Devouring Her Soul

Part 30

"Ms. Chen?..."

I looked over at Andrew and he nodded.

"But..what? Why?"

Andrew walked over, grabbed my hand, and smiled at me.

"The other day when I went into Ms. Chen's office, we talked about your situation at home-"

He looked over at me with a frown.

"Sorry about that by the way. I know it's none of our business to talk about your life."

I nodded, and he looked over at Ms. Chen.

"We both knew that you couldn't just stay at my place. The system wouldn't allow that. And we're surprised they let you stay as long as you did."

Ms. Chen spoke up.

"I didn't want you to get relocated very far, because I wouldn't know if anything was happening to you.. so I wanted to talk to you about adopting you instead. "

Andrew hummed.

"But we weren't sure if it would be allowed either since you had a parent that was alive, and you were almost 18.. but now that he's gone permanently.."

I heard the sound of ruffling papers and looked at Ms. Chen who was grabbing something from her bag.

She smiled, handing them to me.

As I studied the papers, I felt my heart sink and tears rose to my eyes.

They were signed adoption papers, and all she needed was my signature.

"Are you.. are you serious Ms. Chen? You don't have to. I wouldn't want to intrude-"

"Nonsense. I would love to have you, Vivian. You're a sweet girl and deserve better."

"I do?"

I said, looking at her in awe.

She giggled, putting her hand over her mouth.

"Of course you do, Vivian. 100 percent."

My heart beat a little bit softer as she laughed.. she sounds just like...

Mom?

After 2 weeks, everyone was allowed home. We went to court and had my adoption finalized.

I had to go back to Andrew's place to grab the stuff I had. When we arrived, Ms. Elizabeth and Max were heading out.

"Wait Mom where are you going?"

She smiled at Andrew who seemed a bit freaked out.

"Relax, I'm your mother. I ask where you're going."

She laughed, punching his arm playfully.

"Your brother wanted take out. I heard you two were coming so I thought it'd be a good idea to get out of the house, hm?"

She wiggled her eyebrows and winked at him.

Andrew's face turned red.

"Mom!"

She hurriedly pushed Max out the front door, slamming it behind the two of them as they got into the car.

After they pulled out of the driveway, Andrew turned to me nervously, clearing his throat.

"Uhm.. sorry about that-"

I burst out laughing, interrupting him. After a few minutes of me cackling, he smiled and relaxed.

"Let's go get your stuff, dumbass."

I sighed, wiping the tears from my eyes, and nodded, heading up the stairs.

I cleared out the drawers into a suitcase, and the more I packed, the emptier the room felt. It was rather...lonely.

We were chatting while I was packing, and eventually, it was just me rambling. not a single word from Andrew.

"...I also remember when you barged in wearing an apron and had a frying pan. That was funny..."

I finally stopped talking.

"Andrew?..."

I turned to look at him and he was standing there watching me, tears falling from his eyes. I didn't even hear him crying.

"Hey.. what's wrong?"

I walked over, holding his face in my hands and wiping his tears.

"You're leaving me.. this is your room."

I smiled softly, tilting my head.

"This is your room, Andrew."

He shook his head, crying more.

"No. You slept in here on all those rainy nights. You were the one snoring in that bed when I came to check on you in the mornings. Your clothes were in these drawers.. this is your room."

I cut him off.

"Andrew.."

He sniffled.

"I'm gonna miss you, Viv. I want to hold you every night even though you're a dumbass."

He wiped his tears with his sleeve.

"There you are.. the little boy I met. A crybaby even though you tried to be tough."

I pulled him into my arms and hugged him.

"I'm not leaving you. I'm gonna see you every day at school. And I can see you on some weekends."

"But I want you every day and every night. I can't sleep without you anymore."

I gave him a soft, somber, smile, leading him to sit with me on the bed.

"Andrew, I'm not leaving you at all. We can always call and sleep on call-"

He grabbed my chin, kissing me gently.

"I want you here... with me."

His eyes were still watering and I sighed.

"One more time won't hurt.."

"What?-"

I quickly shifted into his lap, laying my head on his shoulder.

I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Vivian, what are you..."

"Shhh sleep. This might be the last time for a while."

He sat there contemplating something in his mind for a moment before finally laying his head in the crook of my neck.

He took a deep breath, as if he would forget my scent, and tangled his hand into my hair.

He placed his hand on my lower back, swiftly laying down and holding me in his arms.

His arms were tense and he held me like an apparition that would disappear if he let go.

"Andrew."

"Yes, Vivian?"

"I love you."

He didn't respond for a minute and then slowly relaxed his body, brushing my hair with his fingers.

"I love you too."

The sky was that familiar shade of bluish-grey, and light rain trickled outside.

We laid there for a few hours before Miss Elizabeth and Max came back.

I finished packing my things and Ms. Chen came by to pick me up.

After a long dramatic goodbye from Andrew, I finally left...

Only to see him at school the next day for the start of finals week.

"Here we go again... Andrew causing a scene."

I walked onto campus with Ms. Chen and she smiled letting me know she was going to her office.

That's when I saw Andrew standing at the end of the hall with an outrageously oversized bouquet.

"Good lord..."