"We don't want to go back," Karter said. He and Keenan were standing defensively, facing Sarah, Louis and I. "They can't make us go back. We'll just... we'll leave or something."
"There's nothing for you to worry about yet," Sarah said softly. The kids didn't like that answer, and it was evident by the annoyed looks on their faces.
"We're not going to stop fighting for you," I said. "God forbid we lose the custody case, but if we do, Louis and I won't stop. We'll petition for a reassessment. And we'll do it again and again if we have to. There is no reason for you to leave the safety of our home and go to the house of an abusive drug addict that abandoned you."
"Why don't we have a say?" Keenan asked exasperatedly, looking at Sarah. "Why is a judge that's not going to be affected either way deciding what happens to us? It's none of their business!"
"Yeah, why can't we just say where we want to go?"
"It's not that easy," Louis sighed. "We're all doing everything we can. Okay?"
"You guys have to trust us for this," I pressed, looking between them. "I know that's hard, okay? But you have to believe that Louis and I are going to take care of you. That's the only thing you can do right now."
Keenan turned into Karter and pressed her forehead into his chest, almost like she was trying to hide. He put his arm around her and held her close.
It was a heartbreaking thing. At the end of the day, Keenan and Karter were always going to lean on each other more than they could lean on Louis and I. I didn't blame them, because I understood. It was hard for them to trust anyone besides the person that had been there.
I understood it, but that didn't mean it made me happy. The only thing to be happy about was that they had each other. I would never wish the things I went through on anyone, but it almost would have been nice to have someone that knew exactly what it was like.
Regardless, though, it wasn't about me.
"Do you think he's trying to get custody of the kids again because Mickey and I are fostering them?" Louis asked, turning to Sarah.
"I don't know, but I don't think I would put that past him," Sarah sighed. I held my hand out towards the kids and made a grabbing motion. Karter walked both of them forward, so we could all be together. "We're going to do everything we can," Sarah said firmly, looking at them. Karter nodded, but I could see that he didn't believe what she was saying.
"We're all going to be alright," I said softly.
"I'll leave this paperwork here with you guys," Sarah said. "Don't hesitate to call if you have any questions, okay?"
"Okay," Louis said. He stood up with her, and they left. I imagine he was walking her to the door.
"Do you guys want to sit?" I asked. I nodded my head to the now empty chairs. They dropped into them one at a time and both leaned to rest their head on the counter. "Is there anything I can do right now?"
"No," Keenan mumbled, "there isn't."
"Breakfast?" Louis asked. He walked back into the kitchen and grabbed bowls out of the cabinets. He poured cereal and milk in all four and then divided them between us. Keenan and Karter sat up to eat, but they did very little besides pushing their food around in the bowl.
"If he wins we have to live with him," Keenan mumbled, voice empty of emotion.
"He won't," Karter said. He didn't believe that any more than she did, but he was trying to comfort her.
"You don't know that," she argued.
"If he does... we'll run," Karter said firmly.
"No, you won't," I argued softly. I grabbed his forearm and squeezed it. He looked at me with sad eyes.
YOU ARE READING
𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙒𝙀 𝘾𝙍𝘼𝙎𝙃𝙀𝘿 ↣ 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝘿𝙄𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉
Fanfiction[this is the story of my happily ever after. and don't worry, it's definitely a fun one.] - ❝I will love you until the end of time, and then even longer after that.❞ - Mickey Horan finally got the happiness she wanted. She found it in her biologic...
