FicWad

"Harper, pass it here!" Julie shouted dodging one of the other players and catching the ball before making her way down the field followed by several other players.
I pulled in a deep breath and quickly scanned the crowd, looking for anyone I needed there. Sure enough, there in the bleachers Shane, Pete, and Patrick held up a giant poster decorated in glitter and marker proclaiming good luck and best wishes. I smiled and race toward an oncoming player, knocking her stick and scooping up the ball in almost the same fluid motion.
Feeling another burst of energy I ducked under the wall of players standing in front of me, making my short legs move as fast as my sturdy body could go. Sticks swung at my legs, making my stumble but regain my stride; body checking another person before making a clear entrance to the goal cage.
Using my last bit of extra momentum I lugged the ball past the goalie completely covered in padding gear. The buzzer sounded and the entire team cheered, hoisting me up on their shoulder.
Walking off the field in a mess of sweat and ecstasy I slid onto the bench and slipped off my cleats and shin guards and ear pads. They all came rushing up and hugged my tightly, joined by Andy and Joe.
"Way to go, you go getter!" Shane laughed hugging my tightly.
"It was nothing."
"To you, to us it was the coolest thing we've ever seen." Pete smiled and ruffled my hair. "You've got game, little sis."
I couldn't help but smile at him. He just called me his sister like we really were a family. I blushed a little embarrassed and looked back at all of them.
"Thanks for coming." I cleared my throat and picked up my duffle bag. "I think you guys were the reason I even did that."
"We'll always be here to cheer you alone." Andy smiled, he had gain a little more weight since we started counseling with a therapist that was different.
"Thanks." I hugged him, still afraid that I could break him. "That means more than you could think."
"Come on, Gabriel's waiting for us." Joe smirked and wrapped his arm around Shane was they made their way up the hill to the parking lot.
I laced my hands with Patrick's and squeezed his fingers lightly. He squeezed back and smiled at me. We all got in the back of the van, but Gabriel wasn't driving; a usual thing she did since we all moved in together.
"Where's Gabriel?" I asked, already getting nervous. I didn't like it when things changed.
"She had business to take care of." David mumbled, glancing in the rearview. "Don't worry about it."
I swallowed down my fears and tried to smile, but when I got that feeling it didn't just go away when someone told me not to worry about it. In fact, it made things even worse.
When we pulled up I noticed a strange car parked in the driveway. That only made my fear worse, gripping Patrick's hand so tight I was sure I was going to break it. He only smiled at me and kissed my forehead to calm me down a little.
We walked inside, the air unsettled and stuffy feeling. A man and woman sat on the couch, their backs turned to us. Gabriel looked up, her eyes tired and distant. I swallowed hard, David whispered for us to go upstairs and we obeyed.
Sitting in Shane's room, all of us stayed quiet hoping for any part of the conversation to drift up through the floorboards; only nothing to the hum of a push mower and sound of a passing car wafted through the window.
"Who do you think those people are?" Andy fidgeted at the foot of Shane's bed.
"Someone interested in one of us." Patrick said grimly, pulling at the sleeves of his hoodie.
"Why would anyone want us?" Joe laughed, hoping to lighten the mood.
"They want one of the girls." Pete said, he too gripping the sleeves of his hoodie and stretching the ends. "I heard them talking about it last night."
"No, they can't!" Both me and Shane shouted in unison.
"I heard them talking about it too." Patrick now grabbed my hand, holding on tightly.
"I'm not leaving." I shook my head defiantly. "They can't make me."
Everyone stayed quiet after that, sizing up my statement. Every shift and cough made the room uncomfortable. Time seemed to stand still, even the ticking of Shane's click on her bedside table seemed to be muted. Then everything turned on it's side, Gabriel called my name form the bottom of the steps.
"No." I whispered.
"No." Patrick said too, his hand suddenly fell away still leaving the warm imprint if his palm.
I slowly got up and made my way to the door, glancing back at them and giving them a calm smile before slipping out and shutting the door lightly behind me. I walked slowly, my head felt light I was dizzy and suddenly sick. Finally making it to the foot of the steps I strode down them as confidently as possible.
Standing at the bottom was a man and woman that could've been cut from a family magazine. Blonde hair, white smiles, designer clothes, the whole shebang.
"Harper, this is Mr. and Mrs. Aaronson." Gabriel smiled, but her eyes still looked hurt and tired.
"Hi." I waved shyly and walked down the rest of the steps until I was standing right in front of them.
"They're interested in adopting you." Gabriel smiled, pained.
"Oh." I said glancing behind me at the others standing at the top of the steps out of sight.
"Yes." She smiled again and gestured us all into the living room again.
I sat next to her and stared at the people that looked like they were wringing their hands to get to me. I bit my lip and looked at the form Gabriel was handing to them.
"You'll need to fill this one out." She sighed, placing her hand on mine. "Then we'll send it to the adoption agency to see if it checks out."
"Right." The man said focusing on the fine print.
"Oh I can't wait." His wife smiled widely at me. "You'll come live with us, and we'll buy you nice clothes and get you into the finest private school around."
I just blinked and looked for support for Gabriel who was busy watching the man carefully fill out the form. Instead I gripped the seat and dug my nails into the fabric. I didn't want to leave, not now. I had things going for me; my life was taking a turn for the better since my family died.
After a few more minutes he handed back the clipboard and smiled. She scanned it a little and nodded. I closed my eyes, hoping it would all go away.
"Ok, this checks out." She smiled and patted my leg. "In a week you can come and get her."
I winced and stood up quickly running out of the room. Up the steps and into my empty room, the boxes newly unpack and staring at me in the corner. Kneeling down to the floor I let the tears fall. In a week I was leaving for a home full of new, strange things that I didn't understand and didn't want to understand.
Someone knocked at my door; I sniffed and waited for them to open the door. Shane peeked her head in and sighed. Immediately knowing why I was crying on my bedroom floor she sat down beside me and rubbed my back until the tears subsided.
"Shh, Shh." She whispered hugging my tightly. "Everything'll be fine, we'll get through this."
She said that, even though she knew she was dead wrong. Things would never be the same in this house now that the papers were signed.