Someone Out There Loves You (Adopted by Frank Iero)

12

FRANK

"You want to adopt Alexa?"

Madi sat across from me in a small office, a bewildered expression on her face as she repeated the words I had just said.

"Yes," I nodded.

I could barely sleep last night. My mind was in a frenzy of ideas, research, planning, imagining a future with Lexa in my life where she could feel loved and safe and like a normal kid. I desperately wanted to give her that.

When I arrived at the hospital this morning and asked to speak to Madi - the nurse who I had grown the most familiar with over my weeks visiting Lexa - I'm sure she wasn't expecting this to be the conversation I had in mind. She seemed at a loss for words, and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"I know this sounds insane, but I- I can't comprehend how her biological parents have abandoned her. Over the past month or so that I've been visiting her, we've become really close. I really care about her. She's such a good kid and she's been given crap all her life. She's never been able to catch a break. She deserves so much better than this and I want to help give her that. From my understanding, she's pretty much only here because she has nowhere else to go and no one to sign her out?"

Madi sighed and crossed her legs. "Alexa is a bit of a challenging case. We haven't had anyone in her situation before and we don't really know what to do with her if I'm being honest. It sounds really horrible but it's true." She sighed and adjusted the gold wire rim glasses sitting on the top of her nose. "Legally, we cannot discharge a patient under the age of 18 without a parent or guardian's consent, meaning we need their signature on the discharge papers when they essentially pick their child up and take them home. The problem with Alexa's situation is she has been deemed fit to leave and her doctors are ready to complete their part of her discharge papers, however, without that parental or guardian component, the papers are incomplete and legally we can't let her go. Since she is under our care here we have responsibility over her.

"We have had instances where patients are admitted from foster homes or orphanages, but they are able to be discharged because they are in the foster system or are the responsibility of the State and hence there's someone to fill in that part. Alexa, however, hasn't gone through any of that. She was living with her parents prior to this and there was no legal involvement to deem them no longer fit to have custody of her-"

"There should have been." I cut her off.

She looked at me quizzically as if I knew more than she expected, or perhaps something she didn't. "Without her parents, social worker or foster carer, there is no one to take over the responsibility of her, and we can't just send her out of here with no one picking her up, if that makes sense."

I nodded my head in understanding. "So, what you're saying is she basically fell through the cracks and no one noticed?"

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Yes, unfortunately that's what has happened."

I felt my face get hot. I so badly wanted to snap, but I couldn't. It wasn't fair to take it out on Madi and it certainly wouldn't help my case. "Is there any plan to fix that? Can't you contact the State or something?" I bit my lip, trying to keep desperation from seeping into my voice. This wasn't looking promising.

After some time, she looked up at me, defeated. "We don't know what to do with her."

"I want to adopt Alexa. I want to be her guardian. I want to take responsibility for her. Please, let me take responsibility for her. Let me adopt her." I was one notch away from sounding like I was begging, but I had ever been so certain of anything in my life.