Thank you so much for being patient with me and I'm so so so so sorry I haven't updated in so long. One toddler and a baby barely ever leaves time to type and on top of it all any of my spare time has gone into getting our car running again. Replace one thing and another problem takes its place -_-. I found some time to come up with this though and hopefully I'll be able to update more often. Thank you so much for all of your reviews. I absolutely love seeing them. I won't keep you waiting any longer!
Disclaimer: I don't own any VA characters!
Sleep never came after they dropped me at the overnight house I was to sleep in. The old lady they left me with locked me in my room as if I'd try and still any of her precious frog paintings. As if that wasn't bad enough, the bed smelled like moth balls and practically everything in the room was a bright pink that made my head hurt. No…sleep was impossible. Instead all I could think about was my mother and the new stranger getting ready to snatch me up like a stray kitten. Was she really that great that my own mother would leave me for her? As if she could really be called a mother.
"Why can't you pull your shit together?!" I snap angrily. "ANOTHER dead beat. ANOTHER fucking thief."
"Oh, little miss perfect thinks she can do so much better." Mom sneers at me drunkenly.
"I don't care if I can do it better or not! I want you to be a mother…my mother!"
"WELL I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR MOTHER!"
The sounds of small children playing with a set of trucks draws me out of my tired reverie. Bright and muted could only describe this new destination. The room's floor seemed to be one brightly colored puzzle mat. Toys of all sorts laid scattered over the floor and inspirational posters littered the walls as if a teenage Bieber fan decorated them. Yet the room is oddly quiet. It's as if the children know that this is the last stop before we're spit back into a different hell. Wrinkling my nose, I rub my eyes tiredly.
"Rosemarie?" A feminine voice inquires cautiously.
Looking up I don't reply. Instead I drink in the sight of two woman standing side by side in front of me. One seems to be my case worker Mrs. Bernie. The short fat woman could be compared to a bull dog with those droopy cheeks and broad shoulders. Her facial expression bordered on angry it was so stern and it didn't help that her extremely tight bun seemed to hold it that way. Looking to her right I feel almost taken aback when I meet the complete opposite. The second woman was of rather average height and her stature seemed nervous. Her long brown hair with graying streaks is pulled into a simple braid. Her stare though…was warm chocolate. Blinking I force myself not to react as I try to ignore that her eyes held a very warm expression and her beautiful face was overcome by nervousness and heartwarming concern.
"Well, are you going to answer her?" Mrs. Bernie's croaky voice dumps cold water on me and I shrug.
"It's Rose." I state simply.
"How rude!" She snaps. "This is Miss Belikov. She's gracious enough to be providing you a home. Show some respect!"
The second woman waves her off with a small throat noise and smiles gently at me. I try not to squirm at her accepting reaction as a stone settles in my stomach at confirmation that this is the woman who I was to go home with.
"It's nice to finally meet you Rose. My name is Olena, I'm an old friend of your mother's." She says with a thick Russian accent.
"I wasn't aware Janine had friends." I retort. Her face falls a little but picks back up into a bright and gentle disposition.
"It's been a long time." She explains. "I've been cleared to take you home and all the paperwork has been signed. We'll leave for home as soon as we get your things."
"I have my things." I tell her dully as I hold up the trash bag I was given to hold my belongings.
She says nothing and I watch as disapproval plays across her face. Waiting for her to make a condescending retort towards my obvious lack of fancy luggage, I can't hide the shock that crosses my face when she turns on Mrs. Bernie.
"You gave this poor girl a trash bag for her things." She chastises with a rather irate look on her face. "Hasn't she been through enough without you treating her like she's less than a human being?"
Mrs. Bernie sputters in obvious disbelief that she's been called out on something. Turning red with anger Olena turns away from her and picks up my trash bag. Helping me stand she guides me away by the small of my back.
"Come Rose, let's take you home." She huffs.
