The Unknown Family

Goodbye

The next morning I was woken by the sounds of muffled sobs through the walls. Confused, I got up and left my room, and went to the room next door. Josh's room. Knowing Josh and his inability to say how he really feels, I walked straight inside.

He jumped up in a scare at the creek of the bedroom door, frantically wiping his red puffy eyes. He sat up straight, and turned around to face the window, away from me.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I made my way closer to him from across the carpet.

"Nothing, you should go downstairs." He says, his voice slightly cracking.

"Liar." I say as I went closer. By now I was less than a foot away from his shaking body. "Tell me. Now."

I heard a little mumble escape his lips, but I couldn't understand exactly what he said.

"Come again?"

"Aaron called-" He gave out a little crying hiccup, "They found your family. Your bio dad, and his kids." In that moment I froze. The thing with me is, I grew up thinking that my mother's husband was my father, even though I had green eyes while they both had brown. After they...passed, their lawyer gave me my mother's journal, it revealed how she left mine and my brother Theo's biological father when I was a little kid. She never said why, and I was never told by either of my parents that my dad isn't my real dad.

But Theo got himself locked away in juvie before we could be seperated in the foster system, so Amanda and David took me in while Aaron searched for relatives. 

"Okay, and?" I ask once again.

"They want you back. Apparently they have been searching for you for years, and now they want you home...today." He says, sorrow lacing his tone.

"But isn't this what we've been waiting for? Me to have a family who will take me in." I respond, confusion in my tone.

"They live in New York Liv. They're going to take you away from us. From me. And Theo can't even go with you" By now, his body had begun shaking and I could see the giant tears in the reflection of the window.

Without saying a word, I came up behind him and hugged his back. Within a second, he span around and hugged me back, so tight as if I would disappear this very second.

"They're not taking me away, I'm just not going to be down the hall anymore." I explain as I hold his head in the crook of my neck as he sobbed.

"That makes no sense." He muttered

"I'll always be just one phone call away." I whisper.

A shriek was heard from the bottom of the stairs;
one I know far too well. We both let out a little chuckle as we broke from our hug.

"Im guessing that your parents told Megan." I mutter as we both look towards the door.

"LIV!" Her screams travelled even further this time.

"I think so." He chuckled.

And not a second later, we were both tackled to the floor in a giant bear hug, where we all just laid and cried.

Truth be told, I have no real interest in meeting my real family, not when I have to leave my two best friends. For the past three months, which were probably the hardest ones of my life, they were there for me like no one else.

They were the family I had when I needed it most.

An hour later, my social worker Aaron came over to the house and told me to get my bags packed as we would leave in an hour. Deciding that we had only one crying fit,Megan, Josh, David and Amanda already said our goodbyes.

As Amanda and I were packing my bags, she took hold of my shoulder and brought me to sit on the bed while she folded the clothes in front of me.

"Liv, honey. Things have been hard, I understand that. But I want you to promise me something."

"Anything." I respond, looking at her with wary eyes.

"Don't put up walls. They're your family, and apparently have been searching for you for years. Family is what matters." She tells me.

"I know, I don't think you have to remind me." I mutter as I start playing with my fingers, my head refusing to look up.

"Liviana." She moves my head to look her in the eye from her now crouching position. Her only expression was honesty. "You did nothing wrong. Don't blame yourself."

As a few small tears escape my eyes, I give a small nod in understanding.

"Repeat it back to me ." She orders

"I did nothing wrong. Don't blame myself." I mumbled.

After that, she gave me that same mothering smile I always loved, and guided me downstairs.

That night, Aaron and I drove to the airport, and got on a first class flight to New York. We spent the entire flight discussing that latest episode of Sopranos. Aaron and I get along really well with our love for mafia related tv. It's how we bond.

But when we landed, this new family became reality.

And I'm not sure if I'm ready...