On My Own
Alexander woke up to the loud sounds of his parents cooking in the kitchen. He could hear them laughing and smell the delicious bacon they were cooking. He smiled as he thought about how lucky he was to have such supportive adoptive parents. When he told them he wanted to look for Liberty and JT they encouraged him and even drove him to their house the first time. Instead of having two great parents he had four incredible ones.
He was distracted from his thoughts when he heard his phone ring. He reached over to it and saw a text message from his best friend from Seattle, Allison Jones. He opened the text to see her asking if he wanted to hang out. “You’re in Seattle…” he responded and hit send.
After a few exchanges back and forth between the two he discovered that she was actually in Canada. Apparently she had a big fight with her parents, something that had been going on nonstop for years, and she decided to fly out to see him.
Allison explained to Alex about her abusive parents and how she managed to get herself emancipated from them. He was thrilled that she was safe in Toronto, but worried about where she would stay. He asked his adoptive parents, but they turned him down immediately. He then decided to reach out to Liberty and JT. It only took a few minutes before they agreed to have her stay with them for as long as she needed.
“I’ll meet up with you at the Dot in five and bring you there?” Alex typed and then hit send. He rolled out of bed and got ready to go out for the day.
Five minutes later and Alex was face to face with Allison. She was standing in front of him with a small smile. Although she was trying to put on a happy face he could tell that she was upset. Her parents always did that to her. “I can’t believe you’re here.” He said as he held on to her tightly in their embrace.
“Yeah I just needed to get some space between us, and you know you’ve always made me feel the safest.” She said as she pushed a piece of her light brown hair behind her ear. She looked down for a moment thinking about all he has done for her over the years.
Allison and Alexander met each other in the second grade on their first day of school. She tripped on her shoelace and scraped her knee. While her classmates were laughing at her, Alex rushed to her side to take care of her. From that moment on the two were inseparable.
Alex reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. Something he has been doing since they were kids, “Are you ready to meet my birth parents?” He questioned with a raise of his eyebrow and a huge grin on his face.
“Always.” She said as she followed him to Liberty and JT’s house.
—————————————————-
“The kids are upstairs playing.” JT said as he came down the stairs to see Liberty tidying up the living room. She did that when she was nervous.
“They didn’t seem upset that she would be staying here, right?” She questioned. She stopped briefly before continuing, “It didn’t look like they were.”
“They were fine. They were actually excited.” He said with a light laugh. “Someone else to play with.” He shrugged as he reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. Just then the doorbell rang.
Liberty opened the door with a smile as she saw Alex standing there with Allison. “Welcome!” She said as she stepped aside to make room for the kids to come in.
“Thank you so much,” Allison began to thank them for opening their home to her. “I really don’t know what I would do if you didn’t let me stay.” She said, kind of embarrassed that she had not come up with a plan before flying to Canada.
“Allison is the best.” Alex said with a smile as he looked from JT to Liberty. “She only needs a few days before we find somewhere else for her to stay.” He said hoping not to bother them too much.
“Oh don’t worry about that. You can stay as long as you need,” Liberty said with a comforting smile. “I remember JT and I struggling to find a place to stay when we were your age.” She paused for a moment thinking about how that caused them to give up Alex for adoption. “I wish there was someone who was willing to open their home to us.” She finished as she looked towards JT.
“The kids are upstairs playing, but they cannot wait to meet you,” JT said with a smile as he turned his attention back to Allison. “But you have some big shoes to fill because when we said that you’re Alex’s friend they immediately decided that you’re the coolest.” He laughed lightly as he watched the girl become a little less tense.
“Well I would love to get to know them.” She said as he looked from the adults across from her to Alex standing next to her. His smile was contagious and actually looked exactly like his father’s. She barely knew them, but she knew that she would be comfortable with Liberty and JT. Something she had not felt growing up in her own home.