Love And Leather

Chapter 15

“Hey, have you talked to mom?” I ask Kelly and Kevin as I walk into the kitchen. They both shake their heads for the answer.
“Isn't she at work?” Kelly asks.
“I thought she finished early to go and meet dad?” Kev asks.
I roll my eyes. “Exactly. I can't reach her,” I say worriedly.
They frown. “You sound worried, everything okay?” Kev asks.
“Come with me,” I sigh and pull them in the living room with me. I point at the TV and nervously cross my arms on my chest.
We all look and listen to the news and I see their eyes widening as they hear the man in New York talking about and showing the picture of a man with a gun in the center of the city. The police is trying to track him down and they're saying that you have to call the police when to see him.
“Do you think mom's in there somewhere?” Kelly asks me quietly.
“They're meeting with dad,” I just state, not answering her question. I have a strange feeling in my stomach. I'm nervous and scared and worried, but also at the same time I know it's not possible that something that bad happens with my mom (and dad).
“We'll keep you updated,” the man in the TV says and they keep on going with other news.
“Girls, she might not even be in the center,” Kev tries to calm down and we all pop down on the couch at the same time.
“Is Millie asleep?” Kelly asks instead. I nod and she gives me a small smile. We start dialing mom and they try to call dad as well a few times while we still sit in front on the TV.

“Breaking news, seven people were just shot in the Time Square. Five women, two men. The police caught the 35 year old man who appeared to be high on some kind of drugs.”
He keeps talking, but I zoom out and apparently so do my siblings, because we all look at each other, terrified.
“John, John, are you there?” one of the newsagents asks.
I move myself into Kelly's side and she does the same as Kevin does the exact same thing on the other side of me. We all concentrate our eyes on the screen and look at the live shot from New York. There are so many people surrounding the many many police cars and ambulance.
“Guys, I have a bad feeling about this,” Kelly says, already crying.
“Calm down, maybe they're both on their way back to their homes,” I tell her.
“You don't believe it either,” Kevin cries.
I move my arms around them as they both cry into my shoulders. I keep my eyes on the screen though. I need to know what are the names of the people shot. And if they're alive.
“I just got the news, five people are dead and two seriously injured who are taken to the hospital… The shooter was a 35 year old Collin Haley McNamara, who is taken to the jail immediately. The families of the shot ones are being contacted as soon as possible and we will inform who exactly was shot as soon as we get the names.”
“Thank you John. What do you think about this, Milery?” he asks the woman sitting next to her.
“Well, it's tragic. Another mass shooting in USA, five people dead. I hope the person behind this gets a worthy punishment and the families and friends will get the call soon,” the woman says, sighing at the same time.
The man moves his hand on the earphone in his ear to listen better what he is being told and then nods. “Carl Matthews and Donna Pearl are taken to the hospital, the situation is really bad, but they're breathing by themselves now. Both of them have lost lots of blood now, the bullets in their leg and arm.”
“Five people are dead,” the woman continues, obviously reading a text from a little screen next to the camera. “34 year old Susan Johnson, 21 year old Lisa Williams, 45 year old Harold Cooper-“
My siblings' heads shot up and they burst out crying even harder, but keep looking at the screen, waiting to hear our mom's. My eyes are wide, I feel like I can't breathe. Please not my mom, please not my mom.
“27 year old Mary Manner, 43 year old Alice Cooper.”
My eyes go black. I can't hear anything. The oxygen around us disappears. What are we gonna do? MOM.

“What?” I ask Kevin, confused.
He sniffles. “Come on.” He takes my hand and pulls me up from the couch and to the front door. A woman is here.
“Hi, you must be Elizabeth?” she asks with a sad smile and gives me her name: Avery Palmer. I give her a nod. While Kelly is sobbing and Kevin is crying, I can't. I don't know why, but I'm used to keeping my emotions inside. If I let my tears out, they will never stop. And I'm not weak. I can't cry. “We need to take all of you to New York.”
“Why?” I ask.
She sighs. “The court process will be in a few days to know what happens to all of you now, but right now the only accessible foster family is in New York.”
“We’re 17, we can take care of ourselves,” I say, not being rude, but also being really annoyed. “It’s 11pm,” I add.
“Yes, and I'm sorry. This is what we have to do. Take a few things you will need for a week or so with you, please.”
I'm frowning. I can't understand anything. Why do they have to do that? “Our sister is sleeping,” I say.
She nods sadly. “Pack her things too.”
“She’s a baby,” I say.
“Isn't she 2?” she asks.
“Yes, but how the hell am I supposed to know how many diapers or anything I have to take?” I ask, getting angry now.
She sighs. “I’ll help.”
I roll my eyes. “Nevermind.” I wrap my arm around Kelly and help her go upstairs as Kevin is already packing. “For a week, okay? Just a backpack,” I tell her. She nods and while crying, goes into her room.
I go upstairs and take my black leather backpack what I use for school. As soon as I'm alone, tears start streaming down my cheeks, out of my eyes. But I wipe them off and take a few deep breaths, my heart aching in my chest. You need to be strong. I quickly change out of my pajamas, into black thighs, blue broken jeans, Jughead's grey S T-shirt and some underwear of course. I put some shirts, underwear and socks in the bag with my hairbrush and some makeup. Also my charger, earphones and power bank just in case I need it somewhere. I pull on my boots and my winter coat, taking the Serpent Jacket with me as well.
The next thing is harder. I sniffle and wipe away all my tears before going downstairs and into Millie's room. I quietly place my stuff down and since the night lamp is on I pack some of her clothes into my sports bag and well… then I pack all the other things she needs and then finally I squat down next to her bed and just look at her for a minute.
I wanna start crying again. She's 2. Her parents just died. What is gonna happen now? I need to do something. We're almost 18, but she's not. She needs parents. She needs a life.
I kiss her forehead softly and pick her up from the bed, standing up myself now. She makes a whiny voice and after that starts crying immediately.
“Shhh, it's just me,” I say quietly and start bouncing her a little after I kiss her cheek. “We need to go for a little trip, okay?”
“I'm tired,” she cries.
“I know. I know,” I say. “We don't have to change your clothes, lets just put on your boots and coat, okay?” I ask as she starts calming down already. She nods, sniffling in every few seconds. I place her to sit on the changing table and pull on her Ugg boots and the coat.
“Where we going?” she asks me as I pick her back up and take the bags as well after giving her her teddy bear what she never leaves behind.
“To New York,” I say, going downstairs already. She rests her head against my shoulder and I kiss it softly.
As soon as I get into the car and buckle Millie into the car seat what is for some reason in this car, I pull out my phone and start googling. Millie falls back asleep with only a minute while Kevin and Kelly are still crying. My lips are pressed together and I'm googling about adopting kids.
It says that you can foster when you're 21 and adopt babies when you're 18. The papers take 9-11 months to complete. Now I try to find if I'm 18 in 11 months, is it possible and what happens when parents die and can we get emancipated and do I have to work etc. It takes me all the three hours we have in the car. And then the woman parks the car in front of a big house where I guess the foster family is living. We probably have to stay here for a while now. Don't cry.