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27

Over the next week, we all worked with each other to help her adjust, but it certainly wasn't easy.

It's like she was trying to be our mom in a way.

Which we understood, because she had spent most of her life taking care of kids, but we were trying our hardest to just let her be a kid.

But every chance she got she was trying to cook, or clean, or offer help with literally anything that we were doing.

We were also trying to make her eat more, which wouldn't work unless we agreed to eat with her, which of course we did.

Currently all the guys were up, we were all drinking coffee and talking in the kitchen before we had to get ready for work

Harley was upstairs still sleeping and I didn't plan to wake her for another thirty minutes, but that plan went to shit when she walked into the kitchen, crying and holding her phone.

"I have to go" she sobbed out, making us all instantly alarmed, my own body immediately hugging her

"What's wrong?" Calum spoke quickly as I looked to her for anything that could be physically wrong with her.

"They called me crying- they have to go back to school today, I can't let them go alone, they don't want to go alone" she cried out to us.

None of us knew what to say

"I have to go, like right now" she cried, clearing having been woke up by this phone call, because I could see that she was still half asleep, but yet so upset.

"Pretty girl, relax, listen to me" I told her calmly, holding her face gently as I wiped her tears.

"I know that it upsets you to hear them upset, but I promise you that they are fine. They are just nervous and scared to be doing something without you, which is normal." I told her calmly.

"They are going to go to school today and have an amazing day and then I'm sure they won't ever call you again crying over it. You just have to talk them through their first day nerves and assure them that everything is going to be okay." Ashton stepped in for me, almost instantly calming her.

"I hate this" she cried out, almost instantly walking right back into another hug, which I instantly wrapped her in.

"It's hard to adjust, but give them another week and I'm sure you won't get anything but happy phone calls." Calum told her quietly.

Harley.

I went back to my room, recalling them and talking them through it like the guys told me to.

It didn't help, at all.

Just them hearing me when I told them that I wasn't coming was like them hearing the worst news they ever heard.

I felt the guilt

I felt guilty because they were almost all put in group homes, just like we had been in before and I was sitting in a very much above average cost of living home, being treated like a princess.

I wiped the tears that were falling as I listened to Jolie, the little girl that had called me this morning purely sobbing, no words being made.

Calum walked in during this, sitting cross cross in front of me, grabbing my hand as I listened.

I could hear the foster mom yelling, which made me close my eyes.

Please don't yell at her.

"Jolie- I have told you four damn times to get your shit and go downstairs! You are on punishment when you get home, no phone, no tv, no coming out of your room and no dinner-" the line disconnected as she spoke

Calum.

I watched as Harley fell into shambles for the second time today.

"Did she say no dinner?" I almost panicked to Harley, who just nodded.

"That's what foster moms love to punish with, no food." She explained, steady crying as I rubbed her shoulders, fully prepared to call the social workers again about this.

"Calum you have to let me go" she cried out to me

"I can't let you go there, Harley." I told her slowly.

"Please. They need me- just for a night, just to help them adjust to everything better, it clearly isn't going good right now." She cried out.

"Harley, that's an entire different state, baby-" "I can take a bus- I have money- it wont cost you a thing." She panicked to me.

"Harley, it's not about the money." I told her, knowing we had plenty of money if this was the right thing to do, but it wasn't the right thing to do.

"I'm going to call the social workers again and get that situation fixed, because that shouldn't be happening." I told her calmly.

"But sending you all the way there isn't going to help anything Harley, if anything it will just give them false hope that you are staying with them and then it will be even harder to come back home." I explained to her, which she seemed to have understood.

"So just give me some time to get that fixed, and if it isn't better for her in at least a week, you and I will make a different plan"

She took that, trusting me.

So I left her to go get ready, telling Luke that I had handled it.

We all ended up meeting in the car where we would go to work and Harley would chill in one of our offices.

"I think you need some anxiety medicines." I heard Ashton quietly tell her after they had been talking quietly for a minute.

"I agree" I spoke, knowing that all of this wouldn't be half as bad on her mind if she had something just to calm her nerves through all this.

"We aren't allowed on anti depressants or anxiety medicines in foster care" she spoke.

We all immediately asked why, which she didn't know the answer to before Luke looked to her

"Well, you're not in there anymore, so we will give you something to just help your body process everything better."