Author's Notes: I don't know if I should apologize or just feel happy about this. Normally I wouldn't write a single chapter this long, but every plot beat fit the title of the chapter, so I didn't separate anything out. Thank you for reading, and hope everyone enjoys this chapter of "Abdoption" :)
Chapter 15
Make Yourself at Home
Ace took the bus back to Townsville Hospital. It was almost 3:00 PM, and a somewhat rainy day. There were a lot of rainy days lately, and that served Ace's plans just fine. At the very least, it made the trench coat he was wearing more bearable.
B.W. said Marny could stay at her house, and even gave Ace the address the previous night. Ace knew timing would be important however, for multiple reasons. One, the hospital staff would be swamped during work hours due to all the workplace accidents. Two, he needed to wait until B.W. was home from school so she would be there to take Marny in.
When Ace walked to the nurse's office she remembered him as Dan Bellows. He was glad she did, because he already forgot the fake name he used.
"I'm here to see my daughter," Ace smoothly lied.
"Right upstairs," The nurse replied dutifully, "Perhaps you should stay the night with her this time. She should be free to leave tomorrow. The antibiotics have been working quite well, and her recovery is all but assured. Just stay away from loan sharks from now on, Mr. Bellows."
"Loan sharks?" Ace asked, but then remembered his lie and said, "Oh, yeah. Of course. I never want anythin' to happen to my little girl ever again."
With those words Ace left for the elevator to enact his plan. Part of him considered just letting the kid stay the full time she needed. If he did that however, he would get stuck with the bill. This way, he and the fictional name he came up with for Marny would disappear like a trail of smoke.
When he entered the room, Marny was wide awake and looking at some birds flying by the window.
"Hey, kiddo," Ace greeted her with a toothy grin, "Today's the day. Jailbreak time."
Marny got down from the bed and tried to walk to Ace, but she was stopped by the IV stuck in her arm.
"Ah!" Marny's raspy voice yelped.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't move, ya twerp," Ace admonished, "Just let me…there."
Ace removed the needle with a gentle swiftness that Marny didn't know he was capable of.
"That didn't hurt, did it?" Ace asked rhetorically, "On second thought, don't answer that. I don't care. Now it's time for phase two, and I don't wanna hear you complain."
Ace then unbuttoned his coat to reveal the overly large pocket sewn into the lining. Marny quirked an eyebrow, not quite believing what she was seeing, but she could tell that Ace was serious.
Sighing in resignation, she climbed into the pocket and allowed Ace to button up the coat. She immediately regretted it, as the coat trapped his hobo stink inside with her, but she knew making a fuss would mean remaining a sitting duck for her grandpa to find. Ugh, the things she did for freedom…
Ace tried to walk casually, but it wasn't easy with an extra 55 pounds of weight forcing him to lean to the right. He even accidentally bumped into a tray of cotton balls, but he just shrugged it off as a slippery floor. He even remembered to compliment the staff on their cleanliness to sell the lie.
After ten agonizing minutes, Ace managed to make it down to the lobby. He knew the nurse would recognize him as he left, and didn't know how to sneak out of there. Fortunately, his timing was perfect, because a patient in a wheelchair was making his way outside. Ace bent down, held the part of the coat with Marny inside, and walked in step with the wheelchair so he could sneak out without attracting attention from the nurse.
When the patient was outside, Ace stretched up and ran away, much to the confusion of the patient he used as his getaway disguise.
Once they were a block away, Ace opened the coat and Marny loudly gasped for air.
"Eh, don't be so dramatic," Ace said dismissively, "Listen, I don't feel like walkin' three blocks to the bus stop with you as my personal sandbag. Get out!"
Marny was more than happy to oblige, and stumbled her way out of the trench coat; her gown's strings getting tangled around her legs. Marny struggled to right herself in her messy gown, and was embarrassed that the back didn't close all the way. Ace, seeing her predicament, did nothing and just waited for her to fix it herself. Finally, after an awkward few seconds, Marny managed to untangle the strings and fix her glorified bib.
"You done yet?" Ace asked nonchalantly.
Marny just frowned and nodded, trying to maintain what little dignity she had left.
"Good. Now, take my hand. We're goin' to Auntie B.W.'s house," Ace said with mock sweetness.
Marny did as she was told, and Ace struggled to keep himself upright when Marny's height was so much shorter than his. It was like trying to hold hands with Lil Arturo; uncomfortable for everyone involved.
"You know, bustin' you outta that hospital was a lotta fun," Ace made conversation as they walked, "I should've gone into kidnappin' full time. It's like the rush of a five-finger discount times ten! That's like forty fingers!"
Marny just looked up at him in bemusement, silently judging him.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Ace shrugged, "After all, last time we didn't get no payday, and The Powerpuff Girls broke our roof."
Marny just shook her head and wondered how any grown up could turn out as utterly tweaked in the brain as this guy.
