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19

After telling me several times that he wasn't leaving until the little boy was calm- I finally convinced Ashton to leave.

Not that I wanted him to leave, but I hated him seeing me have to live my life.

I wanted him to only see me how I act with Luke, not this way.

Thankfully, he left me to tend to the sobbing child.

I laid down with him, knowing he probably needed a nap.

I shushed him, playing with his hair gently- which eventually made him stop crying.

I held his sad and confused little body into my own, closing my eyes against him.

"I'm so sorry"

We woke up for dinner, making me quickly rush him to the kitchen, where I immediately saw that all the kids had eaten most of the food, making me sigh.

We don't have snacks in this house- it's just food you have to cook, and Veronica doesn't let anyone cook at all.

"Hungry" the little boy spoke just as I had planned in my head to just bring him back to bed and hope that he slept through it.

"Okay" I sighed, knowing what I had to do.

I got my phone, pushing my pride away and texting Luke

Hi I need you to do me a favor please

I almost immediately got a text back

I just got out of surgery, but of course, what do you need?

One of the little boys missed dinner tonight and didn't get food, could you please bring something for him to eat and I'll get some cash from Veronica to pay you back?

Of course, don't worry about the money, I'll be there in 15.

"Okay buddy, food is on its way."

I waited until I heard my phone ding, making me look to it.

Pulling into the driveway soon.

I held the little boys hand, going outside with him just as Luke pulled into the driveway.

I went to his window.

"I assumed since he didn't eat, that you didn't either so I got you some too- no arguments. I want you to eat too, I need to see some weight gain, okay?" He spoke quickly, handing me a bag.

"Thank you, Luke." I exhaled.

"Need anything else?"

I suddenly felt a wave of emotion.

I wanted to go home with him

I didn't want to go back into that building

I wanted the big, gated community.
I wanted the constant hugs and attention.
I wanted them to worry about me.
I wanted a comfortable bed.
I wanted a good heating system.

I didn't want the stress of all these kids on my back.

"Harley" he spoke due to me not responding.

"Yeah?" I shook it off quickly.

"Do you want anything else?" He asked me.

"No- no- it's all perfect, thank you" I spoke quickly.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, but keep texting me, okay?" He spoke quickly.

"I will, thank you again" I exhaled, smiling to him.

"Anytime" he spoke with the same smile.

I ate with the boy- giving him the rest of mine once he finished and was still hungry.

I let him bathe before showering myself and getting ready for bed.

I walked him to his room, where he sighed lightly.

"I can't sleep with you?" He asked me, making me sigh lightly.

"Sure you can"

We cuddled up in my bed, where he held me close.

"You remind me of my momma" he almost whispered through the quietness as I texted Luke, assuring him that I did eat.

"Do you have a momma?" He asked me slowly.

I ran my fingers through his damp hair, trying to think about how exactly to answer this question.

"No, and that's okay" I whispered.

"Sometimes the best kids are raised without mom and dads."

Luke.

We met the state workers at the house at four thirty in the morning.

They were starting very early to observe how everything goes from the beginning of the day to the end of it.

But none of the kids were going to school, they were going to see how Veronica handles all of the kids together.

The first out of the five workers knocked on the door, the four of us right behind them with our medical bags- just in case.

Veronica opened the door, looking nicer than I've ever seen.

Dressed in slacks and a dress shirt, heels and her hair was curled- which was a major change from the leggings and big hoodies.

She let us in politely, offering us drinks.

"So since the kids aren't going to school- they'll all most likely start waking up around eight" she explained, making each of us nod.

So we toured the house- the state workers looked for any health violations.

We went from room to room, seeing overcrowding, feeling major temperature differences and lack of blankets.

We went into Harley's room, seeing Harley curled up on the floor, holding her arms close to her body due to the freezing cold room as a little boy took majority of her bed and blankets.

She let these kids walk all over her.

I took my jacket off, laying it over her arms slowly, thankfully getting no reaction from her.

We continued around the house before we all stopped in the living room, making sure Veronica couldn't hear.

"This breaks so many damn rules, I don't know how she's gotten away with running this business in this condition."