Undesired Family

Family?

POV: Breanna

"Don't I have another option?" I ask Frank for the third time, and he shakes his head.

"They're willing to try, Breanna," he says, signing some papers.

"But I'm not. They abandoned me and now they want me," I say, exasperated. "Ten years, Frank. It's been ten f*****g years."

Frank puts down his pen and leans back in his chair, his eyebrows raised.

"If you don't adapt, the system might send you to another home," he says, and I glare at him.

"I'm too old for another home," I say, looking down at my hands, and then my hope is rekindled. "I'm too old."

Frank looks at me in confusion as I smile.

"I just need to survive three years with them," I say, smiling, and I sit up with difficulty, my injured body forgotten.

I have to bite my lip to keep from crying out in pain as my ribs hit the couch.

"I hope you can make amends with them in that time," Frank says, and leaves the room.

I wait a few more hours at the police station, fiddling with my phone, waiting for time to pass and for my family to arrive.

At some point I start to think that they must have given up, they've already abandoned me once and wouldn't mind doing it again.

It starts to get dark when someone knocks on the door and opens it.

I look up and see the same couple from the restaurant enter the room.

I look at them in confusion as they smile at me fondly.

"Hello, Breanna," the man says, his voice firm.

"Hello, sir," I say quietly, "What are you doing here?"

The question is out of my mouth before I can stop it.

"Can we sit down and explain it to you?" the woman asks, and I nod.

They sit across from me and I stare at them, waiting for them to start talking.

"My name is Vicente de Santis and this is my wife, Serena," he begins. "We are your parents, Breanna, and we have come to pick you up."

I look at them in surprise, not knowing exactly what to think or how to act.

Many emotions run through my heart, but anger is the main one.

"I have no interest in living with you," I say bluntly as I look at both of them. "I have survived these ten years very well and I do not need you to show up now and take me to live with you as if you had not abandoned me."

Vicente looks at me, surprised by my words, while Serena has guilt in her eyes.

"Breanna, we never abandoned you," Vicente says, keeping his tone calm. "We always knew where you were."

My hands shake with anger. They always knew and they never came to get me. Do they know about the abuse? About everything I went through?

"And why? Why couldn't I live with you? Why did they leave me in an orphanage and then in a foster home?" I ask with tears in my eyes. "Wasn't I enough?"

Tears stream down Serena's face and Vicente squeezes her hand in comfort.

"You're more than enough, daughter," Serena says. "We were trying to protect you."

"Abandoning me?" I ask, refusing to let the tears fall. "And now why are you back?"

"Because you're grown and we can protect you better," Vicente says, and I have to stand up.

I pace the room, my heart pounding hard and fast.

"Ten years," I say quietly. "Do you know what it's like for a five-year-old girl to feel unwanted by her own family?" I ask them.

"Breanna, we did what we thought was right," Vicente says.

"But it wasn't right," I say, frustrated, and I feel my heart race. "The right thing is to be with your family."

"And now you're going to be with us, and we're going to fix this, we're going to be a family," Serena says.

"My family died in an explosion today," I tell them. "You're just strangers."

"We're your family, Breanna, whether you like it or not," Vicente says firmly, and I can't help but laugh.

"You're nothing to me, and you chose that ten years ago," I say angrily. "I don't care if you were trying to protect me or not, that choice had consequences and we all paid for it."

My heart is beating faster now and I feel dizzy.

I need my medicine.

I sit down in the nearest chair and put my head between my legs.

"Breanna, is everything okay?" Vicente asks, and I raise my hand to him, indicating that I need a break.

I take a deep breath to calm my body and mind, and I'm brought back to reality by a male voice.

"Sorellina, I'm a doctor. Tell me what's going on?" he asks.

I look up and see that it's one of the guys from the restaurant.

"I need my medicine," I say, not caring about anything else other than controlling my heart.

I say the name of the medicine and watch Vicente quickly leave the room. Ten minutes later, a sealed bottle is in front of me.

I take two pills and lean back in my chair, waiting for the medicine to take effect.

The dose I took will make me sleepy, but with everything that's going on, I'd rather sleep than face these people.

"Breanna, what are the medicines for?" Serena asks quietly, and I rest my hand on my chest.

"Do you have any heart problems?" my brother asks.

"Yes, I do," I answer, already feeling drowsy. "I need these medicines to survive."

The room is silent for a few seconds and my eyes feel heavy.

"I've already signed the papers," I hear Vicente say.

I feel someone carefully take the medicines from my hand.

"With the dose she took, she'll sleep the whole trip," my brother says, his voice more distant.

Someone picks me up and I feel safe in their embrace. I cuddle closer, not wanting to lose the feeling.

"She's so thin," I hear Vicente say. "She barely weighs anything."

"What did we do, Vicente? Did we really make the right decision?" Serena asks, and I feel a hand run through my hair.

"I'm not so sure anymore," Vicente replies, and I completely faint.