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"It is. His name was Colton, and he was a very bad man."
"What if he tries to hurt Aunty Lee and me again? Will he kill us?" Her small hands take mine, her eyes pleading with me.
"He will never hurt either of you again. He's dead, and I promise nothing bad will ever happen again." She thinks about my answer for a moment, then nods, accepting my words.
"I'm glad he's dead. Bad people deserve to die." She walks to her closet, takes out her backpack, and begins filling it with clothes.
"What are you doing, Olivia?"
"Packing. I don't have a mommy anymore, so I'll have to be adopted again because my biological mommy didn't want me." Hearing movement across the room, I raise my head to see Lee standing in the doorframe, her sad expression matching Olivia's. Her hair is damp, and her clothes are changed. She must've showered and cleaned up too.
"Hey, sweet girl, can I come in?" Olivia turns and makes eye contact with her. Hesitantly, she nods.
Lee walks over and squats beside her. "You can pack your clothes, but you're not getting adopted."
Olivia pauses, looking at her birth mom with a quivering bottom lip. "Where will I go? I don't have anyone." Heavy tears roll down her soft cheeks.
"You have a lot of people, baby. You'll come and live with Ace and me, only if that's okay with you," she explains, taking her hand.
She thinks for a moment, then pulls her hand away and continues stuffing clothes into her backpack. "No! Because you don't want me."
Hurt flashes across Lee's face. "I've always wanted you, sweet girl. I was too young and couldn't take care of you. Rachel wanted you, too, and she promised to take care of you because I couldn't. But that doesn't mean I didn't want you and didn't love you."
Tears rush down Olivia's face. "I'm really scared. My mommy is gone, and I don't want to call you mommy."
"You don't have to. You can call me Lee." She pulls Olivia in, wrapping her arms protectively around the child. "I am so sorry that happened, my sweet girl, and I'm so sorry that you had to see it. Your mommy loved you so so so much," she says, kissing her head and rubbing her back soothingly while Olivia cries into her neck, her little body shaking with sobs.
After a few minutes, the crying dies down, and there's a brief silence before Olivia breaks it by speaking. "Okay, I'll go with you." She pulls back, and Lee wipes her face, removing any evidence of her tears.
"I'm going to go downstairs for a little bit, and when you're ready, you and Ace can come down and meet my friends. Okay?"
Olivia eyes her skeptically but nods in agreement.
Pressing a kiss on her forehead, Lee stands, gives me a small smile, then exits the room.
After a few minutes, I have everything Oliva needs packed in her backpack and duffel bag. While she carries her stuffed teddy bear, I carry her bags and follow her downstairs and into the living room where Lee and King are waiting.
Olivia grips on to my hand tightly, her eyes bouncing between Lee and King and back to me. She's unsure about the unfamiliar faces, no longer sure who to trust.
"Hey, sweet girl, this is my friend, King," Lee introduces them. Olivia stares at him without speaking.
"Oh, my goodness, why didn't anyone tell me?" He breaks the silence, looking between Lee and me, shaking his head with disappointment.
"Tell you what?" Olivia asks curiously, her grip on my hand tightening.
"That a princess is going to be living with us."
Her eyebrows furrow together in confusion. "I'm not a princess."
"Are you sure? Because you look just like one," King says, taking a step back. He taps his chin with his index finger. "I'm pretty sure that you are a princess. Maybe you're an undercover princess?"
Reluctantly, Olivia's face lights up with a giant smile. "I could be a real princess? Like the kind that wears pretty dresses and a tiara?"
King nods. "Exactly!" He reaches into a shopping bag that wasn't down here before and pulls out a beautiful shiny tiara. "I think you lost this, right?" He winks.
She’s hesitant at first, then says, "Right! It's mine because I'm a princess." Based on her behavior, I know she’s in shock right now and likely hasn’t registered what is happening.
"See, I knew it." He gently sets it on her head, carefully placing the clips into her hair to secure the crown. "There we go. Now you really look like a princess."
