Chapter 28 – Hearts Captured

Edward

The social worker who initially took Bree from my hotel room had given me her card, so I made a phone call to her and officially started the process to become Bree's legal foster parent. I was told getting accepted into the fostering system was a lengthy procedure, but because it was a special circumstance, and Bree was currently without a family, I was pretty much fast-tracked.

I rented out a two bedroom apartment in the city, and after a background check, home visit, my finger prints cleared, and a week-long class on parenting, Bree was officially moving in with me and we were both ecstatic. Or, at least, I thought we were.

On the first night home, I caught Bree trying to sneak out after she thought I had gone to bed. I just didn't understand it, and I knew it was time for a heart to heart.

"Hey, I thought you wanted to be here with me. What's changed?" I asked her gently.

"I did want to be with you… more than anything, but what's the point?" she said strangely.

"What's the point to what?"

"To any of this. We'll never be a family. It's only a matter of time before you get sick of me or someone comes and takes me away. I'd rather just leave now so I don't even have a chance at getting comfortable here."

It just about tore my heart out, and I had to admit, I did start to doubt if bringing her home was the best idea. Sure, I had missed her like crazy, but I had committed to fostering, not adopting, so I could understand her concerns. I wished more than anything that I could promise her forever and start the paperwork for a permanent adoption, but the truth was that I had become somewhat of a pessimist myself, and had no idea what the future would bring. What if we got settled into a routine and I realized the whole parenting thing wasn't for me? Or what if she got comfortable and decided to go all 'Exorcist' on me, complete with spinning head and projectile vomit? I could promise her we'd be together for the time being, but was I really ready to commit my entire life to raising a kid I didn't know?

I wished more than anything that I could take that leap, but I just wasn't ready yet.

"Listen kid, I have no idea what's going to happen, or how long we'll be together, but I can promise you this – we're going to make the most of the time we do have."

"Really?" she asked, sounding slightly better. "What does that mean?"

"Well, it means we're going to take advantage of the city during the summer and go have some fun. I know you lived here on your own for a while, was there anything you wished you could do if you had money?"

She thought about it for a minute. "How about going to see Lady Liberty?"

"You've never seen it?" I asked skeptically.

"Well, I've seen it from a distance, but I want to go see the inside."

I smiled. "Okay, let's go see the Statue of Liberty."

We took a tour, and while on it, I was truly amazed. The statue itself was neat, but to see Bree's excitement and complete fascination with everything was probably one of the most incredible things I had ever witnessed. Question after question, Bree asked the tour guide things I never even considered before, and when she listened to the answer, she was more intent and focused than any other kid or adult I had ever encountered. I wished I was as interested in anything as Bree was in the Statue, but as I soon realized, the Statue wasn't all she wanted to learn about.

The kid loved anything to do with history and art, and a few days later when I took her to a museum, we literally spent all day there; reading and absorbing everything the place had to offer.

For the next three days we visited various museums and historical landmarks throughout the city, but as much as I loved watching her discover it all, I figured it was time for her to take a step back and do some kid things as well.

"I was thinking we'd take it easy today and just do some fun stuff," I told her one morning.

"But we have been doing fun things," she said confused.

"Yeah, but I was thinking we could do more normal kid things."

"Like what?" she asked legitimately baffled. – Did she really not know how unique she was for her age?

I didn't want to change her because she was so incredibly special, but I did think it was important to broaden her horizons and show her it was okay to play and just be silly.

"Like, I don't know, go to Chuckie Cheese or something."

"What's that?" she asked clueless. Rather than tell her about it, we got into a cab and went there. Of course, five minutes there I realized that arcade games and crawling through tunnels definitely weren't her thing.

"Okay, well how about we just go to a park?" I offered.

"I lived in a park for a while," she said evenly.

"Oh… right. Well, did you ever play in the playground? Or we could get a basketball and shoot some hoops?"

She bit her lower lip as she seemed to consider something.

"What?" I pressed.

