The System

Words Of Wisdom

Jason's pov

Anna and her brother Ben were as untrusting and scared as Miranda and Chris were when we first met them. She had such intense anger and I gotta say deja vu doesn't even begin to describe it. "Hey who wants to go to the zoo!" I say, walking downstairs. Memphis and Jeremy were playing video games together and Anna and Ben were watching on the couch. She held tight to him and glared at me. The boys exit the game and go to get ready. "Come on guys." I say, walking over to them. "It's all good. You're safe here." "No we aren't. We aren't safe anywhere!" She growls. "That's no way to think." I sit in the chair beside them. "I wanna go." Ben says. "Hey I know you don't trust me right now but why don't ya have a little fun while you're here?" She glares at me harder and rolls her eyes. "What do we have to lose?" She mutters, standing up. She holds Ben's hand.

Jeremy's pov

Anna was really angry. She wanted nothing to do with mom and dad. "Why do you hate them so much?" I ask as we were passing the tiger exhibit. "They're all the same. He doesn't care about us." She mutters, her fists clenched. "That's not true." I say. "He really does. I was a foster kid for them and they cared about me so much. They adopted me. They're really good people." I say, kneeling down in front of the 8 year old. "They care alot for you and Ben." She glares at me with hot angry tears in her eyes and shoved me back. "Stop lying! It's just like all the others!" She shouts. Just then dad walks over. "What's going on?" "Shut up both of you! You don't care about me! Don't pretend!" She yells, furiously wiping tears off her face. "Anna, I'm telling the truth." I say, standing back up. "Liars!! You're all liars!!" She yells, breaking down sobbing. Ben starts crying out of confusion.

Jason's pov

Poor kid. I nervously pick her up. "Anna, it's okay to be upset. I know it's hard to trust us. But just give me a chance." "No! Everytime I do, I j-just get h-hurt. I'm t-tired of getting hurt!" She gasps, crying on my shoulder. "I promise you I will never hurt you. I'm not like the others. I know you think I am but... I'm not." The poor girl is crying hard. "Hey Britt, carry on with the others. I gotta calm Anna down." She hugs us and picks Ben up. "It's okay." "Leave him alone!" She yells, trying to get to her brother. "It's alright, Anna." I say, sitting on a bench with the little girl in my lap. "I understand you're upset. How about we talk about why you're upset." I say, holding her shaking hands. "Nobody wants me." "I want you." "No you don't!" She shouts, pulling her hands free. "It's your job. You don't want me anymore than Mama!" I hug her. "That isn't true." I say. "Listen I have four kids and three out of the four are adopted. I love my kids just the same. Adopted or not. Blood may make you related but loyalty makes you family. As far as I'm concerned you and Ben are my kids." Her little hands were shaking. She looked a little shocked. "I promise I'm going to find you and Ben a mom and dad who will love you as much as I do." She buries her head in my chest. I hold her tight as she cries. "W-Why d-do you... Want us?" "If I could adopt every kid in the world I would sweet girl. I've fostered lots of kids who have gone on to be adopted. They're still my kids too. I check in on 'em. They call me dad even though they have a mom and dad now. And same goes for you. When you get adopted, my door will still be open." "Nobody will adopt me." She mutters, gripping tight to my shirt. "That ain't true, Anna. You're a sweet amazing little girl." I worriedly noticed a woman watching us. "Do you wanna head back home, get some sleep?" She nods, her eyes red rimmed from crying. I rub her back as she starts to fall asleep. Just as I was about to stand up, the woman sat beside me. Ugh. I hope she isn't gonna give me shit. "I couldn't help but overhear." Crud. Here it comes. "You're a foster parent correct?" I nod, holding Anna tight. Luckily she's asleep and can't hear what she'll say. "I just became one recently and was wondering if you have any tips for a new foster parent." I'm caught off guard. "I... Oh well I mean.. I.... For me, it's second nature. Just love your foster kid like your own kid. Cause for me she is." I say, hugging the little girl. "And yeah a foster kid well have past trauma. She good have trust issues. The one thing you do is never give up. She may not know it now but she needs someone who's not gonna abandon her even if it gets tough. Even if you break down crying at night. I've done it, my wife Britt has done it. Things will get hard but you fight through it cause the only one who loses if you give up is her." The woman beside me looked like she was about to cry. "Wow. That was amazing." I force a smile, worried for poor Anna. "I've fostered 12 kids in the last 20 years. I adopted 3 of them and the other nine still call me dad. They still have a place to stay if they need it." "You're an amazing foster dad." I smile. "I love my kids. All 18 of them." I stand up, cradling Anna in a more comfortable position. "I'm gonna get her home. We're both pretty tuckered out." "Thank you." She says waving. I nod in reply and head to the truck. I've never spoken that passionately about anything in my life. I wasn't even thinking. It's just how I felt when asked. Gosh I love being a foster parent.