The bus ride was quiet and felt longer than it should have. Ace kept checking the address to make sure he knew where he was going. 1123 Picklesworth Lane. Ace didn't like this. That house was in the suburbs, and a guy like him would stick out like a sore thumb. He would have to get into the house quickly, and hope no one was suspicious.
Marny didn't really look at Ace during the ride. She kept her eyes focused on the floor and her hands wrapped around herself. Part of it was to make sure her gown didn't flip forward, but mostly she was just nervous about what was going to happen next. Was she going to join the Gangreen Gang? Was she going to work as a maid like B.W.? Was she going to be a pet again like with Big Billy? None of the options were good exactly, but Marny wouldn't complain if it meant no more danger from her grandpa. She just wanted to know for sure so she could prepare for whatever life she was going to have.
When Ace and Marny got off the bus Ace informed her that it would be a six block walk to get to Picklesworth Lane. The walk felt long to Marny because she was still recovering from her infection, and she found she had trouble keeping up with Ace, who for some reason seemed to be in a hurry.
When they made it to the correct house, Marny was pleasantly surprised to see it looked mostly normal. It was a powder blue house with two floors, a small front yard, and a plastic basketball hoop in the driveway. Nothing looked especially noteworthy, but nothing seemed wrong either. Then again, her grandparents had a normal looking house. That didn't mean anything.
"Alright then…let's go say hi," Ace panted, out of breath from speed-walking all the way there, "Let's see…yep. Just as I suspected. They keep the key under the mat. You'd be surprised how many families in Townsville do that. If you ever get a house, don't keep it there. Makes it too easy for burglars."
With those words Ace unlocked the door and let himself in, Marny following closely behind him.
Ace immediately went to the couch in the living room and sat down, but Marny couldn't help but just stand there and look around. She didn't want to walk too far inside. She was afraid she would smudge the carpet or break something, and that might get her in trouble, especially with a maid's family.
Ace kicked off his shoes and grabbed a handful of cashews off the table. Marny didn't understand how he could just sit there and make himself at home when he had never been here before. He didn't even know B.W. that well.
"Mm, hey, these are the good kind," Ace commented before putting his shoes back on, "Hey, nice place ya got here, sweet cheeks!"
Marny couldn't believe Ace would just holler up the stairs at B.W. like that. Was he trying to make B.W. mad?
"Huh? Who's there?" An unfamiliar feminine voice asked.
Marny could see it before Ace did, and she quickly ran over to him to hide. There was a blonde woman running down the stairs, definitely not the red-headed B.W.
"Who's there?" She asked again, and then turned to see Ace standing up, "AAAAHH!"
"Uh, hey," Ace smiled as charmingly as he could manage.
"How did you…? I mean…?" The young woman stammered, "Listen, take whatever you want. Just don't hurt me, okay?"
"Hey! I ain't here to- Wait, anything?" Ace asked, suddenly interested, "Uh…yeah. Dat sounds fair. I'm gonna need a bag."
Marny facepalmed. How was Ace this stupid? He was just going to get them into trouble when he didn't have to.
"Okay, okay. A bag. Fine," The teenage girl said shakily, "Just…remain calm. No reason to use force, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Calm," Ace grinned in amusement, "Dat's you alright."
The blonde girl quickly found a grocery bag and handed it to Ace. Her hands were shaking, and she never took her eyes off the green gangster. It was clear she knew his reputation in Townsville and was acting accordingly.
"You got more than one?" Ace asked, "The kid can help me out here."
"Kid?"
The blonde girl looked down near Ace's feet and saw Marny, a nervous little girl who looked like she was trying to disappear through the floor in embarrassment.
"I heard you gang banger types use kids for illegal activity," The girl remarked, almost ready to cry, "I…I'll get another bag. Just…just stay calm, okay?"
Ace snorted laughter, unable to handle how serious this girl was about the situation. He was sure he had the wrong house, but he didn't mind. Making an ill-gotten profit off his good deed felt like the sort of thing to balance out the scales and make him a bad guy again. Made more sense than this hero crap.
Ace took some figurines off the mantle, a few handfuls of silverware out of the kitchen, and a can of beer out of the fridge. Marny just grabbed whatever DVDs and books she could reach off the shelves. The blonde girl watched the scene with worry and fear, which only intensified when Ace, rather than leave after his theft, sat back down on the couch and turned on the TV.
"What are you doing?" The girl practically squeaked.
"I'm watchin' wrestlin'," Ace replied as if it were no big deal, "Wanna watch with me? You can sit right here."
He gestured to his lap rather than the extra space on the couch, and the girl made an involuntary face of disgust.
"Fine. Yer loss," Ace shrugged nonchalantly, "Hey kid, you wanna watch wrestlin'?"
Marny sat down next to Ace, and their hapless victim didn't quite know what to do now that the thieves weren't leaving.
