Thank you for all your reviews on the last chapter! It only took me a day to write this chapter, but I don't think that it's going to stick, so I thank you again for continuing to be patient with me. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy chapter 29!
ERIN
"Are you just going to stare at me?" Nina snaps over at me as my eyes scan her tiny body clad only in a t-shirt, a few small holes doting the hem. This is so strange. I'm looking at myself, her voice even carries the same rasp that mine does. It is incredible.
"Sorry," I say pulling myself out of my trance. "My name is Erin Lindsay, I'm your new social worker,"
"Thank you for coming so quickly," Mrs. Westfall tells me, her soft voice slicing through the tension. "Why don't you sit down Ms. Lindsay,"
"Erin please," I say, taking the empty chair in front of her desk, right next to Nina.
"Then call me Laura," She replies with a shiny white smile.
"Yes and I'm Nina can we get this over with please?" She says sarcastically, further conjuring up an image of my teenage self.
"Let me get you caught up to speed," Laura tells me, ignoring Nina's sentiments.
"Of course," I say, taking out the thin file that I have on Nina and a blank legal pad.
"Nina would you like to step out for this?" Laura asks her.
"I lived through it," She says sassily, "I'm going to be embarrassed hearing you talk about it,"
"Okay then," She says, flipping open quite a large file. "We have had a very long history of behavioral problems with Nina, fighting, being disrespectful to teachers, she skips more classes than she attends, the list goes on,"
"Why was I called?" I ask. "I'm sorry I got a very limited email only about an hour ago,"
"That's okay," She replies. Laura seems like a woman who would never get mad. I don't get that, I admire it, but I don't know how she does it. "Last night Nina's mother, Jamie Williamson was taken into custody for distribution of a controlled substance," I take mental note of the name, giving myself a quick reminder to ask Hank about it later.
"Meth," Nina fills in. "She's a meth dealer," Damn. That's four years minimum if she's convicted and Nina will be at least 19 when she gets out. I've begun making a list in my head, Nina's a fifteen year old with behavioral issues. It's hard enough to place a teenager, let alone with what's she been though, it's going to be a hard sell. But I just have to remember, she's me. She just needs someone to believe in her, like Hank believed in me.
"What in the hell are we doing here?" Nina yells as we pull up to the 21st District. I'm really hoping that Hank's not here, that he's home with Mom, but I happen to know that there's a certain desk sergeant who may or may not adore me.
"I'm just running an errand don't worry," I say, "But you're coming in,"
"Like hell am I," She says with a scoff.
"You think I trust you to sit in my car and not book it out of here? No. Let's go,"
"Fine," She says with a groan and a roll of the eyes so dramatic it looks like her eyes might get stuck back there. I have to try really hard not to do the same as the two of us walk up the concrete steps of the district. I have to hold back a smile, realizing that I did the exact same thing with Hank tailing my ass.
"Erin!" Trudy calls from behind the desk. "Your dad's not here,"
"I know," I say, a sense of relief falling over me. "Sit down," I order, turning around to face Nina. She rolls her eyes at me once again before plopping herself down on one of the infamously uncomfortable chairs in the lobby, her backpack slumping down on the floor next to her.
"What's with the stray?" Trudy asks once I'm close enough to whisper.
"Work," I tell her with small smile. "And that's also why I'm here, I need a favor,"
"What's up?"
"Can you run on search for me?"
"On who?" She asks, putting her glasses on her nose and looking down towards her computer.
"Jamie Williamson," I say quietly, glancing back to make sure that Nina's not paying attention. "Meth dealing, should have come in last night,"
"Yeah I got it," She says, not taking her eyes off the screen as she scrolls through the record.
"Can you tell me how much?"
"Tell me why you care," She combats.
"The kid's mom," I say gesturing back towards her.
"Oh that's rough," She tells me. "She has 60 grams on her,"
"Damn it," I say, knowing that she'll be put away until Nina's 21st birthday. "How good is your case?"
"Watertight," She replies. "And she's got a public defender so there's no way she's getting out of this,"
"Okay," I say with a sigh. "Thanks,"
"Anytime kiddo, glad to have you back in the city," She says, reaching across the counter and giving me a maternal squeeze on the shoulder. "Say hi to your mom for me. I know it's been rough,"
"I will," I tell her, "Thanks." She nods, giving me a solemn smile as I turn back to face Nina.
"Are we done here?" She asks, the annoyance clear in her voice.
"Yes," I tell her with an eye roll.
"Where are we going now?" She asks, sulking behind me and reminding me of an overtired toddler.
"My office," I tell her, my patience with her attitude running thin, "I have to find a place to put you,"
"Okay," I say with a sigh, crossing another group home off my list. "Thank you for your time," Another group home and another no. I knew that this was going to be a long shot, these houses are almost always full and as I suspected, no one wants to take the 15 year old daughter of convicted drug dealer. Not that they know her mother's past, but it's often the assumption in cases like these. And I don't blame them, most parents want to have anything remotely related to drugs anywhere near their homes, especially if they have other kids.
