Page 114 of Chosen Road

“By the time we met, it wasn’t relevant. It almost feels like a betrayal to tell anyone that my foster parents aren’t my ‘real’ parents.”

She looked inwards before resuming talking. “I have OCD, you know this. I was only five or six when the symptoms started showing up, although I wasn’t diagnosed until I was in foster care. As you can imagine, my OCD behaviors interrupted and interfered with everything. My parents had no patience, and probably had their own mental illnesses to deal with. A teacher at school noticed the bruises. When they confronted my mother, she owned up to it and willingly gave me over to the state.”

“That’s horrible.”

Minty smiled. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was too old to be considered ‘adoptable’ by most people’s standards, so the best I could hope for was a long-term foster home. My social worker placed me with my parents as you know them.”

“But you have their last name…” I interrupted.

She nodded in agreement. “I do. The state did not allow them to adopt me because of their ages. The day I turned eighteen, I aged out of the system. My foster parents took me to their lawyer on my birthday and we signed all the papers to make it official. I was their only child and they wanted to make sure I was looked after when they were gone.”

She sniffed, then smiled. “To me, they were superheroes, and I would have thought so even if I’d been born to them. They were wonderful.”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Minty.”

She shook her head. “You’re focusing on the wrong part, my friend. Out of the rubble comes gold.”

Minty drove Ruby to the airport every day for the next five days while Ruby tested out her prescription medication. They walked through the concourse, watched the planes in and out through the windows, and ate at the overpriced restaurant.

When Friday rolled around, she was ready.

Chapter 37: Happy Birthday Amber

Amber

Yiayia was pissed she couldn’t cook for everyone today. I smirked. She was rather possessive of the kitchen. Once her arm healed, she’d take over, but meal-planning would be done by both of us. So, no moussaka. Ha!

Gus did most of the cooking for us, at least that one thing hadn’t changed between us, but today the chore fell to me. And Ruby. And Minty.

I was happy to do it on my own, especially considering Gus took Alex out with Vander and Jace, giving me the time to do it. However, Ruby and Minty insisted cooking for my own birthday party amounted to a federal offense and decided they would come and cook with me.

I smiled. Life could certainly be worse.

After our moving date a few days ago, we were slowly settling into our new normal, and apparently our new normal included a Gus that was slightly less sure of himself and a whole lot less commanding in bed. Sweet, tender, attentive, and delightfully thorough, but restrained.

Consequences and repercussions, the residual affect of rejection and separation. I hoped we would get back to what we were before.

Before… before usually meant before Jacqueline, but suddenly that rang false. Our problems, our separation, began long before Jacqueline. Perhaps she was not the fracture line delineating before and after. Maybe she was simply a symptom.

Fucking big symptom, though.

I heard Ruby chortling outside well before her knock sounded on the door.

“I get it,” Yiayia called, shuffling to the door.

“Yassou, koritzia!”

“Hi, Yiayia!” Ruby exclaimed.

She adjusted quickly to not living with Yiayia, pretty sure Vander helped with that, but she was always a little excited when seeing her. They both were.

“Koritzaki mou!”

“Yassou, Minty mou. You looking beautiful as always,” she greeted Minty.

I mentally counted down, three, two, one…

“Ruby, why you no dress up little bit, hmm?” She questioned. “Vander, he might like to see you dress up.”

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