"Hey!" The girl yelled.
"Shh!" Ace hissed sharply.
"Listen you, if you don't get out of here right this instant, I'm calling the police!"
"Fine," Ace snorted, "It'll take them 20 minutes minimum to get here. I'll be long gone by then."
Marny, realizing police meant her grandpa, hit Ace on the arm and pouted her lips angrily.
"What?" Ace yelped uncomprehendingly, "Okay, fine. No cops. I'll go."
"Um, excuse me, sir?" The girl wheedled, "What about your child?"
"Her? That's your problem."
"No!" The girl protested, "You can't…you can't just leave a- an innocent child here all alone! Is this even your kid?"
"No," Ace replied easily.
"Then how did you…? What is going on?" The young woman demanded.
"Bethany? Is everything okay down there?" Another feminine voice asked from upstairs.
"Brittney Jay! Don't come down here!" Bethany screamed in a panic, "There's nothing going on! Just…just go back to whatever you were doing!"
"Um, weren't you supposed to be streaming?" Brittney Jay asked, "What are you doing downstairs?"
Before even finishing her sentence the new girl walked downstairs, just in time to see Bethany, Ace, and Marny. Bethany looked red-faced and panicked, while Ace and Marny just stood there like a pair of statues.
"Uh, who's the green guy?" Brittney Jay asked snidely, "Please tell me he's not one of your boyfriends."
"Eww! No way!" Bethany cringed, much to Ace's annoyance, "He's a thug. He and this little girl are here to rob our house."
"Really? Shouldn't you go next door? They have way better stuff," Brittney Jay suggested, "Though if you have to steal something could it please be the deoderant?"
"Okay sweetheart, you might wanna back that up a bit," Ace warned her, "I didn't come here to bust up any faces, but yer makin' yerself a temptin' target…"
"Yeah? Well you look like a previous target," Brittney Jay retorted.
"Brittney! Shush!" Bethany shouted nervously, "Please apologize before you get us killed."
"Apologize to the guy robbing us?" Brittney Jay asked incredulously, "Are you joking? He doesn't even have a gun!"
"I got a knife," Ace informed her.
"Brittney Jay!" Bethany yelled, "This is a member of a notorious gang here in Townsville. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like getting killed over a few trinkets. So please, stop insulting the crazy guy with the knife and his child henchman. Can you do that, Brittney Jay? Just this once?"
Brittney Jay scowled childishly, but she muttered a quiet "I'm sorry" to Ace, just to keep the peace. Ace however, just couldn't let go of the feeling of power he had at the moment.
"There. That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Ace grinned patronizingly, "So, you wanna be a good girl and get me another beer?"
Brittney Jay looked like her eyes were about to bug out from how angry she was. Marny hid her face in her hands, knowing that Ace was likely provoking a fight. Why were grown ups so stupid?
"You…you…!" Brittney Jay fumed.
Before she could finish her thought however, the front door opened. Ace turned around to see that B.W. was home, and looked like she had been in a bar room brawl. Her arms were covered in bruises, and blood dripped from her mouth. The other two girls, upon seeing her, gasped in horror.
"B.W.!" Brittney Jay screamed as she ran to her sister, "What happened? Are the rest of the gangsters outside?"
"Huh?" B.W. asked obliviously, "Uh, no. Um, could you take my bag of cleaning supplies please? I gotta go to the bathroom."
"Where have you been?" Ace asked caustically, "I've been waitin' here for you."
"For her?" Brittney Jay asked in shock, "Bethany said you were a burglar!"
"Uh…I was at work," B.W. replied to Ace, "You was supposed to wait for me at the hospital. Why did you leave?"
"I had yer address. What else did I need?"
"A phone, from what I can see," B.W. countered, "Um, Bethany? Could you heat up something for Ace and Marny to eat? I gotta re-bandage my bloody spots."
"Hold it!" Bethany shouted as she blocked the stairs, "You invited a criminal to our house? Why would you do that? What could he have possibly told you to gain your trust?"
"He stole a coffee maker and busted Marny out of a hospital," B.W. answered without context.
B.W. then went upstairs, and the other two girls just stared at each other.
"Is it just me, or did that make less sense than usual?" Brittney Jay asked, but Bethany just walked away, "Wait! Where are you going?"
"To heat up some frozen dinners for our guests," Bethany replied, surprisingly stoic given her previous behavior, "I don't know what B.W. has gotten herself into, but I have a feeling she's going to need our help to pull herself out of it."
Ace couldn't help but chuckle as he pulled up a folding chair at their kitchen table.
"You talk like this sort of thing happens a lot to her," Ace laughed.
"She is the younger sister among the three of us," Bethany explained, "As such, she often needs our guidance regarding certain…shadier aspects of life."
"I don't know what your angle is with her," Brittney Jay added, "But we won't let you get away with hurting our sister."