"Another no?" Nina asks, scrunched up on the tiny couch under the window in my office. As she's been sitting here, I hesitate to say bonded, but we've been getting along better than I thought we would. When she's not snapping at you or being incredibly bitter, she's fun to talk to, a sharp tongue with a dry sense of humor, reminding me a little of Leslie.
"How'd you guess?" I say, refraining from slamming the phone back onto the register. The time is ticking towards 6 PM and I know that I'm running out of time and I'm even quicker running out of options.
"Just lucky," She says, getting up as wandering around my tiny blue office. "Who the hell is that?" She asks, pointing to a frame sitting on the windowsill of me and Jay, probably taken by Atwater on the shores of the Potomac River. It was taken before everything happened, but I never took it down.
"That's my boyfriend," I tell her, knowing exactly what's coming next.
"Oh my God you're her," She says, disbelief in her words.
"Yeah," I say, disappointed that she figured it out so quick. The majority of my kids are so much younger than her, they don't who he is. But I know that this will change things. She scoffs and shakes her head laughing.
"What?" I ask.
"I don't want to be your charity case," She tells me.
"What are you talking about?" I ask her. That's not the reaction I was expecting.
"You're her. You are the girlfriend of the son of arguably the most powerful person in the world. Yet you're here with me. What do you do this job to make you feel good about yourself? Because you feel bad for us?"
"No," I tell her, ready to throw my hands in the air. I really thought that I was making progress with her, but I guess no. "And you have no idea who I am or why I'm here,"
"Then why don't you tell me," She says with a scoff. "Prove it to me that you're not sitting there in your fancy little office chair and judging the hell out of me and my mom."
"You really want to do this?" I tell her, crossing my legs and staring her down.
"Uh huh," She replies, not breaking her stare.
"Okay then," I respond, ready to begin. "I wasn't even born Erin Lindsay. I had to change it because I was outrunning an old boyfriend who wanted to kill me. I met him because he was my dealer who I met through my mom, who's been addicted to drugs my entire life. I don't know who my father is and I have a baby brother named Teddy. I haven't seen him in eight years and I don't know where he is. I'm not a blue blood and I don't even know why Jay chose me. I am just like you and somebody decided to roll the dice on me and help me get out. That's why I am here, to help you get out. Now are you ready to apologize to me?"
"Sorry," She says softly, her cheeks flushing a deep red.
"I know you are," I tell her, more than willing to move past it, knowing that I've earned her respect."Now let's figure this out okay?
"Okay," She replies quietly. And with that, we put the conversation to sleep and we move on.
"I just don't know who else to call," I say, the frustration reminding me of my first week on the job with that little boy, Tate. But I got a happy ending there, finally. But with Nina, I've hit a dead end.
"It's okay," She replies with a sigh, "I'm used to being left behind." She's not looking for pity, that pain in her eyes, it's real and all to familiar. So right then and there, is when I make a decision.
"Grab your stuff," I say with a sigh, not knowing yet if I'm going to regret this. Nina is like a ticking time bomb, I never know when she's going to go off and how big the explosion is going to be. That scares me.
"What why?" She asks.
"You're coming home with me."
JAY
"Hey babe," I say as I twist the lock in the key, pushing open her front door, a motion I've become familiar with. As the small apartment falls into my view, I'm surprised to spot a skinny teenager on my girlfriends couch. "You're not Erin,"
"No," She says with a smirk. "And you're Jay Halstead,"
"Yeah," I say with an uncomfortable laugh. "And who are you?"
"Oh crap!" Erin mutters as she walks out from the bedroom. "Sorry, I was going to text you, I totally forgot,"
"It's okay," I tell her, pressing a kiss to her cheek, keeping my wide eyes on the girl the entire time. "You seem like you have a lot going on over here,"
"Yeah," She says breathlessly. "This is Nina, she's my newest case," Nina waves over at me with a sassy smile.
"Can we talk for a minute?" I ask her. "In private,"
"'Yeah," She replies, grabbing my bicep and pulling me into her bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind me.
"Explain please?" I ask, safely out of Nina's earshot. "Why is there a teenager on your couch?"
"She didn't have anywhere else to go. I tried everywhere and there just wasn't a place to put her. So I took her."
"Babe," I say with a shake of my head, "I love how dedicated you are and how much you care for these kids, but you don't always have to bring your work home with you. Think about it, how many other social workers do this?"
"Other social workers don't have my past," She points out. "They just need someone to give them a chance. So I'm giving them a chance."
"Er-" I start.
"She reminds me of me." She interjects. "And I couldn't just leave her. Besides, it's only temporary,"
"What does that mean?" I ask her.
"Honestly," She replies, "I don't know."
I know the ending is a little odd and if I'm being honest I didn't really edit this for grammar, so forgive any mistakes. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed and please review!
-Addie
