Accent Hussy (It Had 2 B U) (28 page)

Now Caleb is the one crying. My hand instinctively reaches up and brushes away his tears; he kisses the palm of my hand. This is the closest we’ve ever been to connecting. It’s the first time I’ve ever really looked at Caleb. He really is selfless, and it breaks my heart knowing that the boy he tried to help is dead because of a shitty upbringing. I refuse to let that happen to Holly. I just won’t let it.

“Help me, Caleb. Tell me what I need to do in order to become a foster parent and save Holly.”

His eyes drop to his lap then he gets up from the couch. “Let me make a few calls. Have your parents file to become foster parents. With you living under their roof, a judge isn’t just going to give her to you. You’re young, and unfortunately that makes becoming a foster parent difficult. Your parents have a better chance than you do. Your recent DUI doesn’t help either.”

I frown and sadly nod in agreement. The stupid accident has messed up a lot of things for me. I can’t believe I let something like an Irish accent sway my conscience into taking the night off. Driving drunk was stupid, whether it was Keegan or me behind the wheel.

“The bad thing is that Stephen has seen you talking to her. If we don’t act now, she could end up going back to her foster home where she could disappear. Whether she’s carted away by her foster parents, Stephen, or some other pedophile in her foster dad’s arsenal, that little girl could end up anywhere, or worse, dead.”

The word dead is like a dagger straight through my heart. I won’t let that happen. I reach into my back pocket for my cell phone, dialing my mother’s number. After a very long conversation, she agrees to look into becoming a foster parent. Caleb calls the police. Within thirty minutes, they’re at The Youth Center with Holly’s case worker.

I remove Holly from Trisha’s office and bring her into the conference room. The moment she sees the caseworker, she cries. “No, she’s going to make me go back!” Holly screams.

The woman’s eyes widen like she can’t believe that Holly would say something bad about her. She’s an older woman, who’s wearing a too tight brown blazer/pencil skirt combo with a white blouse and penny loafers. She looks almost uncomfortable. Holly’s outburst makes it worse.

“Holly, can you please tell me what’s going on? You told me that you liked your foster parents. Why are you all of the sudden lying to these people?” When the woman catches the heat of my glare, she says, “I’m Denise, her case manager. Holly has been in the system a very long time. She’s like a daughter to me.”

I scoff, and have to stifle the string of explicit curse words I want to hurl at her. Everyone in the room looks over at me at the same time.I place Holly on the table and pull up her shirt. Holly winces when she hears the collective gasps throughout the room. “Does this look like she’s fucking lying?” I curse. “I don’t know how you can consider her a daughter when you are placing her in the care of such monsters.”

“The Peterson’s have a very good track record as foster parents. Several kids have stayed with them over the years and not once have I seen anything like this. For all I know, she could be harming herself and blaming it on the Peterson’s.”

The woman needs to be smacked. Straight up slapped right across her wrinkled face.

“Listen, you bitch . . .” One of the police officers cuts me off. Caleb comes up behind me and holds me back because I’m lurching over the table at her.

“Mrs.” The cop looks at me and I roll my eyes.

“Miss McGowan,” I answer, removing the label of being tied to anyone.

“Miss McGowan, we take child abuse seriously. I can assure you that we will be doing a full investigation into this.”

“Good, I suggest she’s removed from their custody immediately,” I order, eyeing Denise.

“It’s not that easy. Foster parents are hard to come by. Until I know for sure abuse is going on in the home, Holly will be put back in place with the Peterson’s.”

“To hell she will. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Well, luckily, you don’t,” Denise challenges.

“Okay ladies, that’s enough,” Caleb booms. “Why don’t you let the officers do their jobs, and we’ll figure out what to do with Holly afterwards.”

Both of us eye each other and let out a breath of frustration. “Fine,” we say simultaneously.

There’s absolutely no way I’m going to let her take Holly back to that house—not when she’s in danger. They will have to pry her out of my arms if that’s the case. If I’m going down, I’m going out swinging.

Everything turned into a nightmare.

Directly after the meeting with the police officers, I took Holly to the hospital. Caleb came with me, as did the two officers and that bitch Denise. My heart dropped when the doctor came back into the room with a solemn look on his face.

“We have a problem,” he says, eyeing Holly. “Jen, could you please take her from the room?” he asks a nearby nurse.

Holly looks up at me with pleading eyes. “Please don’t let them take me away, Miss Everly.” She clings to my neck. I place her on the ground and get down to her level.

“Do you see this nice lady right here? She’s just going to take you from the room for a minute. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I just want to talk the nice doctor for a second and then I’ll come find you, okay?”

Holly has tears in her eyes and cries into my shoulder. They practically have to pry her from my arms when nurse Jen finally picks her up and walks with her from the room. Tears are in my eyes when I turn back around to the doctor. The two police officers have their pads of paper out and are waiting for what he’s about to say.

The doctor runs a frantic hand through his hair and looks over at the caseworker. “I’m not sure what has been going on with this little girl, but I can tell you that there is extreme bruising all over her body. She also has some scarring around her vaginal and rectal areas.”

I gasp, covering my mouth.

“So, she’s been sexually assaulted?” Denise the bitch asks.