Marny pulled on Bethany's pleat skirt, and the blonde girl looked down to see Marny handing her a note. When she looked over it, the note read: Wer is Brian?
"You know our little brother?" Bethany asked, and Marny nodded, "Well, he's at a sleepover, thank goodness. At least if we're all murdered tonight he'll be spared."
"I think B.W. can handle a skinny thug with a knife," Brittney Jay harrumphed.
"She clearly doesn't want to handle him," Bethany pointed out, "This is obviously some sort of dating scam. You know she has a type."
"B.W. likes bad boys, huh?" Ace smirked as he slicked back his hair.
"No. She likes boys who look like aliens," Bethany corrected him.
Ace pulled down his sunglasses and glared at the girls, and Brittney Jay stuck her tongue out at him.
"Well then, if you aren't trying to rip B.W. off or make a move on her, then what are you doing here?" Bethany asked point blank.
"She said I could hide the kid here," Ace told them.
"Hide the kid?" Bethany repeated incredulously.
"Is this a foster care scam?" Brittney Jay asked accusingly.
"Pfft, I wish," Ace scoffed, "Marny's grandpa roughs her up pretty good. Kid has more scars than Al Capone, and stories she can't tell. If she goes back, he'll kill her."
Marny gulped, knowing this was true but still feeling terror from hearing it spoken aloud.
"If he's actually abusing this girl, then wouldn't the state remove her?" Bethany asked, "That's what happened to me."
"Can't," Ace shot it down, "He's a cop. He's got friends in high places, and she don't. Simple as that."
The two teens' faces softened at that statement. Bethany looked down at Marny, and noticed the kid was staring at her with hardened eyes…eyes that had seen too much already.
"Is this true? What this man is saying about your grandpa?" Bethany asked to make sure.
Marny nodded resolutely.
"The other thing keepin' her from tellin' her story is her voice, or lack thereof," Ace added, "She's mute."
"Oh," Bethany nodded sagely, "That explains everything."
"Explains what?" Brittney Jay asked.
"Billy," Bethany whispered, "B.W. is so invested in this because of Billy."
"Billy?" Ace asked, "Big Billy? Why would that matter?"
"No. Billy is the name of B.W.'s twin brother," Bethany explained, "He didn't learn to speak until he was 7 years old, and she often had to speak for him in our group home. He was…special. Poor kid didn't have a mean bone in his body, and B.W. had anger issues for a long time because of losing him. All three of us spent a lot of time in therapy after leaving the group home, and it took a lot of work to think of ourselves as a family."
"Yeah, you try having a sister with the same first name," Brittney Jay interjected.
"Her name is also Brittney?" Ace inquired, "Hahahaha! Why would your parents adopt two kids with the same name?"
"Don't ask me," Brittney Jay pouted, "But yeah. Our middle names are our former surnames. Poor Bethany got stuck being Bethany Grimwald McArthur. Hah!"
"Hahaha, that is stupid!" Ace laughed along with her.
"Whatever," Bethany sighed sharply, "Do you two want fried chicken or Salisbury steak?"
"Either one's fine," Ace replied, "So, you'll help us hide the kid?"
"Well…" Brittney Jay hesitated, "I don't really know how long that can last. What even is your plan, by the way?"
"Eh, we'll figure somethin' out," Ace replied coolly, "The important thing is we got her away from the old buzzard."
As Marny sat down, she couldn't help but smile. While Ace's tactics weren't conventional, she could tell he was winning them over. If more grown ups joined in on this plan, whatever it was, then Marny was sure she would someday be truly free of the fear that kept her stomach in knots and her mind constantly paranoid. Soon she might even have a real place to call home, or at least a job where she could be useful.
B.W. stood in front of the bathroom mirror dabbing a cotton ball soaked in alcohol across her face. She opened her mouth to examine her teeth. The front one was loose, and still leaking blood. She touched the spot with her tongue for maybe the hundredth time in the past couple hours. She would need to wash that out with peroxide to avoid bacteria building up.
She sat on the toilet seat to wash out her eye. Lifting her bangs, she placed a washcloth over her large blue eye, but had to be gentle in applying the warm water. A black eye could spread to her entire face if she didn't treat it quickly, due to the capillaries being so interconnected with everything else. Sometimes being a cyclops was very inconvenient.
It took several minutes before everything was sufficiently tended to, and B.W. breathed in and out several times to try to regain some of her lost strength. Once the adrenaline wore off, she didn't have much energy left in her.
She knew this was only one piece of the puzzle, and now that she really thought about what she just did, she realized her plan could backfire on her. Still, it was something she felt she had to do, and if she'd told anybody they would've just talked her out of it.
She pulled her smartphone out of her jeans pocket, and played back the silent footage from her video recording app. She looked at the video of George Milford punching her repeatedly in the face, kicking her, and screaming at her. It was weird for her to see herself getting beat up, and yet as she observed the video she smiled. Her mouth still bleeding, her single eye black and bruised, she had accomplished what she needed to do.
