“No silly, it’s your going away gift!” I spit the soda all over her in complete shock. No one has ever bought me something so nice, I am for once speechless.
“Oh love, close that mouth of yours before you catch a fly and let’s go for a spin.” Delilah wiped the soda off her and is dangling the keys in front of me. I can’t help but snatch them up and run outside to my new car. It’s a brand new 2019 Toyota Camry with leather interior.
“Thank you so much, but I have to ask why are you giving me a new car when your car dates back to the prehistoric era?”
She stared at me for a minute while looking lost in thought. I knew that look and that was the I am going to say something that upsets her look. “When I first met you, you were a small fragile looking girl. Then you know after the Montgomery’s, we tried different homes that really didn’t work out. You went from that little girl full of hope to now a woman who stopped believing in the happily ever after. I wanted to give you something to show you how proud I am of how far you come. For what you went through, you still pushed through and graduated high school and pulled up your grades at college. Now you’re off to St. John’s and that is part of the reason why I’m giving you a car, so you have no excuse not visit me. The other part is that I want you to see that there is someone who cares about you and wants to see that light come back in your eyes.”
The memories of the past were coming back to me, but I force myself not to think about it and focus on what Delilah was saying to me. It was a lot to take in, but I knew deep down she was right. That light inside me turned off when he ran away. His name was Jude and he was everything to me. We met at my first foster house, the Montgomery’s. What I endured, no child should ever go through, but it was bearable when I was with him. I didn’t want to talk about it, so I walked over and gave her a hug. Delilah seemed to understand that and accepted my hug as an answer.
“Ok, so enough of that. What do you say we go for a cruise and stop at your favorite diner before you head off tomorrow morning?” She throws me the keys and starts racing over screaming shotgun.
I can’t help, but laugh at her. “Sounds good, but Delilah you don’t need to scream shotgun when you are the only passenger!” God I am going to miss her.
Chapter Three
Madison
It was five in the morning and I couldn’t go to sleep for the life of me. In just a few hours, I will be packing my things for the fifth time. I felt anxious moving in with Stella in a new home. I feared what will happen if she hated living with me and wanted me to leave. I knew she wouldn’t do that, but that fear just wouldn’t go away. At least Delilah said she will always be here for me.
It felt really good that Delilah cared about me. If my mom was looking down, I hope she was happy that Miss Delilah came into my life. She was always there when I got kicked out of the foster homes and she never made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. The first home, the Montgomery’s, I got kicked out, but that was a blessing. The second home, I pretty much terrified them and that lasted only a week. The third home, I lasted one night. I’ve been living with Delilah for the last five years and she became a second mom to me.
A few hours later, we were packing my car with the last box. I was attending St. John’s University, about an hour away, so I told her she could stay home since it wasn’t that far of a drive. Honestly, yesterday was full of emotional talks and I couldn’t do another day of that. It was already exhausting trying to pretend I was ok. She had no idea the nightmares never stopped and the sessions I am in now with Dr. Fully made little progress. If I told her the truth, it would only worry her. Especially now that I am away from home.
~.~
After an emotional goodbye from Delilah and an extra half hour of traffic, I was finally pulling up to the house I was sharing with Stella. When Stella meant that we would forever be best friends, she wasn’t kidding. We lost touch when I was living at the Montgomery’s, but when I came to live with Delilah, I went back to going to school with Stella at Uniondale. I didn’t think anyone would recognize me and I hoped no one did. My hair was now cut to my shoulders and the frizzy curls where now smooth chestnut waves. I used to wear dingy, dirty, or even boy clothes to school because it was whatever my mom could buy which didn’t leave many options. Now I was in brand new Steve Martin boots, skinny black ripped jeans, my favorite band shirt, and a flannel thrown on top. I guess you can say I had an edgy look going on, the complete opposite of Stella’s princess glam look. Stella was all about the bling and the pink, which made her look like a princess. She’s a little calmer now with the bling, but majority of her closet consists of pink and pastels. My closest on the other hand is majority all black. I guess much hasn’t changed.
When I walked into Uniondale, the girl must have had a sixth sense because before I even walked ten feet in, she was rushing towards me and wrapped me
