Maybe this is where I belong...

Chapter 20.

hi guys! i was on a roll these past two days, so here's chapter 20! please please please leave comments! i want to hear all of your feedback :)

AMELIA'S POV:
I stayed in bed all weekend, not moving from under my covers and only to shower and use the bathroom. Stef and Lena would bring food up for me but I didn't feel like eating. I cried out all of my tears. I felt broken and afraid. Stef finalized the restraining order on Patrick but that didn't make me feel any safer. I didn't want to feel like this. I wanted to feel like a normal 13 year old, who would go out with her friends and compete in their dance teams at school. Not a 13 year old who had been abused for two years and now their abuser can walk the streets, free.

It was Monday morning and Lena allowed me to stay home from school because it would have been too much for me. I couldn't sleep at night so I slept pretty much the whole day. I was in my bed and my phone vibrated and it was a text from Riley.

Hi girl! Hope you're feeling better if you're sick. Sophie, Jamie and I want to visit you and bring you treats to make you feel better, let us know. Xoxo.

The text brought a smile to my face for the first time in a couple of days. I felt like I had true friends that cared about me. I pondered with my thoughts and texted back.

Hi, I'm not sick, just a rough weekend. I would love it if you guys came over, I just have to ask my mom. i'll let you know. :)

I put my phone down and I got out of bed for the first time in hours and had a hard time balancing because I was laying down for so long. I walked into the living room to find Stef reading a book with a cup of tea. She had taken the weekend and today off from work to be with me. She looked over to see me and a wide smile ran across her face.
"Hi my love, you alright?" She put down her book and walked towards me, rubbing my shoulders and pulling me in for a hug.
"Y-yeah I'm fine." I chuckled nervously, "Um, Stef?" I asked. I don't know why but I felt nervous calling her mom. After this weekend, I wasn't sure if either of my foster parents even wanted to foster me anymore.
"Yeah baby?" She looked at me with saddened eyes. She clearly could tell I was not myself because I called her "Stef" and not "Mom."
"C-can my friends come over after school? They noticed I wasn't in school today and th-they want to visit me."
"Well sure, love. If you're up for it, but not too long, okay? You still need your rest my darling." She stroked my cheek with a smile.

"You didn't miss much today." Jamie said. We were all in my room talking and hanging out. I had changed into leggings and a baggy sweatshirts, I had been wearing pajamas for too long.
"Yeah, Mr. Sears really liked our project though!" Riley chimed in.
"Were you just really tired from the weekend?" Sophie asked, "You don't look sick."
The only one of my friends that knew about the trial was Riley, and I was apprehensive to tell Jamie and Sophie, for I only knew them for a few days.
"Y-yeah I didn't get a lot of sleep this weekend so I just slept all day today." I lightly chuckled to relieve tension. I looked to Riley with anxiety, hoping she wouldn't say anything about the trial, but she nodded which was genuine. I knew that I really could trust her.

A few hours later, Lena and Stef came up and told the girls that their parents were here to pick them up.

"Baby are you okay to go to school tomorrow?" Lena looked to me at the dinner table and everyone else's eyes quickly looked to me as well, ready for me to answer.
"Uh, yeah. I'll be fine. Besides, Mariana and I have dance practice tomorrow."
"Oh! I almost forgot." Mariana's eyes widened and a smile was planted on her face, "Our first competition is in three weeks."

My eyes immediately shot to her, "Three weeks?! Mariana we have no time to get our routine done." Stress and pressure soon flooded my head and a headache began to form.
"Relaaxxxx" Mariana reassured, "the routine is only 90 seconds."
Stef and Lena began to laugh at me and Mariana's conversation.
"Okay, my loves," Lena began, "Let's clean up dinner, yeah? And then bed is soon."

I laid in my bed, completely wiped from the day. Not that I did much at all but my mind was racing around miles and miles. I wondered what Patrick was doing. I wondered why he did the things that he did. I decided laying in bed staring at the ceiling won't help me fall asleep, I needed water.