Now…she had the evidence. She put herself in harm's way, but it was all worth it. Now she could prove he assaulted a minor.
8 years ago…
"Three? Do you really think we can handle that many?" Brian asked as he looked over the files.
"I do, honey," Barbara assured him, "I've looked around this house and calculated our expenses. We can afford to foster exactly three children for one year. After that, we will need to reevaluate to see which of the children, if any, we wish to adopt."
"It's a big step," Brian pondered, "I know we've talked about it a lot, but now…these files from ABC Land make it seem so real."
"I've been thinking about what we talked about last night," Barbara said hesitantly.
"I promise it will grow back," Brian sighed.
"No, not that!" Barbara laughed as she playfully slapped at his arm, "I mean the gender of our future child. I think we should adopt a girl. Girls have a lot of emotional needs, but physically they tend to be easier to deal with."
"Tell that to my sister," Brian joked, "When we were kids she filled my room with baby powder and blamed the dog."
"You know what I mean," Barbara continued undeterred, "I'll be the one staying home to take care of the kids most days, and I would just feel more comfortable taking care of a girl. I would know what to tell her during puberty, I would know how to handle someone who cries a lot, which is common for a young girl, and frankly I just don't think I could relate to a boy. I know that sounds a little unfair of me, but we're talking about our future child. I just don't want to waste the precious time a child in the system has. Every year lessens their chance for adoption, and I just want to make sure we have the right fit for our family."
"Well if that's what you want, then I'll look into it," Brian promised, "Three beautiful little girls, and we will love them like our own for as long as they are here. Now, get some rest dear. Tomorrow we have brunch with your parents, and I am not carrying that conversation just because you didn't get enough sleep."
Barbara just shook her head in amusement and left the room. She knew why he really wanted her out. He had a lot of cases to go over for work, and he didn't want to accidentally leak confidential information to her.
When Barbara was gone, Brian looked over a few files from the commissioner's office, but he couldn't focus on his work. He knew there were around 22 children living in the group home known as ABC Land. Technically Townsville's charter said only a maximum 14 children could live in a single group home at one time, but ABC Land was granted an exception by the mayor. Brian was sure this place must be the best if they could be trusted with so many little ones.
Brian looked over the files with the girls. There were 9 to choose from, though making a decision was tough. Most had biological parents, but whether or not those parents would clean their lives up enough to get the kids back was another story.
The more he looked through the files, the more he realized how many of these kids truly needed help. There were kids with physical disabilities, mental disabilities, anger issues, behavioral delays, and more.
After looking over the files for several minutes, Brian finally settled on three that caught his attention.
One was a 10 year old girl named Bethany Grimwald. She was kind, polite, and seemed relatively normal on the surface. What Brian couldn't help but notice however was the situation she came from. Her bio mother was still living, but was a heroin addict that likely wouldn't recover. Bethany was found in a pile of bedsheets soaked in who knew what, and was compelled to testify against her own mother in court. Apparently she still wet the bed and screamed her mother's name at night.
Another child was a 9 year old girl named Brittney Jay. She was a bully that frequently yelled at and pushed the other children, and would also spread vicious rumors about them. She was an orphan, and getting adopted would be quite difficult for her without extensive behavioral therapy. Most fosters tended to avoid troubled cases like hers.
The third was the strangest of all. This little girl was an 8 year old named Brittney Williams, and she was a bonafide cyclops. This little girl was considered by the staff to be abrasive, disrespectful, and antisocial. She was also exceptionally strong and was always hungry. She was, like the other Brittney, an orphan.
Brian knew he would have to convince Barbara if they were to consider any of these girls. He felt compelled to help them, however. He knew the younger kinder children would get adopted easily. Older kids with behavioral problems, physical deformities, and extensive trauma would likely be overlooked by the average foster parent. He knew that a home full of love and acceptance might be the key to turning their lives around for the better, and he simply couldn't ignore them.
Barbara was nervous, and Brian was too, though he did a better job of not showing his trepidation. Today was the day they would pick up their girls. Well, two of their girls, anyway. Bethany's paperwork still needed two weeks to process, but both of the Brittneys were coming home.
"I hope they like chicken," Barbara fretted, "What if they don't like chicken?"
"Most kids like chicken," Brian assured her, "Unless they're vegetarians. In which case they'll still like your green beans."
"What if one of them sets the house on fire?" Barbara suddenly asked, "Or does something creepy like cuts the heads off their dolls?"
"Then we buy them toys without heads," Brian chuckled, "Maybe a nice sparkly castle or a game system."
"Brian!"
"Barbara, honey, you're worried over nothing. Mr. Mendez assured me these girls were ready to go and that the paperwork was in order. He even discussed expediting the process if we prove ourselves capable parents."
