Page 9 of Stay With Me
Asweallwalkinto the conference room, Noah pulls out a chair for Jess and then me. He stands next to me with his hand on my shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. When I look up at him, he peers down and smiles.
He’s always so nice to me even though I’ve blown him off, blaming work as the reason I’ve delayed a date with him.
“Okay, let’s start from the beginning, Jess. Can you tell me how old you are?” Mike starts the conversation.
“I turn eleven this winter,” she tells him.
Mike jots down some notes in a notepad. “Okay, and you said you’re Luna’s younger sister. Is that correct?” He looks between the two of us.
“Yes, sir. Luna is my older sister. She is the only family I have left.” She stops and plays with the handle of her backpack and looks at me like she’s unsure what to say next.
Only family left?
Where is Aspen?
I jump into the conversation. “I left home ten years ago when I was sixteen… We were raised in a cult. I’ve had no contact withanyone since I left; Jess was about ten months old at the time.” I look around the room, and suddenly, I’m nervous, and I have so many questions.
What happened to everyone?
How did she know where I was?
How fast do we have to leave?
“Jess, can you tell me how you got here and where you came from?” Mike adds softly.
She looks at me, and I nod, encouraging her. We were told to never share with anyone where The Family actually lived. “I came from the house in the woods, where I found a main road and took the bus here.”
“You showed me your birth certificate when you first arrived. Can I have a look at it again and any other documentation you may have?” he asks.
I rub my hands on my shorts, wiping the sweat off. I don’t have my birth certificate. I never knew where it was kept. How does she have hers?
What happens when they find outIdon’t have mine?
It doesn’t matter. With her showing up here, we’re going to have to leave Griffin’s Den. It’s not safe for us here anymore.
“Here is a folder I found with my name on it. I hope it has anything else you may be looking for.” She opens her bag and pulls out a folder. Inside is just a single birth certificate along with a small card, and my jaw drops.
Mike turns to me. “I know I know you, Luna, but we have to follow some rules because Jess is a minor. I called our county’s CPS representative, and she’s going to work on getting you emergency custody while we get to the bottom of what is going on. First, I need your ID or any form of ID you have.”
“Uhh?.?.?. We were at The Bar for my birthday party. I forgot everything there in my rush to get here,” I say quickly.Are theynot going to let me take her without it?“Will Jess be able to come home with me tonight?”
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen, but that choice isn’t mine, sadly,” Mike tells me honestly. I hate that his look says it might not happen.
“Okay, what’s the process for this? How can I make this happen?” I ask when someone knocks on the door.
“I got it,” Noah says.
Looking over my shoulder, I see a woman who is probably older than me, but not by much. She walks in with a backpack.
“Hi, Mike, Noah. What’s going on?” the newcomer asks.
“Melissa, it’s so good to see you. No real emergency, but this is a unique situation,” Mike says and nods toward Jess and me. “Miss Jess here came to the police station looking for Luna, who is her sister. Luna was extremely shocked to see her and states that they haven’t seen each other in ten years.”
I tune him out as he runs through the rest of our story to get her caught up on everything. I look at Jess. Her head is down, fingers brushing the folder with her information in it. I want to whisk her away so we can get a head start on The Family. Maybe if we were alone, I could ask her all the questions rattling around in my head.
I realize I should listen to what they’re talking about so I know what my next move will be.
“I don’t want to place Jess in one of the emergency foster homes until we get this sorted out. Is there any way to give Luna emergency custody?” Mike finishes.
