Family Doesn't End in Blood, But it Doesn't Start There Either

Parent Problems

We were seen almost immediately since for some reason they weren't too busy in that moment. This lady was saying all sorts of legal mumbo jumbo and we were all getting frustrated.

"What do you mean we can't adopt her?" Jared asked.

"I mean that because she has been out of the orphanage for 5 years and her parents filed for the adoption before she became a legal adult, you can not adopt her. It's in the hands of her parents."

"How much do I need to pay to get it to where we can adopt her? It's not safe for her to be with her parents. They're both ex cons with a history of abuse." He asked.

"You can't bribe government or state agencies, Mr. Padalecki. You can contact the family and see if they'll throw out the papers but that is all you can do."

"Ok." We got up.

"Have a good day." I told her before we left. Jared was fired up. "Jared, relax."

"I will not relax. I am not letting you stay with your parents. That is not the kind of environment you need to be in." Gen calmed him down.

"Jared, I'll get their number from my brother and you can call them and see what we can do, ok?" He nodded and we drove back to his place. I texted Stephen.

Do you have our parents' numbers?

Yeah. 123-555-7687

Thanks.

"Jared, I have their number. Please go easy on them." He nodded and went to another room with me to call them and had them on speaker.

"Hi, Mrs. Harrison? My name is Jared and I am the person who Sarah is staying with. I understand that you have submitted papers for her adoption? Well, my wife and I were planning on adopting her, but the court system says that we can't because you filed the papers while she was still a minor."

"Well she is my daughter. Just because I went through a rough patch and she was taken away doesn't mean she isn't my daughter."

"We aren't saying that. We just feel like she is in a better environment here with us. We love and care about her deeply and she is able to pursue her dreams here with us. She wants to be an actress and we are helping her pursue that. My wife and I both act as well and we just want what's best for her. I'm sure you turned your life around and maybe your husband is even out of jail, but it's just not the best thing for her to be living there. If you want money in exchange for getting rid of the adoption papers, we'll give you money. We just want her safe and in a place that she wants to be. She's 18. She's old enough to decide and she doesn't want to be with you."

"I'll believe that when I hear it."

"Ok. You want to hear it? I don't want to be with you. In fact, I pretty much hate you two. It's because of your life choices that I spent my whole life in living hell. You hated me when I was little too. I remember vague bits and pieces of you two and none of them are good memories. No one kept me and Stephen for very long." I snapped.

"Why would anyone want to keep you and Stephen? You're little troublemakers who defy any and all authority."

"Well of course I defied authority because anywhere was better than with you or any of the foster families. Dad was an angry mess who robbed any place he could get his hands on and you were a high mess all the time. I never got any care or any parenting, just bruises and scars. No one loved me until now. I don't want to be with you. Jared and Gen are who I want as my parents and if you ever truly cared about me, you'd let them be."

"Sarah, you're being unreasonable and you're seriously exaggerating."

"No I'm not. I'm done talking to you. Stay the hell out of my life." I stopped talking and wiped the tears from my face.