"Well…alright," Barbara relented, "I just hope we're not making a mistake."
When the couple entered the group home, they were immediately greeted with the sounds of yelling and playing children, as well as the smell of some sort of stew. The lights seemed rather dim, and Mr. Mendez had a toothy grin like the Cheshire Cat. Two girls sat near the entrance on wooden waiting room chairs, both looking down and being quiet. Either they were in trouble, or…
"Are these our girls?" Brian asked hopefully.
"Yes, this is Brittney Williams and Brittney Jay," Mr. Mendez pointed to the redhead and brown haired girl respectively, "They have been told to expect you."
Brian smiled at the girls, but wasn't sure exactly how to talk to them. He wasn't used to dealing with kids on a daily basis, and therefore tended to overthink every interaction.
"So…do you girls like chicken?"
He knew that was a stupid question, but Brian literally couldn't think of anything better to say.
"Yes, sir," Brittney Jay replied, finally looking up at him, "Um, are you my new daddy?"
"Muh nene nenuhneh," Brittney Williams imitated Brittney Jay mockingly.
"I'm going to foster you girls for the foreseeable future, yes," Brian replied cautiously, "My wife Barbara made chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. We also bought a cake at the store for dessert. Just our way of saying welcome home, girls."
Brittney Jay immediately hopped down from the chair and hugged Brian, and he felt his heart melt as he hugged her back. This was going far better than he expected. He already felt like this was one of the best decisions he ever made.
In the car, Brian and Barbara talked about decorating the girls' bedrooms and registering them for school. The adults had big plans and big grins on their faces, but in the back seat of the car they couldn't imagine the drama that was unfolding right behind them.
"You almost blew it, Williams," Brittney Jay grumbled, "You wouldn't even look at him. You're sabotaging our adoption. Are you stupid or something?"
"It's not an adoption. We're being kidnapped," Brittney Williams said bitterly, "I have to be here, but I don't have to be good. I did everything Mr. Mendez said, so he can't blame me this time."
"Fine, whatever," Brittney Jay spat, "We both know how this goes. They brought home two Brittneys, which means they only need one. Just stay out of my way, okay? This home is mine, this family is mine, and if you play your cards right you can go back to that armpit of a group home and that imbecile of a twin brother. You got that, Williams?"
"Don't talk about Billy like that!" Brittney Williams shouted.
"Girls, is everything okay back there?" Brian asked.
Brittney Williams, now knowing she had the man's attention, started pulling Brittney Jay's pony tail and jerking her head back; causing the other girl to scream.
"AAAHH! Stop it, you stupid cyclops!" Brittney Jay squealed, "Stop! It hurts!"
Barbara, worried about the situation, pulled over by the curb. Brian got out of the car and had to physically separate the two Brittneys. Brittney Williams glared at Brittney Jay with her large blue eye, and Brittney Jay hugged Brian and wailed dramatically, clearly playing up her suffering.
"Daddy, Daddy! She was mean to me!" Brittney Jay cried.
Brittney Williams just stuck her tongue out and didn't say a word in her own defense.
"Brittney, we will talk about this when we get home," Brian said to Brittney Williams, "You girls need to do your best to get along if this is going to work. Now, please try to calm down. We're going to have a nice dinner, and you're going to behave like good girls, okay?"
"I promise, Daddy," Brittney Jay replied as she wiped away fake tears from her eyes.
"She should sit up front," Brittney Williams suggested, her tone sour and remorseless as she stared him down, "Or better yet, she can walk to your house."
"You can walk!" Brittney Jay argued.
"No you!"
"No you!"
"No you!"
"No you!"
"No you times infinity!"
"Daddy!"
"You sure we want a third one?" Barbara said wryly as she leaned back to look at Brian, who was still standing there holding Brittney Jay.
Brian just sighed and gently placed Brittney Jay back in the car, buckling her seat belt for her since she seemed more interested in arguing with Brittney Williams. Brian had a sinking feeling that one of the girls might have to go back to the group home, but he didn't want to do that to either of them. He knew they needed love, and they weren't getting it in a government sponsored setting. Even the way Brittney Jay clung to him so quickly spoke volumes about their lives in ABC Land.
That night the two Brittneys were informed they would have to share a room for the night, since only one bedroom was ready when the foster parents got the call. There were two beds, fortunately, but of course even that fact didn't make things any easier for them.
"I want the pink one," Brittney Jay insisted, "Williams can have the green blanket."
"No way!" Brittney Williams griped, "The pink blanket has stars on it! I want that one!"
"Pink is my favorite color!" Brittney Jay argued, "It's mine!"
"Girls!" Brian finally intervened, "Brittney Jay can have the pink blanket."
"What!?" Brittney Williams exclaimed incredulously.
