Page 128 of Chosen Road

“Agori mou,” I called out softly.

He turned to me slowly and began to animate his face.

“Don’t. Don’t do that,” I said. I remembered all too well the effort required to smile.

His smile dropped and he stared at me. Shell-shocked. Numb. I’d seen that same expression on countless young faces. I’d seen it on my own face when I was close to his age, and just over a year ago.

I knew what he was going through. Could I help him get to the other side? Would he allow me to?

You can’t give what you don’t have.

“I’m happy you’re here, agori mou,” I whispered.

He dropped his chin, nodded once, then turned and walked upstairs. When I checked on them later, sneaking enough food up to feed an army, George wore a soft, genuine smile as he threatened to put enough TNT in Jace and Alex’s Minecraft world to turn it into a crater.

He would be okay.

But it was going to hurt.

Chapter 42: No Safe Place

Amber

Shell-shocked.

Numb.

His brain shutting down his emotions, creating a safe place to exist where there was none. Because no place is safe enough to come to terms with the truth of being unwanted by your mother.

I couldn’t get George’s face out of my head.

I felt his pain because it was my own. Looking at him brought the baby Amber inside me to the forefront, and she relived that stolen time again and again. Super-imposed over his face, I saw my own, Mallory’s, Gus’s when I left him, Alex’s when we told him we were separating, Ruby’s when Vander moved on, Yiayia’s when Pappou died, and the countless numbers of kids who passed through my office unable to heal, because no space was safe enough to fall apart.

My office phone rang for the second time that day. It only ever rang for two reasons. A cancellation coming in from the office administrator, or Gus.

“Hello?”

“Hi, honey.”

“Hi, agapimeno.” I sighed. Our reconciliation was still too new to take these things for granted. “What’s going on?”

“First tell me how your day is going,” he replied warmly.

“Not that great. Remember the girl I told you about? The one who has been making so much progress?”

“Yes. You were talking about her last night. She comes in today, right? Did something happen?”

“She quit,” I admitted softly. “She told her foster mother that she wasn’t coming back. No explanation. I think I got too close.”

“I’m sorry, honey. It means you’ve done your job if you were able to get close but that’s cold comfort when she won’t come in. Maybe she’ll be back?”

I sighed. “I hope so. All I can do is keep the door open.” I paused for a minute. “Gus, these kids have the same issues I did. Do. The same inability to trust, the same suspicious nature, the same avoidance of vulnerability.”

“I know, honey.”

“I’m worried about George.”

“He has his Dad. And he’ll have all of us. Hopefully it will be enough.”

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