Connected: Family, Together, Forever

-Chapter 1-

Warning: This book will contain the non sexual spanking of minors.

I blankly stare out my dirty window one last time, while Ellie throws a few leftover belongings of mine into the singular suitcase I have.

I hear her dust her hands off. "That should be good," She says, sounding accomplished. "I looked everywhere, you have nothing left. I did throw out your toothbrush though, you could use a new one,"

I quickly spin around to face her. "You what?" I screech.
She furrows her eyebrows. "I threw your toothbrush away?"
"You should've asked me! Now how can I brush my teeth?!" I demand.

She crosses her arms and blows out a breath. "Sav, you're overreacting. Your new parents will get you a new toothbrush, chill!"

"How do you know that? What if they're horrible and don't care about me? No one knows what's going to happen to me!" I yell at her.

She walks over to me quickly. "Savannah, you need to calm down! You're going to be fine, okay? I promise you! And you know they aren't in it for the money, since they aren't fostering you, they want to adopt you! So You're in good hands, trust me," She says, sitting me down on my bed and rubbing my shoulders. "You've got nothing to worry about."

I sniff. "I know nothing about them," I mumble. "I don't even know if it's two people or not! I'm scared, Ellie. You know how horrible some people can be,"

Before she could respond, Mrs. Anderson calls for me.
Me and Ellie stand up and give each other a goodbye hug. "I'm gonna miss you, roomie," she says softly, wiping a stray tear off of her cheek.

I try hard to swallow the lump in my throat. "I'll miss you more. Don't forget me,"
She squeezes me. "I could never. Now who am I going to skip Mr White's class with?" She smirks.

I chuckle. "You'll find someone,"
She sighs. "Be good, alright? They'll be great, trust me. And if they're not, you'll come back here!" She says.

"Savannah!" Mrs Anderson calls again impatiently, louder this time.
"You better go before she drags you outta here," Ellie chuckles, picking up my suitcase. She hands it to me. "Call me, okay? I wanna know everything"

"Of course,"

We say goodbye one last time, and I head down the stairs of the orphanage, carefully lugging my suitcase behind me. As I reached the last step, I took in a breath and looked around the place, the place that I'd considered my home for the past 9 years. I stood there, silently taking in the beautiful surroundings and the loving people who had taken care of me all these years. It was amazing really, that despite there being countless kids, everybody there made us feel loved and wanted. Even if we knew that we weren't.

Filled with sadness and nostalgia, I walked to the front office and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Mrs Anderson said. I open the door and enter the office, to find her and a mysterious man talking in a hushed tone. They both turn to look at me, and I slowly walk to stand next to her.

The man standing in front of her is towering over me, with his broad shoulders and muscular build. His dark brown hair is cut short and styled in a messy, textured look. He has a strong jawline and chiselled face, with a stud in his right ear. His arms are covered in tattoos, adding to his intimidating appearance.

I gulped. Sensing my fear, Mrs Anderson put a hand on my shoulder.
"This is Mark, Mark West. He's going to be your guardian," she spoke softly.

I hesitantly look up at him, and this time he gave me a warm, genuine smile.
He stuck out his hand for me to shake. "Hello, Savannah. I've been eager to meet you."
I shook his huge, calloused hand. "Hi, er-" I trail off, not knowing what to call him.