"This is SO unfair!" I exclaimed, making all of the kids laugh at me. We were playing a game Aiden and I made up call "Play Wars" where we basically have a tickle fight and see who can pin who down first. But NOW we're playing with the kids and for some reason, ALL of them wanted to be on Aiden's team. After what they've been through, they can do whatever they want.
But it's still not fair.
"I'm obviously going to lose!" I whined as we all took out places on the pile of blankets we were playing on. (We made a blanket fort) "You hear that boys? She forfeits! We win!" Aiden exclaimed and all of them started cheering. "Uhh absolutely not! I'm not going down without a fight." I giggled and all of them, except the three youngest, smirked at me. "Your choice." Aiden said, making me gulp. "Remember boys. Tickle her as much as possible and she'll go down." Aiden whispered to them but purposefully loud enough for me to hear, making all of them laugh. "You guys are way more fun than our real parents." Jasper said, making Daniel and Michael both frown. "Let's not talk about that right now Jasper. Focus on the game." I told him and he nodded. "On your mark...get set...ATTACK!" Aiden yelled out as they all ran towards me. Aiden was of course the first one to reach me. Right before he did, I picked up a near by pillow and started hitting him with it over and over again, making him laugh and step back. But then, both Daniel and Michael squeezed my sides, making me squeal and drop the pillow! "Hey!" I giggled out, trying to push them away right as Aiden tackles me to the ground. "GET HER!" Jasper yells and they all start tickling me! Aiden is tickling my stomach while Daniel and Michael start tickling my feet. Jasper, Caleb, and Joshua all use their little fingers to tickle my neck. "OKAY OKAY I FORFEIT!" I giggled out and all of the boys exclaim with excitement as they stopped. "Let's play again!" Daniel exclaimed and I giggled just thinking about them tickling me again. "I think we should take a small break from playing for now." Aiden said, winking at me. We planned on playing with the kids for a little while and then stopping to see if we can get them to talk about their parents and then playing with them again. "Let's sit down in the blanket fort." I told them and they all sat down. "What are we doing now?" Michael asked. "We know we just met you guys but we really care about you already. You're all amazing!" I told them honestly. "I like you guys too!" Jasper said, giving me a hug, making me almost cry. "We want to help you guys so you don't have to live on the streets anymore. But we can't do that if you don't tell us where your parents are." I told them. There was a long silence after what I said. Daniel and Michael looked really unsure about whether they could trust us. Right when I was about to open my mouth to talk again, Joshua says "Mommy Daddy bad," with tearful eyes. Thats when all of them, all at once, start crying.
"Our parents don't like us." Daniel says through his tears. "They took care of us just barely enough to keep us alive so we can clean and cook for them. It got so bad that they started hitting us. All of us. Even Joshua and Caleb. They said they don't want us anymore." Michael added. "So we ran away two days ago. They don't like us so they won't care." Daniel said, making him cry a little harder. I quietly go over and pull all of them into a hug, starting to tear up myself. "I'm so sorry." I told them, trying to compose myself so they don't see me cry. "Where are your parents now?" Aiden asked. I looked over at him and he looked livid. "Please don't take us back! We can't..." Michael panicked and we quickly interjected. "We would never do that to you!" I told them. "But I want to talk to your parents." Aiden said, still looking like he could rip someone's head off. "Daniel, Michael, do you know your home address?" I asked and they both shook their heads no. "We only know our way home from the park and from school." Daniel said. "Then let's go to the park." Aiden said, getting up abruptly.
Once the kids told us the directions to their house, we dropped off the kids at my parent's house and went straight over. The car ride was quiet but once we got there, I decided to say something. "Aiden, once we get inside I don't think we should pick a fight." I told him honestly. "What?" He looked agitated. "You heard what those kids said happened to them!" He exclaimed. "Aiden, they don't want their kids. If we go in there as the enemy, we might end up putting those kids through hell. However, if we go in there and tell them we want to adopt their kids, take them off of their hands, we won't get backlash. That's what they want." I told him. "Then after we have full custody of the kids, we can report them to the police." I added. Aiden looked at me in awe. "You're literally the smartest person I know." He said with a smile. This was the first time he smiled since hearing their story. "I was just going to go in there and punch the first face I saw." He admitted and I laughed at him, making him smile even more. "Come on. Let's get this over with. Together." He said, grabbing my hand in his. "Together." I said, smiling as I squeezed his hand with mine.
