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The color drains from Charlotte's face, but Clair doesn’t push her. Instead, she waits for Charlotte to come to her own decision. I stand and put my hand on Charlotte's shoulder, and when our eyes meet, I can see the fear in hers. I move my hand down to hold hers, squeezing gently to let her know I’m here. After a moment, she squeezes back.
“Together?” I ask her, and just like that, some of the fear is gone.
* * *
The couple Clairhad for Charlotte really do seem perfect. We sat with them for about an hour before Charlotte opened up a little bit and talked to them. After that, it was clear they would all be fine together, but I stayed just in case she needed me. Another twenty minutes, they were ready to head out. Charlotte bounced around at the idea of her own room, returning to school, and having friends. I’d never seen her so happy, and watching her get to experience life like a regular kid again brings a smile to my face.
When they go to leave, I’m almost sad. She took her foster mother's hand and made it to the door before she stopped dead. Before I know it, she’s slamming into me with her tiny arms wrapping around my waist, her face buried in my stomach. I wrap her in my arms as she looks up at me with tears in her eyes, but this time she doesn't seem sad, “I love you, Jade.”
I wipe away a stray tear that slid down my cheek without permission and nod at her. “I’ll see you soon.” I tell her as I wrap her up in a hug before she unwraps herself from me and is gone.
That leaves just me and Clair in the lobby. I hadn’t seen any of the other officers wandering around. I wonder if it’s because of the late hour or if they stayed away knowing they had made the other girls uncomfortable. Either way, it didn’t matter much to me.
“Thank you for all your help, Jade. I’m not sure most of those girls would have gone if you hadn’t been here to reassure them. They’re lucky to have you.” Clair tells me as she blows on her fresh cup of coffee.
“They deserve better than what they were given. I’m just happy they get the chance to be free.” I tell her as I stand and stretch, my body protests. Looking out the front glass sliding door lets me know it’s almost night again. No wonder I’m so tired and sore. Spending that much time on the floor can’t be good for anyone's back.
I start for the door. I’m unsure where I’m going, but I know I’ll figure something out. I always do, though I can’t go far with my promise to visit Charlotte.
Clair calls out to me, causing me to pause just before the exit.
She walks over to me, and once again, I’m caught off guard by the genuine concern in her gaze. “Where are you going to go, Jade?”
I shrug again because I don’t know, but I’m okay with that as long as the girls are safe. I can figure out the rest as I go.
“How would you like to come home with me?” Her question catches me entirely off guard, and I have to work to close my mouth as it hangs open in shock.
“What?” I ask her because clearly, I must have heard her wrong, right?
A smile lights her face up, but she still repeats herself for my sake.
“I asked my husband, and he agreed. You have been taking care of these girls for so long, and while you're right, they deserve better, the same can be said for you. Unfortunately, you were right about us being unable to place you without us knowing your age, but that doesn’t stop us from letting you come stay with us.” She nods her head as she talks, as if encouraging me to say yes.
“So what do you say? Stay with us, it could be just until you get on your feet, or you could stay permanently. It’s up to you, Jade.”
Iroll over in bed and toss my arm up over my eyes, too lazy to move yet. After a few minutes, I reach over and grab my phone from where I plugged it in on my nightstand before I hopped in the shower earlier.
It’s just after six at night, meaning I slept through the whole day. Considering the fact that I woke up on my own means the guys probably did too. If not, Rick would have been here to ensure I was up.
“Boys.” I hear Clair call for us through the house. Oh, I guess I didn't wake up on my own after all. That makes more sense, actually. I’m usually the last one up.
I go to stand and quickly realize I’m still in just a towel. Yeah, I must have been more tired than I realized. I drop the towel and go to my dresser, grabbing a pair of sweats and throwing them on. I decide against a shirt. It’s hot as hell in here. Not that it matters to me, I would walk around naked if Rick wouldn’t threaten to chop off my balls.
The thought alone makes me wince, and I cup my junk as I walk to the door making sure they are still there.
I throw my door open and start down the hall towards the kitchen, where I’m pretty sure Clair is calling us from. As I pass by Spencer’s door, it swings open, and he stands there looking like he’s fresh out of bed too. He’s in basketball shorts and one of his signature black tees, but his hair looks like a fucking bird's nest, and I can’t hold back a laugh.
If looks could kill, I would be a dead man one hundred times over, but Spencer doesn’t scare me. Not that he’s not a scary fucker, I just know he wouldn’t ever actually murder me, no matter what I may do to deserve it.
He follows my line of sight; realizing his hair must look a mess, he puts his hand through it in an attempt to tame it. It does help a little, but he would probably need to get it wet to get it all back down. He moves his hand away, and the piece he had just worked down sticks right back up, causing me to double over in laughter.
“Shut the fuck up. You don’t look much better, asshole.” He shoves me as he moves to walk past, and I stumble a little but keep my balance even as I continue to laugh at him. He can say my hair is crazy, but we both know I don't care. He, on the other hand, does.
“And if you're going to play with your balls, I suggest you go back to your room to do it before Rick sees.” He yells back down the hall to me as he turns the corner and disappears. I look down, and sure as shit, my hand is still on my junk, great.
“I wasn’t playing with my balls!” I shout after him as I jog down the hall to catch up. “And don’t go saying that shit so Rick can hear you.” As I follow him down the hall, I call after him, sliding my finger through my hair to ensure it’s not all standing up like his.
I turn the corner, expecting to chase him down and explain because if Rick thinks his mom called me and I was playing with my junk, he’ll cut them off for sure. Instead, I round the corner and run right into Spencer, who has stopped dead in the doorway for whatever reason. I slam into him so hard that I stumble back a few steps, not even making the fucker budge.