"I'm sorry Brittney, but Brittney, um, okay, we really need a better naming system than this," Brian faltered, "But anyway, Brittney W., I'm sorry to say this, but your behavior has been abysmal ever since you got here. You've pulled your sister's hair, threw food at dinner, and purposefully talked over Barbara when she was on the phone. Brittney Jay has behaved well today, so she gets her choice of blanket tonight. Do you understand, honey?"
"She's not my sister," Brittney Williams sulked, "And if you're waiting for me to be sorry, you'll have to do better than a blanket."
Brian looked disappointed, but he didn't want to push her too far. Even though he knew he needed to set boundaries for the kids, this was their first night together, and he didn't want to come across as scary or threatening to the poor girls. They likely had difficult lives before they came to him, so he knew he needed to be careful.
"Goodnight, girls," Brian said, resigned, "Hopefully we'll all feel better in the morning."
"Goodnight, Daddy!" Brittney Jay said sweetly.
"Goodnight, Homer," Brittney Williams said dryly.
"Homer?" Brian asked, confused, "Who's Homer?"
"I don't know your real name," Brittney Williams shrugged, "And I'm not gonna learn. Goodnight, Homer."
Brian sighed sharply and kept his cool as best as he could. He turned off the light and left the door open a crack, just in case they were afraid of the dark. When Brian left, Brittney Jay rushed over to where Brittney Williams was standing.
"Are you crazy?" Brittney Jay hissed, "What has gotten into you? He's going to take us both back to ABC Land!"
"So?" Brittney Williams crossed her arms and stared her rival down.
"This isn't fair!" Brittney Jay whined, "I have dreamed of a family of my own for as long as I can remember, and now those dreams could be ruined because some stupid cyclops can't keep her fat mouth shut! I know you don't wanna be here, but why are you ruining this for me? What did I ever do to you?"
"You called me a stupid cyclops a few seconds ago," Brittney Williams pointed out, "Not to mention you call me and Billy that almost every day. I hear what you say about us."
"Of course. Billy. This is all about Billy," Brittney Jay seethed, "Well, acting like a jerkwad isn't going to get you back to him any sooner. Not that it matters. You're not supposed to go back. The whole point of living in ABC Land is to get adopted, and for some reason I don't understand Mr. McArthur is considering you. Yet you're going to throw away our chance at a family for some drooling idiot that would need to take off his pants to count to 21!"
"You don't talk like that about Billy!" Brittney Williams screamed, "Take it back!"
"Make me, cyclops!" Brittney Jay shouted back.
Brittney Williams then grabbed Brittney Jay by her arm and leg, and lifted the screaming girl over her head. Brittney Jay squirmed all the way as Brittney Williams walked over to the wall and snagged Brittney Jay's shirt on a hook. Brittney Jay was trapped against the wall and wiggling around helplessly, and Brittney Williams grinned mischievously at the other girl.
"You are a psychopath!" Brittney Jay shrieked, "I hate you! I hate you so much! You and Billy are both just a couple of monsters, and I wish you would just go away! Let me down! Let me down now!"
Brian heard the screaming and came into the room, turning on the light. The light hurt Brittney's eye and she covered her face with her arms. Brittney Jay, seeing a witness to the crime scene, started crying even more.
"Waaaaah! Daddy, she hurt me! Waaaaah!" Brittney Jay melodramatically sobbed.
"What is going on here?" Brian demanded to know, "How did you get up there?"
"She did it! She did it!" Brittney Jay pointed to Brittney Williams, "She's a monster and she hates me! Waaaaah!"
"Brittney W., is this true?" Brian interrogated.
"The hating her part or the part where I hooked her to the wall?" Brittney Williams asked.
"Why would you do something like this?" Brian further inquired as he set Brittney Jay down on the ground, "Brittney W., I know you are old enough to know this is bad behavior. Why would you want to hurt Brittney Jay like that?"
"She talked bad about Billy," Brittney Williams grumbled, unwilling to give an inch, "She's lucky I didn't punch her."
"And who is Billy?" Brian asked.
"My twin brother," Brittney Williams explained.
"Your twin brother?" Brian asked, a sinking feeling forming in his gut, "Um, Brittney W., where is Billy right now?"
"Home," Brittney Williams replied.
"Back in ABC Land?"
"Yes, sir."
"I see," Brian nodded, the sinking feeling growing stronger, "Your file didn't mention a twin. It's…typically frowned upon to separate twins from each other."
"Does that mean bad?" Brittney Williams asked innocently.
"Yes, it means bad," Brian confirmed, "You and your brother should be together."
"Then send her back!" Brittney Jay interjected, "She doesn't want to be here anyway! I can be your daughter, and Williams can go back with her brother. Everybody wins, right?"
"I can't go back that quick!" Brittney Williams objected, "Then Mr. Mendez will know I told!"
"Told? Told what?" Brian inquired.
