Jude was at home with Booker when Conor returned home from picking Emmalyn up from Brandon and Lou's. Booker had met both Jude and Conor already, but he hadn't met Emmalyn. And she hadn't met him yet either.
Conor opened the door, letting Emmalyn walk in the front door ahead of him.
"Papa!" Emmalyn exclaimed as she ran over and hugged Jude, who was sitting on the couch. Booker was sitting next to him.
"Hey Princess." Jude greeted as he pulled his daughter onto his lap, "There's someone I want you to meet. Emmy, this is Booker."
Emmalyn glanced at the boy who was just a few years older than her, "Hi Booker."
Booker looked sad and sullen, but he forced a smile and waved, "Hi Emmy." He thought Jude and Conor were really nice, but he missed his mom and his brothers and sisters.
"Are you sad, Booker?" Emmalyn asked
Booker nodded.
Emmalyn reached for his hand, "I'm sad too. I miss my friend Janie. She stayed with us for a while, but she had to live with her brother."
"I miss my mom. My brothers and sisters too." Booker admitted.
"I can be your sister now. Wanna try?"
Booker smiled, "Okay. Sure."
Meanwhile with Scottlynn. She left Hallianna's party, opting to walk home, heading to Kailani's apartment to talk with her. Scottlynn needed advice and someone to confide in. Arriving at Kailani's apartment, Scottlynn knocked on the door. Kailani knew that Scottlynn was coming, so a reply of 'come in' was heard.
Scottlynn opened the front door and stepping inside the apartment, she was greeted by Nakoa running up and hugging her legs tightly.
"Auntie! Auntie!"
"Hey little man." Scottlynn greeted as she picked up Nakoa, walking into the kitchen where Kailani is cooking dinner. "Sorry for asking to come over last minute like this."
Kailani wiped her hands on her apron and then hugged Scottlynn, briefly. "Nonsense. It's fine. Koa's been asking for you anyways. Every day he wakes up and says 'Auntie come?'."
Scottlynn smiled, cuddling Nakoa close to her, "Aww...I love you too, Koa."
"Love Auntie." Nakoa echoed, his arms wrapped tightly around Scottlynn's neck.
"So Lynn, what did you want to talk to me about?" Kailani questioned, returning to the pot on the stove.
Scottlynn attempted to put Nakoa down, telling him to go play, but he just clung on tighter to his Auntie.
"I...I'm pregnant." Scottlynn admitted to Kailani, "I'm happy about it. I...I actually planned it, but now I don't know how to tell my foster parents. They're trying to hide it, but I know that they are pretty disappointed that I don't want to be adopted."
Kailani stared at the teen questioningly, "Why don't you want to be adopted?"
"I'm almost seventeen and I'm having a baby. I don't need to be adopted."
"I grew up only having my aunt as my mother. I would've anything to have a big family. You have the chance to have one and you're just gonna through it away?"
Scottlynn shrugged, "I guess so."
"What about your sister?"
Scottlynn took a breath, letting out a sigh, "She told me a couple months ago that she was getting adopted...with or without me."
"I think you should talk to your parents. You may not see them as such, but from what you said they obviously see you as their daughter. They love and care about you. They would want to know about your baby. They'll find out eventually anyways."
"Not necessarily." Scottlynn admitted, "Once my sister gets adopted I'll most likely be moved. If her adoption is before I start showing, they'll never know."
Kailani cocked her head to the side, "And is that truly what you want?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Scottlynn wondered, "My sister's happy, safe and loved. It's everything I've ever wanted for her."
"But not for yourself?"
Scottlynn shook her head, "I gave up on that at seven years old. I didn't think it would ever happen for me."
"And when it did, you got scared. That's why you don't want to be adopted. You're of losing everything again."
"My parents died when I was three and since then I've abused, bouncing from foster home to foster home. I never stayed anywhere long enough to build any lasting relationships. One foster home we didn't even stay long enough for our social worker to be able to drive away from the house. Now we've been with Callie and AJ for almost a year and they're nice and loving, but every since we've landed with them I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even after they asked us if they could adopt us. I'm still waiting for that shoe to drop...for them to change their minds, because if I learned one thing in foster care it's that nothing is ever permanent. Anything good could all be taken away from you just like that." Scottlynn explained as she snapped her fingers on 'that'.
Kailani nodded, "I understand being scared. Everyone gets scared of lots of things, for lots of different reasons, but that doesn't mean you get to stop living. It's scary to open up after you've been hurt, but the first step is talking about it. Talk about what is bothering you with your parents, just like you did with me."
"You're so easy to talk to." Scottlynn replied, "Thanks for the advice and for letting me talk and vent."
"It's no problem. I love you, Lynn."
Scottlynn smiled genuinely, "I love you too, Kai." She set Nakoa down in the living room by his legos, telling him to play before giving him a kiss on the head and promising him that she'll come back and visit again soon. Then she left, walking out the front door, letting herself out the same way she had let herself in.
Hope you enjoy. Comments are greatly appreciated.
What would you like to see happen next?
