Santuary of love

(B1: Cristopher) Chapter 4

“Katty, you're in charge. I will be back at the beginning of next week. Armatos, you've thought about Derek's house. I don't want him away from everyone, he needs to be in the middle of the houses, you would take him to visit each one.” she noted that Derek in a corner of the room, just behind Armatos, gave a jump. After her trip, she would have to ask what the story was between those two was. “Derek does not know what to expect arriving here. But I tell you one thing, while your priority is the safety of each one of our babies, I swear that each one of us in this room will ensure that you are well, that you have a place to live and that no one hurts you.”  

“I... I'm an adult.”

“We know, honey, but you have to learn that here we all take care of everyone. It is the only way to protect ourselves and grow.” Katty knew very well how to approach without being offensive. A talent that Veronica wanted to possess, but with her direct personality it was almost impossible.

“How many boys do we have left to visit?”

“Seven, they are scheduled for the rest of this week. All parents have understood the visit and the policy change. They agree that we should take care of all the boys in the same way. Armatos has worked with the new contract for the future parents and Jazmine has crossed references with three states that have stronger adoption policies as ours, to confirm the legality of the practices.” Katty was standing next to Derek, stroking the back of his like a child. Veronica nodded in her direction, both for what she had explained, and accepting the need to protect Derek. She had no idea who had screwed up the adult he had become so much, but she was sure those nightmares would not be easy to put to rest. Derek would be a long-term job, with his clothes and withdrawal personality it would not be easy to integrate him into the group. She was glad that everyone seemed to have accepted him, the silence had been charged with apprehension. Until when entering through the door with its large size, he had hit the door frame with his forehead, at that moment removing the negative impression that his great height could cause. Since then Katty had flown around the young man and Armatos had not left him for just a moment, the latter had not noticed the glances that occasionally escaped in his direction from Derek. However, Armatos seemed to have found his place in the world.

“I will be accompanying Derek on his visit with the younger ones. Derek, you need to know what your reason is for working with us. I know that you had agreed to go with him, but the truth is that I believe going with a mother of one home, it will be better for him to understand this new vision and your dear, you need time alone...” Luz looks to Veronica, all her brothers and sister new she hasn’t cried yet.

Veronica nodded again; she had no voice to contradict those words. Her heart was elsewhere, all her attention was there as well as elsewhere, yet that dark part of the world that was hidden was in Cristopher's diary. That notebook full of drawings and truths was causing a fire in her brain, the weight in her backpack was not strange, but it seemed today unlike always, that she carried with her a house with several families living inside.

“I already put the Cristopher file in my office. As much as I searched where we could have failed, I can't find where.” The first tear was on the verge. She knew that if she started crying it would never stop. With those words, she went out the door about to explode. She did not want to hear words of comfort; she was sure that she had failed her baby. She didn't deserve comfort until she knew where they have failed, where they did wrong, it was the only way they could survive this storm. She had already read Paul's file, about her sick father and the violence against everyone who approached her wife. Including her only child. Similarly, Paul's obsessive reactions to his high school girlfriend. Without forgetting how the information of the abuses to which Laura had been exposed had arrived, which made Paul a much more protective being. So, what the hell had gone wrong?