Mended

Chapter 1

I stared out of the car window as my new foster mom talked to my case worker. I had been in foster care my entire life because my birth parents had abandoned me at birth. At 14 years old, I've lived in 8 different foster homes, most of them lasting less than a year.

Amy, my new foster mom, gets into the car and smiles at me. "We're so happy to have you joining our family, Kennedy."

I smile shyly at her. After being rejected eight times in the past, I refuse to let myself get too attached to anyone. I knew that the chances of me ending up back in the system were high.

Amy reaches over and touches my hand, "I promise you're safe and welcome here. Five of our seven children we have adopted out of the foster care system,"

"You have other kids?"

She smiles, "Michael and I have four girls and three boys. Emery is 16, Mason is 15, Jacob is 12, Hailey and Cora are 11, Tyler is 9, and Lydia is 5."

"I'm not used to having other people my age around. Most of the foster homes I was in only had little kids around,"

"I think you're going to love having kids your age around. You'll be sharing a room with Emery,"

"I hope so,"

"Welcome home, Kennedy," she says, pulling into a driveway. She gets out of the car and grabs my duffle bag. I get out of the car and follow her inside. She gives me a tour of the house and shows me the room that I'll be sharing with Emery.

"The kids are outside swimming, you can join them if you want,"

"I don't have a swimsuit, I'll just unpack and relax,"

Amy smiles, "This dresser and closet are yours; I'll be in the kitchen finishing dinner if you need me,"

I place my duffle bag on my bed and unpack the few outfits that I have. After about 10 minutes, I've finished putting everything away.

"Dinner is ready, Kennedy," Amy says, peeking her head into the room. I get out of my bed and follow Amy downstairs to the dining room. "Everyone, this is Kennedy. She's your new sister,"

"Nice to finally meet you, Kennedy," Michael says.

"This is Emery, Mason, Jacob, Hailey, Cora, Tyler, and Lydia," Amy says, pointing to each of them as she introduces them.

I sit down at the table between Amy and Emery. The food is passed around, and I take a little bit of everything. I wasn't hungry; I was still anxious to be in a new house.

"You can take as much as you want, sweetheart; I made more than enough."

"I'm not hungry,"

"That's okay, just eat what you can. I know you're still scared to be in a new place,"

"We all were scared at first, but Mom and Dad made us feel safe, protected, and loved very quickly," Cora says.

"I hope that we can make you feel the same way, Kennedy. You're our daughter, and even though we just met you, we already love you," Michael says.

"Once you've finished eating, everyone needs to get a shower and get ready for bed. We're going back to school shopping tomorrow, and it's going to be a long day," Amy announces.

"Kennedy and I are done eating. We'll go get ready for bed," Emery says.

"Sounds good, sweetheart. We'll be in to say goodnight afterwhile,"

Emery and I walk back to our shared bedroom.

"You can take a shower first if you want to," she says, smiling at me.

"I don't have shampoo or anything,"

She smiles, "Mom stocked up the bathroom with extra shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. You can use whatever you want,"

I take out an old pair of shorts and a tank top from my dresser and walk into the bathroom. I quickly showered and dried off before getting dressed. When I walk back out into the bedroom, Emery is sitting on her bed, looking down at her phone. She looks up and smiles, "Make yourself comfortable, I'll be out in a few minutes,"

I sat on my bed and looked around the room, studying each little decoration on the wall. I hadn't noticed that Emery had already finished and had come back into the room. "I love that picture on the wall. It's my favorite," she said.

"I like the theme of your room,"

"You mean our room?"

"Yeah, our room,"

"I know it's hard, getting used to being in a new place,"

I nod, "I never get used to being in one place too long,"

"I know that feeling. Before Amy and Michael brought me into their family, I had been in multiple foster families. I never thought that I'd find someone who wanted to adopt me."

"This is my 8th placement in 14 years. The longest I stayed anywhere was three years."

Emery sits beside me and hugs me tightly, "I know Amy and Michael will do everything they can to adopt you and make you a permanent member of the family,"

"I hope so,"

"They will, I promise."

Amy knocks on the door before walking into the room. "Looks like you two are already becoming friends,"

Emery nods, "We have a lot in common already,"

"Good, I'm glad you do. Dad will be up in a minute, and we'll pray before you guys go to sleep,"

Emery looks at me, "They pray with us each night before we go to sleep. It's one of my favorite things that we do,"

"We just ask God to protect you and guard your dreams as you sleep. My mom used to do it for me when I was little, and it always helped,"

"I didn't grow up religious. None of my past families went to church or prayed,"

Amy smiles, "That's okay, you don't have to come to church or pray with us if you aren't comfortable,"

"That's right, we let everyone decide for themselves if they want to follow our religious beliefs. We'll never force it on you," Michael says as he walks into the room.

"I don't mind praying with you,"

I watched as the three of them bowed their heads and closed their eyes. I followed their lead and listened as Michael prayed.

"Amen," Amy and Emery say in unison.

"Alright, girls, lights out in 5 minutes," Michael says.

Amy gently kisses my and Emery's forehead, "Goodnight, girls, we love you,"

"Goodnight Mom,"

"Goodnight," I say.

I pulled back the comforter and laid down in bed. I stared at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity. When my eyes started to feel heavy, I closed them and let sleep take over.