HOTH Season 1, Part 5

Can you believe we’re already half-way with season 1?! I can’t believe it – wow. Here’s where it turns around….

Hang on to Hope
Season 1, Part 5

I sat on my bed after stomping to my room, browsing on quote of the day’s websites on my iPhone. I found this..

“Ephesians 6:1
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”

At first I paid no attention. It was just some verse from the “Bible” or whatever. I didn’t care – why should I?

But then I got to thinking. What did that even mean? And would it apply to me? I didn’t have any parents, really – did foster parents count?

“Hey,” I heard. Looking up quickly, I saw that it was Amy who had just came in the room. “I, um, thought we could talk,” she was saying.

I didn’t object, but I didn’t say anything either. I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Was she going to say I couldn’t stay here any longer because of my actions? Was I going to get kicked out?!

“Well, um,” she started a little nervously, sitting on my bed after moving my orange flip-flops off the covers and to the floor. “I just wanted to say that how you have been acting isn’t right. But I must apologize for us as well last night – Lexi was being rude, and this morning I wasn’t patient or thoughtful, and my husband shouldn’t have yelled like that at dinner. However, that is no excuse to how you have been acting.” Amy continued, choosing every word carefully.

I looked down. There was something slowly bubbling up one the inside of me, something I needed to say. But I didn’t know what yet.

“I know you have had a hard time in you past. But when you home into the house, you leave all of that at the door. That is behind you now. When you come inside, you change the way you act because how you act right now is not right.“

I contemplated Amy’s words as she spoke.

“I’m in charge of you. I am your legal guardian, as well as Jackson! I have authority, and you must acknowledge that. Because if you don’t, you will get nowhere in life. Your boss will fire you, if you even manage to get a job, and no one will want you.” Amy paused there, studying my face. my expressions only changed slightly at her last words as I bit my lip.

“But I want you. Jackson and I, we want you. We love you. And so does Lexi – she just doesn’t show it.” Amy finished.

By now, I finally had the words at the tip of my tongue. With a deep breath, I began what I wanted to say.

“I’m very sorry for the way I have been acting lately. I just thought acting right wasn’t worth it because I wasn’t used to it, and I thought you would just kick me out later. That’s what most people have done. They didn’t want me. But there is something different about you, and Jackson. So I really feel like I belong here. Please forgive me … I really want to stay here.”

I finished my last sentence, which brought a tear or two to Amy’s eyes. For a while she didn’t say anything, and just let the tear flow while smiling at me. Finally she gave me a BIG hug.

And you know what?

I hugged back. It felt good to be loved. My body had craved that for so long, because I never tasted just a little drop since … I can’t even remember when. The hug seemed to last forever, but got interrupted by a door shutting downstairs and Lexi calling, “Mom, Dad, I’m home!”

To be continued…