𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙒𝙀 𝘾𝙍𝘼𝙎𝙃𝙀𝘿 ↣ 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝘿𝙄𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉

31. YOU WISH YOU KNEW

I was still in Louis' lap when my phone started ringing. Louis wordlessly reached for it and passed it to me.

I expected it to be an artist with an idea, or maybe one of our kids calling to ask us to bring them a bottle of water. Someone that would call me at 12:30 and not have it be something bad.

It was Sarah Cooper, our social worker. My brain instantly started running wild with every possible bad scenario she was going to say.

Louis' "answer it, love," brought me back and made my finger slide over the accept button.

"Hello?"

"Oh, good, you're awake. I wasn't sure if you'd be asleep by now or not."

"Uh, yeah, I'm awake," I said. I put the call on speaker. "Lou's here with me. What's up?"

"I need to ask a huge favor," Sarah said. Louis and I made confused eye contact.

"What is it?" Louis asked.

"I've got a teenager that needs a place to stay. 17 year old Mariam Abdullah. Have you seen the news recently?"

"The girl that found her family after they were...?" Louis trailed off.

"Yes."

"Sarah, are you sure we're the right people for this one? She's already going to have a lot of press and a lot of stress. I don't know if putting her with two celebrities is the best thing for her," I said.

"I'm trying to keep her in her school district, in a stable home with a good track record for foster kids. If the press is too bad we'll move her, but I can't think of a better option for Mariam other than you two."

Louis and I made eye contact again. He nodded first.

"Yeah, we'll take her," I said. "Where are you?"

"Hospital, she had to identify the bodies for the morgue."

That wasn't exactly the answer I was expecting.

"I'll be there in twenty," I said.

"Thank you both, so much."

"Of course," I said.

"Don't worry about it," Louis said at the same time.

Sarah ended the call after that. Louis and I took just a second to stare at each other, in shock, before we set in motion.

I climbed off of him and started upstairs to set up a bedroom for her. Louis walked toward the kitchen, probably starting a pot of coffee.

I straightened out the room and changed the bedding quickly. I plugged a night-light into the wall, even though she was 17.

I ran though a mental checklist as I moved around, before starting down the stairs again. Louis was coming in from the garage.

"I put a blanket in the car and started it so it would be warm," he said.

"Will you wake the kids up and them about what's going on? Just so they aren't surprised in the morning?"

"I've got them, yeah," Louis said.

"Okay," I said. I nodded once, firmly. I pecked his lips and then disappeared into the garage.

The drive to the hospital wasn't exactly eventful. I pulled up out front and walked in, keeping my head down.

I found the receptionist quickly.

"Hi, my name is Mickey Tomlinson. I'm a foster parent here for Mariam Abdullah?" At my words, the receptionists face softened.