~ongoing~ ~unedited~
After eleven year old Parker is faced with her stepfather's death, she has to move in with her five older brothers. Her newly discovered family has secrets they are hiding from Parker, but Parker is keeping secrets of her own...
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The doorbell ringing followed by heavy knocking awakens me from my sleep.
I check the clock and see its 2:13 AM. Who in their right mind is here right now?
I know it's not James as no matter how drunk he gets, he always manages a way inside - much to my dismay.
An exasperated sigh leaves my lips as I crawl out of bed. I wince feeling the full extent of earilers beating. Slowly, thanks to my limp, I make my way to the door.
Making sure to keep the chain locked so I have some safety when opening the door- I'm only eleven for god's sake - I take a deep breath and pull the door open a few inches.
Out of habit, my eyes remain downcast, I notice two pairs of boots. Reluctantly, I move my gaze upwards and am met with two police officers. One male and one female.
What the heck? James is never stupid enough to caught. He never aims for my face. Plus, he forces me to wear long sleeves, even in the summer.
The officers must see the confusion evident on my face because the women speaks up.
"Hi sweetie, Is James your stepfather?" She asks.
I hesitantly nod my head while wiping the sleep from my eyes.
"Okay.... do you think we could come inside and talk?" She questions.
Remembering stranger danger, I shake my head no. This could be a trick.
"We are police officers, and are here to help you." The man speaks up for the first time, impatience clear in his tone.
I watch as the female officer shoots him a glare before turning back to me.
"I am officer Gale, but you can just call me Sarah. That's officer Griffin." Sarah says pointing to the man while offering me a reassuring smile.
Deciding I am too tired to not cooperate, I close the door before removing the chain and welcoming the officers into my humble home. Note the sarcasm.
Gosh, I really am grumpy when tired.
"So, umm... I regret to inform you that... your stepfather James has passed away." Officer Griffin tells me.
Wow, way to rip off the bandaid.
"He crashed his car, and died on the scene. We believe he was intoxicated, but won't know for sure until the coroner gets back to us. Luckily, no one else was injured." Officer Griffin continues.
"Someone on the scene said he had a kid, named Parker, which led us here. This means we need to find you someone to stay with." He finishes.
I breathe deeply, trying not to get overwhelmed right now. James is dead? This is a good thing, right? But, where am I going to go now? I don't have anyone else.
"Parker sweetie, do you think you could pack a bag with your belongings? We need to head to the station." Sarah asks me softly.
I nod my head before leaving the room and begin packing some of my stuff.
I only have my school backpack so I decide to bring just two sets of clothes and some pajamas. I also make sure to pack Herman, my stuffed cow. Herman is the last thing I have that mom gave me. He is without a doubt my most treasured belonging - not that I have many belongings begin with.
Walking back into the room with the officers, they escort me to there car and we begin our ride to the station.
---
I now sit in a rather uncomfortable metal chair at the station waiting for my DNA results to come back. Even though I told them I have no other family, they still made me spit in a tube as it's protocol.
Trying to fight my body from falling asleep proves to be quite difficult at the moment as it's got to be at least 3:00 AM by now. However, I need to stay awake as I don't trust these people. So what if they're police officers? Ever heard of dirty cops?
Wow, I really am getting delirious. I need sleep.
After what feels like an eternity of sitting in this stupid chair, Sarah approaches me. She crouches down and rests her hands on my knees.
I fight the urge to squirm as I am not a huge fan of physical touch.
"Hey Parker, I know I introduced myself as Officer Gale earlier, but I am also a social worker." Sarah explains to me.
"Our Chief figured since you are already familiar with me, I'll be put on your case. How does that sound?" She asks sincerity dripping through her words.
Does she really care for my opinion? I just shrug in response.
"Okay, so we got your DNA results back and it looks like you have an older brother." Sarah goes on to explain.
I straighten in my seat. That's definitely caught my attention.
"We talked to him on the phone and he's agreed to take guardianship. He is on the way here as we speak." Sarah continues.
Brother? I have an older brother? Does he live with my real father? Why am I hearing of him right now? Did he know about me? Does he really want me? What if he's just like James? ...But what if he's the opposite?
So many questions run through my mind, but I just remain silent and nod my head to Sarah. She stands back up to her full height, and finally removes her hands from my knees.
"Your brother is coming from New York and should be here within a few hours. You are free to try and catch some sleep if you'd like." Sarah says.
I nod in response and sink lower into my seat as I watch her walk away.
My body aches from James's beating , plus with my mind running a million miles a minute trying to comprehend all this new information, add in this uncomfortable chair - no way am I going to be able to sleep.
But it seems as if my body has other plans - I yawn and rest my head on the desk next to me. I guess I really am tired, both mentally and physically.
