My eyes bounced from Dawn to the swing. It wasn’t much. Just a brown wooden piece of something tied with rope that hung from a branch. But to me, it was better than the tablet and phone.
“I have to go return a phone call,” Dawn patted my shoulder again on her way out of the kitchen. “Mac and cheese and hot dogs okay for dinner tonight?”
I nodded. I’d eat almost whatever she cooked. And so far, it’d been easy food and sat well in my stomach. At least the cramps from the cupcake had eased off.
I waited about thirty seconds before I slowly slipped off the stool and made my way outside to the swing.
Chapter 11
Who knew that a simple swing could make almost all the worries and stress disappear so easily? Or maybe it was the fact that I got to be outside. Or both.
The sun was shielded by the leaves of the trees, but even then, the warmth reached my skin, warming me from the outside in.
I swung lightly, not pushing or pulling my body to make the swing go faster. I just sat there, being human for once in my life.
My thoughts weren’t bombarding me with the past or what was to come. I simply gotta be me, whoever that was.
The only small issue was that I had to pull myself up to lift my body enough to sit on the wood plank. The thick rope that held the swing was thrown over the branch, then tied with some sort of metal gadget to the wood, keeping it hanging for years to come.
God, I hoped I’d get to be here for years.
Wiping the tears from my face with one hand, I forced all thoughts away. Now wasn’t the time to figure out what the heck was going to happen to me. I’d find out eventually.
The only reason I was off the swing now, my legs slightly weak from just dangling there for so long, was because Dawn called me in toeat dinner. Although, she had set everything outside at the small three-seater table.
“I’d ask if you enjoyed the swing, but I think I know the answer,” she smiled as I scooped food onto my plate. “Oh, I downloaded and logged into the movie streaming apps I have, and the reading app, too. On both the tablet and phone.”
I gave a thumbs up, trying to do something other than nod my head like an idiot all the time.
Like all the other times, Dawn happily talked about people she’d work with in selling houses in between bites. None of it required my input. She told me about the town that she fell in love with when she turned twenty, not wanting to leave again. It was on the smaller side, but not so small where everyone knew everything about one another. And being out here in the country certainly helped.
“I should probably call my parents, your grandparents,” she mused. “I won’t mention you being with me, because then they’ll all be here. Between you and me, I don’t want any of the other family knowing I got you. They didn’t want to be there for you before, so they don’t deserve the chance right now.”
I lifted a brow, pointing at her. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was asking, but she answered anyway.
“They didn’t want me either,” she shook her head. “I tended to be in my head too much as a kid. I didn’t connect with them. But they are family and I try to check on them every once in a while. Make sure they are alive and all that. But man, my sister – your mother – and I did not get along. Ever. She had a temper and fell in love with men who shouldn’t ever be around impressionable teenagers or adults. Rest her soul or whatever, but I did not go to that funeral.”
Neither did I. But for other reasons.
“Sucks I wasn’t old enough to take you in. I was barely eighteen at the time,” Dawn went on. “I still can’t believe that my mother refused to take you. Not that I knew about that until a few months ago. She doesn’t talk about certain things. But I guess maybe that’s what pushed me to get a house just in case. Maybe you’d find me somehow.” She swallowed, setting her fork down on her plate. “I’m glad I found you, Koda. I wish I knew you were…well not where I thought you were, sooner. I’d have fought for you. I should have fought harder, but when there was a group of adults who said I wasn’t capable, social workers tended to believe them over me. Just because I’m a bit different.”
I didn’t see why that would matter at all. At least she tried, and it answered one of the many questions I had.
“But my gosh, Koda. If I had known, I’d have fought harder.”
I gave her a watery smile, knowing she would have. I wouldn’t hold it against her at all.She had tried. She was the one that had shown up when Officer Sarah called.
“I will never be able to show you how truly sorry I am for the way the rest of the family deserted you. After everything, you really do deserve the entire world. It’s hard enough as an adult who has been in your situation, but as a child yourself, it’s ten times worse.”
I shrugged, not being able to confirm any of that. I wasn’t an adult, even if most days I felt like one. I was just…whatever I was.
“I’m going to do everything I can to make you want to stay here. I want to give you the world, and show you that I care more than anyone else in the family. I know that once they figure out, you’re with me, they will show up and try to fight for you. And I refuse to let that happen.”
Tears gathered as I sat there, staring at her.
“I may not know how to raise a teenager, but we’ll figure it out one day at a time. We’ve done well so far, haven’t we?”
I nodded slowly.