"I did play soccer with a girl and her mom at a park once. They were really nice and they even brought me to their apartment and gave me a sandwich. It was probably the best time I ever had before I met you."

I nodded in understanding. "Well, do you remember where they live?"

"Yeah, their apartment was right across the street from the park I was living in, why?"

I shrugged. "We could stop by and ask them to play soccer again."

"Really?" she asked excitedly.

"Heck yeah! Let's go over there right now and see if they're busy."

"Oh, I hope they're home. I can't wait to see them again!"

I chuckled. It was really good to see her that happy. "So hey, which park was it so I know what to tell the cab driver?" I asked her as we headed for the door.

"Uh, it was called Morning… something. It's over by that big college."

I froze. "Morningside Park?" I asked slowly.

"That's it!" she said excitedly. "Have you ever been there?"

"Yeah. A long time ago," I mumbled while thinking about hour or so I had spent there waiting for Bella to meet me. I had gone back a few times since then, just hoping to run into her since she had said she studied there from time to time, but just like that day, she never showed.

I felt myself slip into a somber mood just thinking about Bella, but as I watched Bree bouncing excitedly next to me in the cab, I realized I had held on to that depression long enough and it was finally time to let it go. Bree deserved more than someone living only a half a life, and I was going to make damn sure I gave her that.

After going to three different apartment buildings surrounding the park, and knocking on six different doors, we finally found the right one we were looking for.

"Bree!" a little girl shouted when she opened the door.

"Claire!" Bree responded equally enthusiastic.

"I thought I'd never see you again," the little girl said while hugging Bree. "Mom, Bree's back!" she called behind her.

"What?" I heard a woman say, and then the door opened wider and the woman came into view. "Oh," she said when she saw me standing there. "Well, hello Bree, it's good to see you again, especially since you're not alone anymore."

"This is my temporary uncommitted foster dad," Bree said unexpectedly.

"Oh, well, I'm still glad you're not alone anymore," the woman told her before looking up at me. "Please, come in."

"Thanks," Bree said while grabbing my hand and pulling me inside. The two girls immediately ran off towards the back rooms, so I was left standing awkwardly with the woman.

"Um, I'm Emily, by the way," the woman introduced herself. "I'm sure you get this all the time, but you're the spitting image of…"

"I'm Edward," I said before she had a chance to tell me just how much I looked like myself. I was beginning to grow out my facial hair and I always wore a cap while out, hoping I wouldn't get recognized, and it seemed to work for the most part, but I also wasn't surprised that Emily knew who I was. Close up it was easy to tell.

"Edward Masen?" she asked dumbstruck.

"Yep. And I'm sure this must seem pretty odd."

She smiled and waved her hand in front of her face. "Nah, I get rock stars and their foster kids at my door all the time," she joked.

I chuckled. "Well, I don't know too many rock stars with foster kids."

"It's definitely the first I've heard of. Is it some kind of publicity stunt?" she asked, suddenly becoming a little less friendly.

"No, Bree sort of just… captured my heart," I said, surprisingly honest. I had no intention of telling that woman anything so personal, but as the girls' laughter carried through the little apartment, I found myself telling the woman everything that happened since Bree came into my life. I only hoped she didn't go straight to some gossip columnist the moment we left. The last thing Bree needed was to be hounded by paps screaming questions and snapping photos. But it felt really good to talk about Bree with someone who really seemed to understand. I suppose my circle of friends weren't much of the parenting type.

After spending a few hours together, Bree and I took off home and planned to meet again a few days later, but the girls were impatient and we ended up meeting again the very next day…. and the day after that… and the day after that. Emily gave me helpful tips for raising a young girl, and I was more than a little appreciative, but even more than that, she was one of the few people I had met in recent years that didn't seem to give a shit about my stardom. It was nice not being looked at like some demigod, and the whole 'kid friendly' activity thing was a pleasant change from the rock-star/bachelor/carefree party scene that I was usually engulfed in with my buddies. Perhaps I could commit to being a family man for the rest of my life.

But then I started freaking out a bit…