Lisa smiled as she cooked. The meeting at the lawyers had gone better than expected, within a month she would legally be Katie’s mother. As Lisa glanced at the clock she began to wonder about her adopted daughter, Katie should be home soon and when she arrived she would give her the good news. The sound of the door opening and closing made Lisa smile. “Right on time,” she thought as she began to to walk towards the front foyer. “Katie how was schoo......OH MY GOD!!!!”
Lisa stared in shock as Katie and her friends stood in the front foyer. Claudia and Mika were slumped against their friends, their faces bloodied and bruised. The two teens looked as if they had been in a car wreck while the others stood pale and stunned. Unsure of what happened Lisa searched her nieces face for answers. “Katie! Kitchen! Now!!” She bellowed. Katie nodded meekly as she trudged away from her friends. “Take those two to the couch. There’s a first aid kit in the downstairs bathroom, Sammy go get it. Mary,Kellie keep an eye on those two.”
Lisa watched as the girls silently obeyed and began doing as she asked. Satisfied that Mika and Claudia would be okay for a few minutes she rushed into the kitchen to confront Katie. “Care to tell me the what hell happened!” She hissed.
Katie sat quietly in a chair staring down at the floor, the girl was still shaken by what had occurred at the mall. In the back of her head she knew that by bringing everyone here she would be in trouble but she honestly couldn’t think of any other place to go.”I’m sorry mom,” she whispered. “Mika and Claudia got in a fight and mall security was after us and I panicked and I, I just needed like to get home.” Katie trailed off as her bottom lip began to quiver, Lisa could only sigh. After all these years she could tell when Katie was being truthful, the quivering lip and near tears were a dead give away.
“Okay kid,” she sighed. “Start at the beginning and don’t leave out any details.”
Katie now let loose about everything. How Mika and Claudia were in a relationship their parents didn’t approve of. How Ashley and Jennifer had told the two girls parents about it. How Mika was kicked out of her house and finally how the Mika, Claudia, Ashley and Jennifer had fought in the mall before outrunning mall security. As Katie finished her story tears began to flow freely down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry,” she blubbered. “I didnt know where else to go. Kellie, Sammy, and Mary’s parents would flip your the only cool adult we know.”
Outwardly Lisa frowned at Katie. She had brought a huge problem into the house that she was unfortunately going to have to deal with. Silently though she felt great, to not only be trusted enough to deal with this but to be seen as cool by a group of teenagers stroked her ego ever so slightly. Taking Katie’s hands she pulled the girl gently into a hug. “Ok kid I got you,” she sighed. “Your still in trouble but I’m glad you came to me to handle this. Now let’s go see your friends.”
Lisa now guided Katie into the living room to check out her friends. The girls sat stone face on the couch as they tended to Claudia and Mika. The two of them were covered in scratches with blood covering their clothes. Claudia held a cloth on her eyebrow, trying to stop the blood flow from a large gash. Mika held an ice pack over a severely swollen eye wincing as she breathed. The girl had slid her shirt up on one side showing off an ugly bruise along her ribs. Lisa frowned as she looked the two over. “Well you two have looked better,” she muttered. “Hate to see what the other two look like.”
Lisa now began to pace slowly as she looked the girls over. “Okay Katie told me what happened,” Lisa said. The girls looked at each other anxiously before glancing at Katie. “Mika, Claudia I hear you two are an item and your parents are not exactly thrilled. You got in a fight, you needed a place to hide, I get that. So since your here this is what is going to happen.”
The girls looked on as Lisa continued, curious as to what was about to happen. “Claudia, Mika I’m calling your parents and telling them what happened.” Claudia and Mika almost jumped to their feet before Lisa held out out her hand. “No one says a word until I’m finished understand,” she said tersely. Claudia and Mika’s sank back into the couch grimacing but unable to speak. “They need to know what happened. Hopefully I can convince them to come over to talk but if not you are both welcome to stay here until something permanent can be found.”
The girls stared in shock at what Lisa was saying, amazed that Lisa not only seemed to care about them but was willing to help them out. “Wow Ms. O’Toole thank you,” Mika sniffed. Lisa nodded as she approached the girls. “Listen you two have both treated Katie nicely and she seems to think the world of you. There’s no way I’m going to let two teenage girls just wander the streets with no place to go.”
Both girls sniffed and leaned forward to give Lisa a hug, after everything they had been through in the last hour their emotions took over as they began to weep. Lisa squeezed the two girls tightly, letting them know they had someone to support them. “It’s fine you two just let it out.”
The other girls watched this silent display quietly, soon however they too were overcome with emotion and began to cry. Unable to help themselves Mary, Samantha, Kellie and Katie threw themselves into a group hug centered on Lisa. Pleasantly surprised Lisa smiled as she could feel herself being constricted ever so slightly the the girls. “Okay girls loving the emotion here but I need to call everyone’s parents,” she said. “Everyone just make yourselves comfortable I cooked dinner for me and Katie but I’m sure I can whip something up for the rest of you.”
Lisa slowly backed out of the room as the girls collapsed in on themselves in a collective hug. Smiling she couldn’t help but feel proud of herself for helping these girls out in a moment of need. “Guess it pays to be the cool adult sometimes.” She whispered with a smile.
The phone calls to the parents were more difficult than she had anticipated. Mary and Samantha’s parents, while concerned, were happy their daughters were safe and being looked after. Lee and Maggie, while shocked that Kellie was involved in a fight, also were understanding and said they would be over shortly. Claudia’s parents were furious. Not only was their youngest daughter bisexual but she had also been in a fight. Both her mother and father agreed to come to Lisa’s house to quietly talk to their daughter about what had happened. Mika’s parents on the other hand were even more enraged than Lisa could of imagined. They wanted nothing to do with their daughter at this point, no matter what Lisa said. Unable to convince to come over Lisa was able to make a compromise with them. She would swing by the house later on to pick up Mika’s clothes. Finally finished she sighed as she returned to the living room.
The girls were still huddled together whimpering slightly. Lisa smirked at this touching yet juvenile gesture. Despite these girls nearly being adults in moments of extreme stress you could see just how much growing up they had left to do. “Ahem,” she said clearing her throat. The girls looked up all with red rimmed eyes. Collectively they wiped away their tears waiting on what Lisa had to say. “Well I have good news and bad news,” she began. “I told your parents what happened, they’re not thrilled but they’re glad everyone’s okay. Kellie your folks are coming over. Claudia yours are too, they’re willing to talk, which is a good thing.”
The girls nodded as they looked at Mika. The young Asian teen grasped her girlfriends hand anxiously as she waited to hear some news. Lisa sighed sadly as she looked at the girl. “Mika honey I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I tried, I really did but your folks just wouldn’t listen. I’m heading over to your house later to gather up your belongings. Looks like you’ll be staying with us for a little while.”
Mika lowered her head and nodded, fresh tears falling onto her lap. Claudia squeezed her girlfriend tightly as Mika silently began to cry. “Listen I know this is tough right now,” Lisa stated. “But we will work through this. Mika has a place to stay where she can be safe and that’s what’s important. For now though I want all of you to head into the kitchen and grab something to eat. Claudia’s parents should be here shortly and I want you all to at least be fed by then.”
The girls nodded solemnly as they stood as a group and trudged towards the kitchen. Lisa watched them go and looked out the window. In a short time she would be dealing with two parents who were not exactly thrilled with their daughters lifestyle, hopefully she could help Claudia help them understand.