I was moving again. A woman came by my old home a few days ago and I had to pack my stuff up again. It all fit in my tiny suitcase except for the pillow I slept with every night. I carried it separate as I stopped in front of my old foster parents in front of the door. My foster mommy knelt in front of me and gave me a loose hug.
"You're gonna find you a new home now, Robin. They'll be nice to you, I promise."
"Why can't I stay here?" I asked shyly.
"It's just time for you to leave again. You know how it works." I looked up at the man but he just nodded.
"Come on Robin. We've got a busy few days ahead of us."
The next night I stayed in a house full of kids like me. Kids with no home. The lady who picked me up said paper work was being done so I could have a new family. I knew how it worked. I'd done it so many times before.
This morning I woke up and walked behind the woman to a car. My suitcase rolled behind me, snagging on the cracks in the sidewalk, and my pillow was clutched to my chest.
I was taken to an office where a man and a woman sat waiting for us. They smiled when I walked in and stood to greet the lady who brought me here. The woman leaned over in front of me. She smelled like the old ladies at the church I attended with my last foster parents. Too much smelly spray.
"Robin, it's nice to meet you, honey. I'm Ann. You're going to be living with me and my husband." She gestured to the man behind her.
"Hello, Robin," he said with a polite wave.
"Hello," I said in my tiny voice.
"If I could just get you two to finish up in my office, we'll be done here," the lady who brought me said.
A few days later I was settled into my new home. I shared a bedroom upstairs with another girl who was older than me. She made fun of me for my pillow. I started to hide it under my bed until bedtime.
At lunchtime one of the boys in the house asked if he could go outside and play with the neighbors.
"Are they home?" Ann asked him.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Are you sure their dad's home?"
"The black car is in the driveway."
"I suppose. We need to introduce them to our newest member of the family anyway," Ann said clearing our plates from the table.
After that Ann had me put on my only dress and braided my red hair back from my face to keep the curls from falling in my eyes. She held my hand while we walked over to the house next door. She knocked on the door and a moment later A tall man answered it.
"Are Sam and Dean home?" the foster boy asked immediately.
"How are you John?" Ann asked ignoring the boy.
"I'm doing good. How about yourself?" Before Ann could answer two boys popped up on either side of John. One was my age and one was a little older. Both looked like the kind of kids my previous foster parents would tell me to stay away from. I stepped behind Ann's leg to hide from them.
"Very well. We just got a new member added to the family," Ann said stepping aside and revealing me from my hiding place behind her leg. "This is Robin."
"Well, it's nice to meet you miss Robin," John said kneeling in front of me and holding out a hand. I took it and shook it quickly before pulling away. "These are my sons, Sam and Dean."
"How old are you?" the younger one, Sam, asked excitedly.
"I'm four," I said quietly.
"Me too!"
"Really?" I asked happy I'd found something in common with this boy so quickly. The other one I doubted I'd find similarities to.
"Can she play with us?" Sam asked Ann.
"No! She's a girl," Garret, my foster brother said.
"Garret," Ann scolded.
"She's in a dress! It'll slow her down."
"Garret, stop it."
"Won't she, Dean?" Garret asked the oldest boy.
"She could still probably run faster than you," the boy said.
"That's not true!"
"Garret, go back to the house," Ann said to Garret pointing towards our house.
"But-"
"Now!" Garret stomped off to the house. "Is it okay if Robin stays to play?"
"Of course," John said smiling at the situation.
"Thank you. I better go deal with Garret. I'll see you after while. Behave, Robin." And with that Ann was gone and I was left with strangers.
"You boys play nice. I'll be in my office." John walked into the house and the two boys stared at me. Dean with a bit of a scowl and Sam with a huge grin.
"What did you say your name was?" Sam asked.
"Robin."
"Ropin?" Sam tried.
"Robin!"
"Let's go play in the woods, Rolin!" Sam said running towards the back of the house. I looked up at Dean with wide eyes.
"We're gonna play monster hunting," Dean explained. "We usually make Garret be the monster but we can make Sam be it if you wanna." I just nodded at the older boy before running off after Sam.
What started out as glorified hide and seek with me and Dean trying to find Sam and then me and Sam going after Dean, turned into playing in the backyard with the boys. We climbed trees and played tag until my braid fell loose and my only dress was filthy. Ann was going to be mad at me.
"I gotta go home, now," I said once the street lights flickered on along the street.
"Will you come play again tomorrow, Red?" Sam asked stumbling over my name.
"My names Robin. And I'll ask Mrs. Ann if I can."
I went home that night and got in trouble for my dress just like I thought I would. I didn't get to play with Sam and Dean the next day or the day after that because I was grounded. The day after that, though, there was a knock on the door.
I jumped off the couch and peeked around the wall to watch Ann answer the door. Standing on the porch was Sam and Dean.
"Sammy wants to know if Robin can come play today," Dean said.
"Last time she played with you two she got really dirty and ruined her dress," Ann scolded.
"We're sorry. We promise not to get so dirty this time," Sam said looking up at Ann with the best puppy dog eyes I'd ever seen.
"Okay. But if she ruins another pair of clothes she can't go play anymore."
"Yes, ma'am! Red!" Sam yelled before spotting me. "Come outside, Red!"
That's how I came to meet my best friend, Sammy, and his protective older brother.