Is this the final stop? (Toni Shalifoe)

Chapter 1

Toni slings an overstuffed backpack on her shoulder with all her belongings. Her hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail, and she has a split lip, which is starting to bruise on her mouth.

She stuffs one last Hopewell Lake Basketball t-shirt into a drawstring bag, chewing the inside of her mouth, holding back any sort of emotion.

A foster care agent stands in the now-empty bedroom.

Toni rolls her shoulders back, her face hardening and she walks out of the room with her two bags of everything she owns. At 17, the bags shouldn't be this small, but she's lost too many items in between foster homes that she stopped getting anything new.

She walks out of the house and right into the arms of Martha.

Marty. Her best friend.

Her best friend that she's leaving.

She feels Martha's tight squeeze on her shoulders, and hears her small whimpers. Toni sniffs, knowing Martha's crying will set her off.

"I'm so sorry, Marty." Toni apologizes, almost embarrassed.

Marty shakes her head, "No, this is better for you."

"Not for us," Toni says, her walls going back up, trying to protect her from the hurt she's feeling.

"Fort Travis is only an hour away," Martha says, trying to cheer both of them up.

Toni scoffs. Marty and her were inseparable at their high school together. But ever since the new placement, Toni's been pulling back. Trying to soften the blow to Martha. Knowing one day it would end like this.

Martha's family isn't rich, and there's no way they are driving two hours roundtrip to say hi. They just can't afford it. Martha's mom is a nurse pulling double shifts all the time. Martha also gets carsick if the ride is too long.

"Well..." Martha tries to cover, "maybe my mom can get transferred?"

Toni pulls her into another tight hug. She hears the footsteps of the agent, and she nuzzles her head into Martha's shoulder, almost as if she's trying to hide.

Martha steps back first, knowing Toni, for once, won't have the strength. Their hands still interlocked.

Toni takes a deep, but shaky breath.

"It's time, Toni," the agent whispers.

Toni doesn't look at the agent, won't break her eye contact with Martha.

"Thank you." Toni chokes out. Knowing how good of a friend Martha has been to her, always there to calm her down, tell a funny, but oh-so-corny joke, or late night movies with double chocolate chip ice cream.

She knows it's ending.

"Not goodbye. Just see ya later," Martha offers.

Toni nods, looks down at her feet and turns on her heels. She shoves her two bags into the backseat and slams the car door. Hard.

In the car, Toni's knee bounces with nervous energy. They drive away, and she watches Martha wave in the side view mirror. Probably the last time she'll see her. Everyone pulls away, eventually.

She aggressively scrolls through her feed, not really even paying attention to any of the pictures, until she passes a post of Martha with her dogs.

The agent looks over at Toni, checking in. She notices how her leg stopped moving.

"The Goodkinds are a first-time foster family—"

This gets Toni's attention, breaking her train of thought of Martha. She looks over to the agent and raises her eyebrow.