"That I don't wanna be here," Brittney Williams said sadly, "Mr. Mendez said I had to be good, or they would feed Billy to the dogs. They don't want me to come back because freaky kids don't get adopted. They know this is my only chance, so they said I had to be extra good, but…but I wanna be with Billy. Please, just make it convincing. Let me stay a week, and then when I go back they'll think I tried harder than I did. I'll even stop throwing food. Please?"
"Brittney, honey, you don't have to pretend to be bad to see your brother again," Brian assured her.
"But pretending is the only thing that ever works," Brittney Williams vented, her tears forming around her eye, "I'd rather pretend to be bad than pretend Billy's here. That hurts too much."
"Listen to me," Brian said firmly yet gently, "We'll bring your brother here. It wasn't what Barbara and I had planned, but I think I can convince her this is for the best. Maybe you and Billy will like it here, and maybe you won't, but we won't know for sure until you're both together. So, can you hold on a little longer while I work to get him here?"
Brittney Williams sniffed a couple times, but finally said, "Okay."
"But what about me?" Brittney Jay complained, "If you already have a Brittney, then you won't need me! I've worked so much harder than her for this! I can't go back! I'm already 9 years old! That's like being an actress over 50! I'm not cute anymore…"
"You used to be cute?" Brittney Williams asked skeptically.
"I will smack you!" Brittney Jay threatened.
"Fine. I'll hook you again," Brittney Williams retorted.
"Girls! No hooking, and no smacking!" Brian finally snapped, "Just…just hang in there. I'm not abandoning you, Brittney Jay. And I'm not giving up on Billy, Brittney W. Everything is going to work out, you'll see. This is a home with a lot of love to give, and no reason to compete with each other. I have enough room in my heart for both of you, okay?"
The girls looked down at the floor, but finally both managed to say "Okay."
Present Day…
B.W.'s eye was starting to look better, and she started applying foundation to the parts that still looked bruised below her bangs. Marny was finally in her home, but now she would have to figure out how to hide the girl while they formed a case against George Milford. That was going to be harder to do…now that she was fired and couldn't get into the house anymore.
B.W. sighed, knowing her mama would be disappointed. She didn't know what other job she could get after school that paid as well, and the family needed the extra income. There was a lot of debt, and not a lot of ways to cover it.
As she thought over her options, the bathroom door opened.
"Learn to knock!" B.W. shouted, thinking it was one of her sisters.
"In yer dreams," Ace groused.
"What do you want?" B.W. asked irritably, "I'm kind of busy."
"Your sister, I forget which one, wants me to take a shower," Ace explained, "I ain't exactly one to say no to a pretty face, if you know what I mean."
"If it was Bethany you don't have a chance in Him's apartment to get with her," B.W. informed him, "If it was Brittney Jay, then the pink one is soap and the blue one is body wash."
"What's the difference?" Ace asked.
"Body wash is harder to get off your skin," B.W. replied as she continued to apply makeup.
"Soap it is then," Ace quipped, "So, uh, you get any mouthwash around here?"
"You don't need that in the shower."
"I know. I wanna drink it," Ace told her.
"You can't have any," B.W. said firmly, "We gotta save money, and a whole bottle of mouthwash is like 3 bucks."
"Whatever," Ace snorted as he started taking his clothes off, "Like I really wanna be sober for this whole ordeal. A girl who can't talk about her injuries and three harpies who won't shut up. I mean, would you wanna be sober?"
"If you don't want me to talk, there's a simple solution," B.W. told him, "Don't talk to me."
"Aww, but it's fun seein' you riled up," Ace grinned impishly, "Admit it, you've been havin' fun with this little crusade of ours."
"Yeah, these cuts and bruises are loads of fun," B.W. groused sarcastically, "Do you want me to wash your clothes while you're in the shower?"
"Won't that screw with the hot water?" Ace asked.
"Yes," B.W. replied, making it clear that it didn't bother her, "So?"
"It's fine," Ace refused, "You gonna stand there the whole time? I thought you'd be the type to scream and cover yer eyes or somethin'."
"Eye," B.W. corrected, "Singular. Oh, and it's okay to use the loofah, just tell me if you do. Nobody wants to use it after you."
"Warm welcome in this house," Ace muttered sardonically.
"Hey, you were just supposed to drop Marny off," B.W. reminded him, "You've been here for over an hour. Also, you might wanna get that scab on your leg checked. It don't look so good."
"Tch, whatever," Ace waved it away and got in the shower, "And my clothes better still be there when I get out!"
"If I had any sense they'd be at Goodwill when you get out!" B.W. countered, "Also, that thing about telling me if you use the loofah? That also applies to Brittney Jay!"
B.W. then slammed the door on her way out, and Ace enjoyed the feeling of warm water on his skin for the first time since he got kicked out of the Y for stealing basketballs. In truth, nobody had invited him to stick around for a shower. He just didn't want to seem too desperate.