Leading me through the building I try not to shrug off her guiding hand from my back. The look on that fat crows face was worth it. Stopping right before the door she calls out to someone and the smirk on my face washes away at who walks up to us.
Tall, built, and gorgeous. Stomach clenching, I watch as an extremely tall man meets us at the door. Murmuring in Russian the man looks from Olena to me before looking away displeased. A frown takes over my face and I look away. I don't know who he thinks he is but, gorgeous or not, he's already made it into my book of fuck off. We start to walk again and head outside. The icy wind blasts against me making my eyes water and my skin freeze beneath my thin sweater and hoodie. The pair lead me to a parked Tahoe off to the side of the building and Olena ushers me into the back seat before closing the door.
"I know the car is a little cold but it will warm up fast." She breathes out, turning in her seat to smile at me. "Are you hungry? We have a little bit of a drive ahead of us and your case worker said you refused to eat this morning."
Staring at her I shake my head before looking out of the window. She quietly turns back to face the front and a growl sounds before a quick hush. Yeah big man…hush. I keep quiet and look up to meet dark chocolate eyes in the review mirror scowling at me. Raising an eyebrow at him I quickly return the look before he moves his gaze back to the road.
"Don't be so serious sweet heart. Uncle Tommy just wants to play a little game."
Fear runs through me and I back away shaking my head. I don't like his games. They're not fun and the black on his teeth makes me nauseous. Clutching Eeyore to my chest tightly I try not to let myself fall into his grasp.
"It'll be fun little Rosie. Come play a game with Uncle Tommy." He tries to persuade me.
"I don't want to play. I'm tired." I chime out shakily.
A dark look steals over his face and my heart plummets. Standing up from his run-down recliner he stalks towards me. Stumbling back, I trip over my sneakers and feel betrayal run through me aimed at the pink tennis shoes I wanted so bad for my birthday. Rough hands grab my arm tightly and I almost drop Eeyore. Shrieking I kick out and thrash as he starts to drag me towards the hallway closet.
"NO UNCLE TOMMY! NO! NOOOOO!" I cry out as tears start to run down my face.
"You don't want to play with me then you can sit in time out until you do." He growls as he opens the worn wooden door.
Throwing me inside the dirty closet I quickly try and keep it from closing but it's too late. The door slams shut and darkness surrounds me. Heart beating against my ribs I try opening the door but the knob doesn't budge. Something brushes against my shoulder and raw fear and panic encompass me. Throwing myself forward I bang at the door with tears running down my face.
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! MOMMMMMMMYYYYYY HELP ME! LET ME OUT! MOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYY!"
Shaking brings me out of my nightmare and my eyes snap open. Jerking reflexively, I sit up and try not to puke as the smell of Jim Bean and cheap cigars linger from my dream.
"Rose we're here."
Looking up I meet Olena's concerned gaze from the front seat. Taking a deep breath, I shove away the leftover images flitting around in my head and nod wearily. Patting my knee reassuringly she gets out of the car before helping me out. Trying not to frown at being treated like a toddler I stop and stare at the house in front of me.
"I know it's not the best but it's got good bones and fits all of us comfortably." She explains proudly.
The house is two stories high and made of brick with peeling shutters around the chimney. The fence surrounding the yard has some broken slats and the paint is peeling, leaving behind green and gray tinted wood. The lattice on the front porch is broken and it looks like the wood needs to be sanded. The yard is covered in ice but littering the place seem to be run down toys and a broken bird bath. The only nice thing was the snow falling around us. Tilting my head back I ignore the cold and enjoy the flakes falling on my face as I hold the tears of the last 48 hours behind my eyelids.
"Where are you?"
I really hope you guys like this chapter! Please don't forget to take two seconds to just leave me a review. Anything helps and I practically live off of your feedback to keep trying to write and finish this story instead of giving into just watching my son run back and forth from the kitchen to the living room and giving it up altogether. I pinky promise to have another chapter up soon and by soon, I mean in the next day or so and not a couple of months!