“Repeatedly,” the doctor replies sadly. “There’s serious scar tissue within her vaginal walls and anus. It’s the worst case of child sexual assault I’ve ever seen. This child is in some serious danger if it keeps happening.”

I want to throw something or punch a wall. I can’t believe someone would ever hurt a child like that, let alone force themselves on her. I feel strong arms circle me and I realize that it’s Caleb. He must sense my anger, or see the distress in my body because he whispers, “She’ll be okay,” into my hair.

“What happens now?” I ask.

“Well, I’m not sure. I’ve never run into a case like this before. My plan was to take her back to her foster parents after we left the hospital,” Denise tells us

“I highly advise against it. If this little girl sees any more trauma, she could possibly have lifetime injuries from it. Or worse, if the abuse is bad enough, it could kill her,” the doctor says.

“Well, placing her in the care of a new foster home isn’t easy. Most of them are filled right now. Lots of paperwork,” Denise huffs.

“I’ll take her. I live at my parent’s house currently. It’s a six-bedroom house. We have plenty of room. The holidays are coming up. I know my parents would love to dote on her. They’re applying to be foster parents as we speak.”

“It takes almost a year to become a certified foster parent. Your parents can’t just sign up and Holly go straight to their house.” Denise glares at me. “We have rules to go by.”

“Look, I’m telling you that I want this responsibility. I have fallen in love with this little girl. I don’t want anyone to hurt her ever again. Putting her with another foster home would be asinine when you know there’s a good home willing to take her right now. I understand that you have your rules, but in a situation such as this, wouldn’t it make more sense to put her somewhere she wants to be, instead of in another home that could potentially hurt her?”

Denise looks around the room. Everyone is nodding their heads. Caleb is still holding me and I should probably shake him off, but I can’t, not until I get through this. She takes a deep breath and then lets it out in exasperation.

“This is unorthodox, but considering the circumstances, the situation, and the obvious bond you have created with Holly, I can grant you temporary guardianship, at least until I find a suitable foster home for her.”

I want to pump my fist and do a couple jumping jacks, but I remain composed and just smile instead. “I know she will definitely be happy with us. My family may be small, but it’s full of love.”

Denise hands me a piece of paper. I fill out all the information on the sheet.

“We’re going to be arresting Mr. Peterson and Stephen Raider from The Youth Center,” one of the police officers mentions.

“We did a swab and if there’s any DNA evidence, we will be passing it along to you so you can file charges,” the doctor states. “It breaks my heart to see a little girl abused like this, poor thing. She’ll never be the same again.”

After a few more discussions with the doctor, Denise, and the police officers, we call Holly back in. She looks just as nervous as she did before and will only make eye contact with me and Caleb.

“Is she going to take me back to the Peterson’s?” she asks.

“Holly, how would you like to come with me back to my house and stay with me for a little while? I have a nice big house and my parents are absolutely going to love you.”

Her brown eyes twinkle. “Really? I don’t have to go back to the Peterson’s house?”

“Oh no, I vow you will never have to go back to that house ever again. Would you like that, Holly? Would you like to come stay with me?” Caleb finally releases me as I stoop down to pick Holly up.

“Yes, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”

She grabs my neck and hugs me, kissing me on the cheek.
Where’s the checkout counter? I’m ready to take this little girl home now.
I wipe the tears away from my face and hold her even tighter. When I do finally let go, she looks over at Denise and says, “The other foster kids said you were a mean old lady who didn’t care about us. They were wrong,” Holly tells her. “Thank you for not letting them hurt me anymore.”

The hard exterior of Denise fades. The wrinkled face pulls into a soft smile. She wipes a tear from her eye. At least, I know in that hard eggshell around her heart, she’s actually able to crack. All it took was the soft smile of a battered child, and her warm little heart to chisel away that icy exterior of hers.

“Thank you, Denise. You won’t regret this decision; I can promise you that.”

She nods and doesn’t say a word. I carry Holly from the room where they discharge her. On my way out, I’m handed a stack of papers. All of it deals with child abuse. It’s hard knowing that this precious child has been through so much in so little of time. Holly, despite her outward bruises, is carrying around many internal wounds as well. That’s something I’m going to have to help her with if she stays with us longer. My plan is to keep her as long as possible. The only problem I can foresee for myself is the fact that I’m doing community service for the DUI. Knowing that one stupid mistake has the potential to not only ruin my life, but also the life of Holly, makes me kick myself even more for being such a damn accent hussy. Why did I let my judgment get clouded by a sexy voice and leather jacket? It’s not even like he and I were dating for a while. We went on one stupid date—a date that wasn’t even that great: horrible car sex, scuzzy dinner, and drinks at a not so reputable restaurant. To top everything else off, he’s a felon! Like a bad felon. Why didn’t I just listen to my brother and do the background check like I was supposed to? At least, then, I would’ve know exactly what I was working with and maybe saved myself a little bit of the trouble I’m now in.

On the other hand, trouble is what brought me to The Youth Center. Trouble introduced me to Holly. Now, trouble is the only thing that could possibly stand in the way of me saving this little girl’s life. I don’t want Holly to end up like Jacob. I’m going to do everything I can to save her. If that means I have to start praying every night, and really working hard to remove my tainted name, then I will.

Because a little girl like Holly is worth it.