Adopted by Phan

Chapter 9

Jay's P.O.V.

When Officer Briny walked in, he was followed by a small woman who was almost the same height as me. I recognised her slightly but not much, perhaps I had seen her when I was younger.

"This is Avery Harrow, she is your social worker and she'll be checking in on you every now and again." I was curious and looked over at Dan and Phil, who I don't think realised they would have someone checking in on me.

I glanced across at the woman again, yes she was definitely very familiar and I knew I had seen her before.

"Have I met you before?" She nodded a small yes before stealing a look at Officer Briny.

"I met you when you were a lot younger, very young in fact. I was your child care nurse for a few years after you were born and your social worker when you were 9." I blinked, surprised. I didn't know I had had a nurse when I was little.

"You were a handful you were, didn't want to sit still." I smiled, I wasn't normally one to sit still, so that was true enough.

She looked across at the file that I had never been allowed to read and smiled at the photo. It was one of the last ones that had been taken before they had left me, and I hated it.

My hair had been long then, they were the very strict Christian sort that believed in gender roles and that women shouldn't cut their hair. I don't think they ever realised that I wasn't straight but they also knew something else that would basically dictate my entire future.

I was infertile, I could never have children or reproduce. It was a genetic disease, passed down through my dad's side of the family for generations. All males were carriers and any female children they had would be infertile but the only reason my family name survived was because every generation had had a son.

They knew I would be infertile and it may have been the reason I was abandoned, them knowing I would never pass on the family name or genes, and quote 'women are useless.'

It had been something had been drilled into my head, women should stay at home, women should look after the children, women should keep their heads covered, women should do this that and whatever.

My grandmother also had those views, hence the intense hatred for her as well. I hadn't live with her for very long, a few months at the most a by golly was I glad to get the hell out of there. I had cut my hair short while I had been there to get rid of any traces of my past but it didn't work. I still had the scars.

They (my parents and grandma) believed in physical discipline if we misbehaved and there was more than one time I had ran out of the house sobbing, red welts covering my back and arms. My brother, the younger one, had been on the end of the stick at times too, but I was worse because I didn't believe in what they did.

Now that I was out I had the freedom to believe in whatever I wanted and it just so happened to be absolutely nothing. Freedom, god damn finally.

I had met a lot of people who believed in different things, some Muslims, some Christians, a few Jews and even a Buddhist. I tended to just not care about what people believed in, as long as that didn't effect me in terms of what I was doing.

Officer Briny was still standing in the doorway, watching my interaction with Mrs Harrow. I seemed to remember she was married to a much taller gentleman, someone I had met at least once. I looked her over quickly, taking in her small size again and then her physical appearance.

She had mid-length black hair that was pulled back into a tight bun, cinnamon coloured skin and wrinkles covering her face. She was quite old, possibly nearing 65 so she was around that age. Her face was covered in a small smile and her cheeks were rosy, eyes smiling.

I looked up at Dan and Phil quickly, they were smiling at me and I smiled back at them, hair once again falling again in my face.

"I just want you to know that I'll be checking in on you every week to make sure you're doing okay, so you'll be seeing a lot of me around." I nodded and rubbing my wrist with my hand nervously.

I knew I would be leaving soon to Dan and Phil's house, and whole new world away from the streets and everything I had known. I could tell Officer Briny, Mrs Harrow, Dan and Phil were talking but I didn't pay any attention, knowing that even though it involved me I was too nervous to notice.

I was looking out the window on the opposite side of the room, the blue sky catching my eye and almost completely relaxing me. My body hunched over a little and I continued to stare out the window, hands screwed together in my lap.

Phil's P.O.V.

We were talking to Officer Briny and Mrs Harrow when Dan noticed Jay staring out of the window, her eyes glazed over. He tugged on my sleeve and nodded towards her, a worried glance over at Officer Briny.

She was staring out of the window, her focus on nothing and her hair falling in her face. Officer Briny was looking at her too, his hand resting nervously on the pile of papers. He was looking very worried, biting his lip.

Mrs Harrow stood up and led Jay by the arm out of the room. She almost seemed confused, disorientated and very very nervous. Dan looked at me and I could see the terrified look in his eyes.

"Jay's having a very tough time, I know that I've told you about her past in terms of family but I haven't told you about her life on the street. She been living there since about 12, after a year with her grandmother and 3 years being moved from home to home." I looked at Dan, nodding, we knew that basic information.

"Her life on the street was okay in terms of friends. She had a whole range of people who accepted her, took her in and let her roam, something she'd never been able to have before. They all accepted her, and she had time to readjust to being back to normal."

"I met some of her friends and they're all amazing. If anything happened to anyone in the group someone would have ended up dead, they protected each other like family and never let anything happen. Jay's been told to sit down and shut up for all of her life, including in the homes but what they gave her was a new chance at life."

"She suddenly been opened to a whole new range of things she'd never known before and we've just torn it all down."