Adopted by Phan

Chapter 7

Phil's P.O.V.

I looked across at Dan, who's brow was furrowed as he continued to read. I reached my hand across the desk and squeezed his, intertwining our fingers as we continued to read.

Most of the following writing were first-hand accounts of police officers, most of whom were involved in the arrest of Jay's father at his home and Jay's mother in Australia, but there were some small details I saw about Jay that stood out.

Jay had been found in the backyard of her fathers house, having been spotted by the neighbours children who had knocked their football over the fence. The only reason Jay's father had been arrested was because of those children who saw her.

According the documents, she had been unconscious for at least a day and night before she was spotted and practically of the verge of death from exposure over the night, as the temperature had dropped to almost freezing and she was only wearing a hoodie and jeans, with almost no protection from the wind.

The home had been full of empty bottles and "reeked of alcohol and drugs", quoting one of the officers. Jay had been rushed to the hospital and had been in intensive care for a least a week before being moved to a normal ward and then being released a month later to be sent to London.

Dan closed the documents and looked at me, shocked at what they had told us, and what Jay didn't know. His hand was still clenched in mine, mostly for comfort but also slight uncertainty. If we did adopt Jay, there would be a point where we would have to tell her.

If we did adopt her it would be up to us.

Jay's P.O.V.

A nurse entered the room, a different one this time so it wasn't Miss Blonde but rather a nicer looking woman, someone of a motherly figure like the ones I had seen in books when I was younger.

She smiled at me, taking my hand and led me into a bathroom, nattering all the way there with random information about some of the other nurses that worked there. I smiled, she seemed like the type of person I would want to know.

The bathroom was rather large but instead of a normal shower that you might see at a home with sealed glass wall but rather it had a slightly dipped floor with a drain, surrounded by a curtain. There was a toilet and sink as well, plus a towel rack with two towels, one large and one small as well as a facecloth. Above the sink was a mirror.

On a shelf inside the shower were two small bottles, shampoo and conditioner I assumed and a small bar of carbolic soap. The nurse nodded to me and shut the door behind me, and I locked it.

Turning around, I peered at myself in the mirror. I could see the dirt on my face, built up from my days on the street and the small bags starting to appear underneath under my eyes. I sighed, running my hands through my hair to pull the tie out.

I caught my knife with my right hand and clutched it tightly, digging my fingers into the plastic. It had almost become a comfort for me now, the only way to bring me back to the only place I knew as home.

The shower was nice, washing away the dirt that had covered my body and some of the more painful memories I had. I never remembered much of my parents being only 9 when I left to London, but most of what I remember is of my brother.

Just before I left to London from the hospital, from which I was told I had been picked up from the streets, they told me that I had a minor memories problem but they didn't know whether it was genetic or from an injury.

There was a set of clothes resting on the toilet and after I had dried myself I pulled them on. They had done pretty well at estimating my size as everything fitted quite decently but the sweatshirt was massive, the bottom of it falling to my mid thighs.

They had given me a pair of black skinny jeans, a small amount of wear in the knees, a pair of pink and grey sneakers, a large blue, green and purple ombre t-shirt and the large black hoodie.

I unlocked the door and peered into the hall, smiling slightly at the large nurse, still in the hallway. In the pocket of the hoodie I clung to my knife, hoping desperately for my mind to make a decision.

The nurse opened the door and led me back to the room I had been in previously. She led me to the bed and pulled a hairbrush from her pocket.

"Do you mind if I brush your hair?" Her voice was very calm, very sweet and very comforting. I nodded, sitting down on the bed facing away from her.

She placed one hand on the top of my head and used the other to brush, pulling out tugs with every movement of her hand. It was slightly painful but I sat still, allowing her to basically pull my hair out of my scalp. The door opened behind me and I looked up, groaning in pain as the nurse tugged at my hair when I moved my head.

It was Dan and Phil, who were looking slightly pale but otherwise okay. Dan grinned at me and I stuck my tongue out at him, squinting my eyes and pulling away from the nurse taking the brush from her hand. I finished brushing my hair myself and handed it back to the nurse.

Officer Briny came in too, carrying a stack of paper about a foot tall and dropped it with a loud crash onto a desk. The nurse left and I looked up at Briny with curiosity, the paper on the desk clearly something important.

"Alright. This is all of the paperwork for you to do." He was talking to Dan and Phil and I looked at them curiously.

"It's the adoption papers. We're making it official. They've already had home inspections and the approval of adoption forms signed, so we just need to do this now." I jumped. I didn't realise it was going to be so soon, and my decision needed to be made right then.

"Are you okay? Do you want to go through with this?" I took in a deep breath and clutched at the last hope I had, hoping I'd made the right choice.

"I'll do it."