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It’s my eighteenth birthday, which means as far as the world is concerned, I’m a legal adult.
I can finally book a meeting with our social worker—the same social worker who, almost two years ago, waited patiently outside my hospital room to take me and Zoey to that god-awful foster home.
It’s hard for me to relive those days.
Not only was I still in mourning, but the drugs the hospital had given me to deal with my bullet wound would knock me out cold for the better part of those days and nights. Any time I was lucid enough to do something about our wretched circumstances, I was on the phone begging our aunt to take us in.
But that was then, and this is now.
I can no longer live under Aunt Lucy’s roof and accept being her favorite punching bag just because the mood suits her. Lately, she’s starting to pick on Zoey too. No longer satisfied with making my days miserable, she has set her sights on my baby sister, yelling to anyone who has ears that Zoey’s constant migraines are starting to become a nuisance for her.
She doesn’t even care enough to take Zoey to the hospital or see a doctor who might be able to shed light on my sister’s ailments. All she cares about is that while I’m taking care of Zoey, I’m unable to keep up with the chores she expects me to do.
Enough.
I will no longer tolerate us being bullied like two rejects by a woman who couldn’t care less about us—blood relation or not.
We’ll do much better on our own.
That is, if the social worker in front of me allows me to get guardianship of my baby sister.
“This is a tall ask, Layla. Before we can go to family court and ask a judge for custody of Zoey, you’ll need to have all your ducks in a row to be seen as fit to care for her,” she hedges.
“I’ll do whatever it takes, Ms. Barry. I have to. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it,” I reply with urgency, fully committed to resolve the task.
Her golden-brown eyes soften before she lets out a deep exhale and starts giving me a checklist of dos and don’ts.
“You’ll need to prove employment at a job that will enable you to take Zoey to and from school, which will be a hard thing to get for a girl with no high school diploma.”
“I’m hard-working. I can find and keep a job,” I reply quickly.
“There is also the question of housing. You need to find a place where Zoey has her own room, otherwise it will make it difficult for you to get custody.”
“Understood.” I nod, trying to remain optimistic that I can and will do all these things she’s telling me to. “I’ll make it happen.”
“I know you say that now, but if you think getting custody is hard, then keeping it isn’t any easier. You need to make sure Zoey is enrolled in school and that she doesn’t skip. She must have good grades, and she can’t get into trouble of any kind.”
My smile never wavers from my lips with her warning.
She knows, as well as I do, that my baby sister has a knack for finding trouble. It’s not like she goes out to find it; it just comes to her on its own accord. It doesn’t help that I’ve never been able to stop Zoey from speaking her mind the minute a thought comes to her. Unlike me, she’s a free spirit, and I’ve done my best to nurture that part of her.
It’s bad enough that I’m damaged goods.
Zoey deserves to have a normal childhood and make foolish mistakes along the way.
I don’t have that luxury.
I make a note of having a serious talk with my baby sister to tell her that when—not if—we’re on our own, that she will have to do her very best to be on her best behavior. It’s the only way I can guarantee she won’t be forced to live with our aunt or be thrown back into foster care.
“How fast can we get this all done?” I ask, my heart twisting in my chest, eager for us to start fresh.
“I can try to set everything up for you to see a judge as early as the end of the month. That means you have exactly two weeks to get all this sorted. My reviews on you and Zoey for the past two years should also help. Although you dropped out of school at an early age, you’ve always shown great maturity, and I’ve seen how well you take care of your sister. Hopefully the judge will take my reports on you girls into consideration.”
“Thank you, Ms. Berry. I appreciate that more than you know,” I gush.
She nods with a tender smile. “Well, don’t let me keep you. You have plenty of things on your plate that you need to accomplish in the shortest time I can get you. My advice is to find a job as fast as you can. It doesn’t have to be glamorous. As long as it pays the bills and enables you to take care of your sister, that will be enough.”
I get up from my seat and stretch out my hand.
