Page 5 of Echoes of Us

“One of the families coming this evening is going to be taking you in until you graduate. Your aunt has informed me of how troubled you’ve been since the passing of your mother, but I know one of these families can help you find your way. I hand-picked these families knowing they could nurture you back to a good and happy young woman.”

I keep nodding every few minutes, so he won’t ask me anything or repeat the stupid shit he is saying. After a while, I picked at the scratched spot enough that the leather now has a small tear. I start zoning out even more as I focus on the torn spot. I didn’t mean to tear it, but I suppose it was inevitable with me constantly rubbing over the spot. I snap back into focus when he and my aunt stand, and he motions for the door.

“Why don’t you wait out in the hall. The families will be arriving any minute, and we need to have some privacy while your aunt gives them a little background on you, and she gets to know the people who will be taking care of you.”

I stand and walk past them both without a sound.

One by one couples enter the room, smiling at me as they pass by. Though, one couple looked at me, then at each other and turned right back around. That made me laugh pretty hard. I must really look scary tonight if I can make two grown adults say ‘nope’ at the sight of me. Honestly, I wish all of them would turn around so my aunt will just let me live with Sean. I know she is worried about me living with him because of his dad, but I know how to take care of myself. Plus, Sean would never let anything bad happen to me. Instead, I am going to be stuck with one of these families who are looking for their Good Samaritan punch card for the year.

These people who don’t even know me have been talking about me for over forty-five minutes. I can hear my aunt listing some of my ‘troubles’ and her worries about me being left on my own. I also hear some couples saying, “It is no trouble; we’d be delighted to have her,” and others saying, “We just can’t handle that kind of problem in our home right now, Pastor James, I hope you understand.” There is a hush that falls over the group after that comment and the door opens. The pastor walks out. “Teagan, the conversation is taking a little longer than anticipated. Would you mind following me? I am going to take you to the youth chapel so you can participate in the youth service starting soon.” He reaches out his hand toward mine. I roll my eyes and stand, avoiding his hand and walking ahead of him. He increases his pace to step in front of me, guiding me down the hall.

We pass by a large sitting area with a coffee shop, café, and tons of people. This sitting area looked like a fancy cafeteria. Seriously, how much money does this church have? The ones in my neighborhood have boards on the windows, not espresso machines and all-you-can-eat pastries. All of the church members are laughing and mingling outside of the bigger chapel. Most of them stop and stare at me as we walk by. I guess my black T-shirt, ripped black jeans and Converse aren’t ‘church appropriate’. I don’t care if they stare. Half of them are here to make themselves feel better about their miserable lives and the other half are blind to the hypocrisy of being a wealthy person eating their weight in pastries at church. I huff. Gluttony and greed, just how God likes it.

We enter a smaller sitting area than the one we passed earlier. About twenty to thirty teenagers are sitting at various couches, drinking coffee or sodas while chatting away. This room is a more modern, youthful version of the first sitting area. There is a buffet of snacks, a fridge with tons of soda, and a coffee bar with multiple Keurig and Nespresso machines. You could hear a pin drop the second we walk through the door. The apples didn’t fall from the tree with this lot. At least the adults had the decency to smile before looking away. Half of these kids are gawking at me. The others whispering to each other.

The pastor leads me over to a group of four sitting on a couch in the corner. All four look at us with absolute shock. The two boys look at each other, look me up and down, then smile at each other. Pigs. The two girls pick up their phones and start texting, clearly to each other. All four are exactly as you’d expect. The two guys sport preppy outfits, Justin Bieber hair, and million-dollar smiles. The two girls wear dresses and heels, though one clearly put in more effort than the other. The blonde in the blue dress glances up from her phone, and if looks could kill, those gray-blue eyes would be the last thing I see.

“Gabe, Devan, Millie, and Emmaline, this is Teagan. She is going to be sticking around for a while and I’d like you four to show her to the chapel when service starts. Emmaline and Millie, make sure you two give her the high school girl’s Sunday school and events schedule. We want to make sure she is aware of everything coming up so she can check her school schedule! Teagan, if you need anything at all from me you can ask Gabe to call or text me. I will be preaching tonight’s sermon, but I will be sure to check my phone periodically in case you need me.”

Gabe looks up at his dad in horror. The pastor gives him a quick head shake and pats the bigger guy on the back. “Great game last Friday, Dev! I hope the hammy is healing real nice.”

“You kids have fun! Gabe don’t be home late. It doesn’t take two hours to drop Millie off at home.” With that, he turns to leave.

There is no way I can live with these people.

Chapter 6

Emmaline

She is exactly what I expected from a girl who lives in that part of town. She is wearing cut up clothes, dirty shoes and has major resting bitch face. I look up to see two piercing green eyes staring at me. At least her long, wavy brown hair is clean. I hold her gaze, letting her know she can’t intimidate me. Her mouth twitches, and she shifts her eyes to my friends. I look over at Mills just as a text comes through:

MILLS 6:22 PM

Do you see her t-shirt? Who wears shirts with holes in them to church? Or her jeans? Who wears jeans AND shirts with holes in public, much less CHURCH?

MILLS 6:22 PM

Why does she keep staring at us? She

looks like some serial killer you see

on Netflix. It’s making me super uncomfortable. Can we leave?

EM 6:23 PM

I’ll handle her.

Just as I’m about to tell her to stop staring at us like a psychopath and find somewhere else to be, she turns, flips her wavy brown hair, and walks away. Everyone looks at me and shrugs, then I stand up to follow her. No way am I letting her ditch us after Pastor James told her to stay. Do I want her to stay? Absolutely not! But there’s no way she’s blowing us off like that.

“Where the hell are you going?” I ask, following her from the sitting area. She doesn’t even turn around or acknowledge me. She walks through the side door and out into the alley behind the church. When I reach the door, I step outside and look around. She is sitting on a crate next to the dumpster, typing on her phone. She locks the phone and puts it in her pocket, then looks up at me. We stare at each other for a few seconds before she chuffs and pulls out a box of cigarettes.

“I am guessing you wouldn’t like one?” She covers the end with one hand and lights the cigarette with the other.

“Absolutely not. Smoking is trashy…” I pause and look between her and the dumpster, “…which I guess fits you perfectly.”

She takes a few drags of her cigarette. “Good one. Did you learn to insult people at church? I should come more often if it teaches people great insults like that.”

“You can make fun of me all you want, but from what I hear, orphan, you are going to be stuck living with someone’s family that goes here.” She flinches when I say the word ‘orphan’ but quickly recovers.

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