I tiptoed down the stairs and to the kitchen when I saw a shadow standing near the fridge of the kitchen. I gasped and lost my breath when the shadow turned around.
"Oh my god sorry I scared the crap out of you, my love!" Lena was the shadow that practically gave me a heart attack.
"It-it's okay. I'm just still a little on edge." I began breathing normally now and she motioned me to follow her to the sitting area across the kitchen.
"Why are you up?" She stroked the side of my face with concerned eyes.
"I couldn't sleep. I guess sleeping all day has really caught up to me," I sighed and realized I wanted to open up and talk about everything i'm feeling,
"Mama can I be honest?"
"Always my Ami girl." She grinned.
"I just feel like every time I get my hopes up about a situation in my life, it turns to absolute shambles. I have been in foster care for eight years and have thought every home I was in was going to be my forever home. But everything turns to shambles in an instant. I truly, one hundred percent thought that Patrick would be in jail for a very long time for what he did to me, and look how that turned out." I stopped my rant for a couple seconds to wipe the tears which were rolling down my cheeks unknowingly. I turned to Lena to see if she was alright hearing this, and she looked at me with sweet, loving, maternal eyes.
"My baby girl, I can guarantee that things in your life are going to be amazing. You have so many amazing things you have to look forward to. You and Mariana are incredible on your dance team, and you have made amazing friends. And you are loved. Oh my darling you are so loved. Mariana, Jesus and Brandon love you. Mom and I love you so much it's crazy!" She let out a laugh and wiped the tears from my face. She pulled me into her embrace and I held on tight and did not for a second want to let go. Even after heartbreak, I believe that everyone in this family loves me. And I don't think that is going to change.

Dance practice ended and Mariana and I were chugging water to hydrate us after an intense routine.
"I don't think we have worked that hard in forever." She laughed as she took a break from drinking.
I laughed in return, "I know, I think the girls did really good today. They caught on pretty well and we are half way done with the dance."
"Hey, Ami." Mariana turned serious and I looked at her with confusion.
"Yeah?"
"I never got the chance to tell you how sorry I am, for what happened this weekend. I-I didn't think that would happen. I'm just really proud of you, too. You are without a doubt the strongest person i've ever met."
"It's okay Mari. Thank you. But we can't dwell on it! As Mama told me last night, we have a lot of things to look forward to in our lives." I winked and she laughed.

Lena, Mariana, and I drove home after practice and Lena got a call.
"Hello?" She answered. A few moments passed and Lena's face turned into complete shock,
"I'll be right home in a few minutes. Please don't do anything stupid. I-I love you too."
Her voice trembled and Mariana and I couldn't hear the other end of the phone so we were very confused and worried.
"Mama, what's going on, was that Mom?" I asked from the back seat and she looked through the rear view mirror to meet my eyes.
"We just have to get home, guys."

Lena sped home and whipped into the driveway. She looked at Mariana and I with an angered face expression I have never seen before.
"Stay here. Please." She got out of the car and into the house.

Moments passed and I opened the back door.
"Ami, no! Stay here." Mariana gripped my arm to pull me back into the car.
"I'm just going to look through the window, come with me!"
She groaned and followed me as we crept towards the window. I peered into the window and saw someone sitting on the couch, their back facing the window. They had their hair tied up in a pony, which allowed their neck to be visible. I gasped when I saw the tattoo. The scorpion tattoo that brought me to the darkest memories I had formed. Mariana looked over to my lifeless, terrified face.
"What? W-Who is that?" She was getting impatient when I did not respond so she shook my shoulders in an attempt to snap me out of the trance I was in.
"Amelia. Do you know who that is?"
"Y-Yeah.." I said with my voice trembling but no facial expression ran across my face.
"Who?!" Mariana asked while on edge. I took a few moments and I deeply sighed.
"It's my birth mom."