I go to class?" Jude's quiet voice alerted me as I walked us to the beach to sit on the sand. "What if my foster parents are called?"
"You don't need to worry yourself about them anymore." I stated gently as I rubbed his back softly and I saw how sad he looked. "Jude, why didn't you say anything to us hey?" He looked at the ocean with a sigh and it took a few minutes for him to reply back to me.
"I didn't think.. Anyone cared besides Frankie obviously." My mouth dropped open. What is this little child's story and what made me so angry was the fact someone must of put it in his head that no one could care about him.
"Lena and I care very much about you." I whispered softly as I wiped the tears that fell from my eyes with the back of my hand. "Oh baby, if you told us we could of done something sooner."
"You can't." He stated strongly and looked into my eyes with made me feel very shock. "I have tried calling the police but they came and saw nothing. Those foster parents are so good at acting like everything all peachy and the police officers even once said that I was just attention seeking."
"Oh Jude." I whispered as tears filled his young eyes.
"They will just send me back there.."
"They will not." I spoke strongly this time as I held his hands into my shaky hands. "Lena and I will not let that happen now knowing what is happening to you. Neither will Frankie. I think she might commit murder to see this through." I whispered with a laugh and he cracked a smile.
Mike
"So that is everything." The principal spoke with a smile as she lead us out of her office. "I will be happy to get someone to give you a tour around the school before you go or I can organize that for your first day, Callie." I looked at Callie and she shook her head.
"I think it's enough for now, Ms Adams." I spoke with politeness as Callie looked down at her shoes shyly. It was a bit too much to expect Callie to come on our first day here for the interview and pretests. "Thanks so much." I poked Callie who looked up tiredly at Ms Adams.
"Thank you." She spoke with a small smile and Ms Adams nodded.
"Well, I hope that you both settle in well and I will be looking forward into seeing you in a few days." Then the office lady came over and we waved good bye as we heard the beginning of the conversation between the both of them.
"Your wife was here with one of our students, Jude-"
"Sorry that was a lot to take in, Callie." I whispered to Callie as we walked out into the sunlight and she looked up with a small smile.
"It's okay, Dad." And I smiled proudly at her knowing she was just tired from the trip up and not sleeping well. "Can we get those sunflower seeds now and get lunch with Ma?"
I nodded and we took the ten minute walk back to our new home stopping at a garden shop to pick up the sunflower seeds then walked home where Ana was waiting for us with eager to find out how our girl went.
Lena
I walked to the beach where I saw Stef holding Jude and I sat next to Jude. "What's going on?" I spoke with confusion and they both looked at me. One with worry and one with concern.
Sophie cleared her throat and spoke with softness. "Jude's foster parents have been abusing him and I decided that we needed to do something ASAP or Jude will get hurt even more." My breathing became uneven as my eyes looked down at Jude who now looked small and fragile.
"Let's go to my office and get the ball rolling." I whispered as I stood up and shook the sand off me as both of them followed.
"I can't let Jude Jacobs back into that house after his disclosure to us." I spoke to Bill on the phone as Stef cuddled Jude who was still feeling upset.
"Well, I will move him-"
"We will take him in if you could just renew our foster license." I quickly interrupted as I stared into Sophie's worried eyes. "Bill, I know there is a procedure for this but you know us and our records."
I heard him clear his throat. "Yours but not Sophie's."
"You told me that didn't matter-"
"I still need to follow that procedure because of that factor." Bill interrupted with a soft tone. "I know both of your situations and because I am not allowed to know the real past of Sophie, I am going to have follow the procedure."
"But that is going to take days and where do you expect to take Jude while we get that sorted, hey?" I spoke with fierce knowing I will not let Jude go near anyone who could hurt him. I wish I knew sooner and somehow protected him from this.
"I will try my best to find the best candidate but you aren't allowed to take him in until your foster licenses are approved." I sighed into the phone knowing I couldn't break the law and hoped to god that Bill will look out for Jude until we can.
"Fine."
"I will be there at the end of the day." Then he hung up and I looked at Sophie with a shake of the head.
"Jude, will you be okay to go back to class for the rest of the day?" I whispered as Sophie let go of Jude and he nodded. "We can't take you in yet until our foster licenses are approved again which might take a few days but you will not be going back to that pair of foster parents again. They will not be allowed to have their licenses anymore and will be probably put into jail for what they have done to you."
"Okay." He simply spoke as he stood up and Sophie handed him his bag with a sad smile. "Thank you."
"Anytime, Jude." Sophie whispered as she ruffled his head softly which made him smile.
"Keep our Frankie out of trouble." I spoke softly as we both lead him out of the office as the last morning tea bell rang signalling it was time to go back to classes. He nodded and walked to his next class then I walked back into my office in defeat as Sophie closed the door behind us. "Only if we knew what he was going through."
"We knew so little and we were caught up with Frankie with her cancer." Sophie's soft voice spoke and I looked at her. "We can't blame ourselves now because now we can help him." I stood up and embraced her into a hug.
"Why do you know the right words to say?"
"I don't." Sophie whispered with a giggle and I shook my head.
"Of course you do."
