My Foster Mom Wanted A Daughter - Book 2 Of A Series

Chapter 11: Rescue

In an instant, the two were gone, darting out the door, back onto Market Street. Angelo then looked the other way and saw the reason for their quick departure; a young man and his female companion, both dressed in jeans and bright green tee shirts reading "Teen Help" were headed down the corridor towards Angelo.

"Were they bothering you, miss?" the young woman asked Angelo. She was a husky young twenty-something-year-old woman, her brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail.

She had a freckled face and a friendly smile.

"A little," Angelo responded. "They seemed to really want me to go with them. I was getting very scared."

"You were wise to be scared," said the young black guy who introduced himself as Melvin. "Those two were up to no good."

"Do you need any help, miss?" the young woman inquired. "I'm Karen, from Teen Help. We're a youth help group."

Angelo looked at the two. They looked innocent enough, but he feared, they'd probably call the police and soon he'd be back in the foster care system as a boy.

"No, I'm fine," he quickly told them.

"Are you sure, honey?" the girl asked with genuine concern. "Where are you headed?"

"To visit a girlfriend here," he told her. "Here's her address. How would I get there?"

Angelo handed Melvin a piece of paper with Debra Jean's address on it. He took a look at it and got a quizzical expression on his face. He then showed the address to Karen.

"This can't be right," Karen said, taking the paper. "I know the area and I'm pretty sure this address doesn't exist on that street."

She quickly searched for it on her phone.

After a few moments, she looked up and replied, "Yeah, that's what I thought. The number's too big. There aren't that many blocks on this street. This address would put her in middle of Sloan's Lake."

Angelo's face reddened. He explained that when he tried to call Debra Jean, she hadn't answered the phone, either.

Angelo finally admitted he had only about $6.00 left, and that he had no place to stay unless he could find Debra Jean.

Within a few minutes, the two Teen Help workers had led Angelo into a small private room, with a little table and four hard-backed chairs.

The room was named: "Police Room." It was a drab room, painted gray and devoid of any pictures on the walls.

Angelo suddenly wanted to bolt away from these two workers, fearing they were actually police officers, or that they were connected in some way with Miss Pentacost, but, Melvin had him by the arm, and he couldn't escape.

They asked him to sit in one of the chairs, with Melvin sitting opposite and Karen right next to Angelo. She gently took hold of his hand, as if to lend support.

"Now, young lady. Tell us about yourself. Who are you," Melvin asked.

Angelo observed that Melvin was a tall, trim young adult, with a rich creamy brown complexion and closely trimmed hair. He had a gentle manner, but he also sounded firm, with a no-nonsense demeanor.

Angelo sat looking at Melvin, saying nothing. He had no idea what he should tell them. How could he tell them who he really was, that he was really a boy?

"Come on, we won't bite," Karen gently coaxed.

It was obvious these two street workers were used to dealing with runaway children whose only defense was often to clam up and say nothing.