The Family
Pairings: Louis/Zayn*eventually*, Liam/OFC*eventually*, Harry/OFC, Niall/OFC
Words: 2,028
Amanda was sitting on the window seat in her room, watching the rain fall. It was something she had found herself doing more often recently, when she started getting more stressed.
Today it was the tiniest thing that had set her off, a boy in her class had been trying to poke fun at the fact she lived in a children’s home, and she had gotten upset. It was silly really, she thought to herself, sighing. Amanda had lived in various children’s homes and with a bunch of different foster families over the years, her entire life a blur of faces and names that she could barely remember.
A hesitant knock sounded from her door, and Amanda heaved herself up from the seat and crossed the room slowly, knowing who it was already.
“Yeah?” She called through the door.
“Amanda, it’s Colleen, let me in please love.”
The voice was worried, and rightly so. Colleen was her social worker, and she knew how sensitive Amanda was about her upbringing, and how stressed she got thinking about her biological family, and why they abandoned her.
She cracked the door over slightly then went back and sat on the window seat, her gaze once again falling on the rain on the window, droplets racing each other down the glass, being replaced faster than they could get to the bottom. Amanda could relate to the droplets sometimes, when a foster family would announce they were having a baby, or had decided to send her back to the home because it just “wasn’t working”.
“I’m alright, before you ask, Jack just took me by surprise. I had gotten used to people accepting the fact that I was a care kid.” Amanda got out quickly before Colleen could even open her mouth.
“I know you are. You’re a tough cookie Amanda, but that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about.”
Amanda looked round, surprised. Usually all Colleen wanted to do was talk about her insecurities and problems, so much so that there had been many arguments about it in the past.
“Really? Then what’s up?” She asked curiously.
Colleen looked around the room shiftily before glancing at Amanda, obviously worrying about something, as per usual. She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, motioning for Amanda to join her, and grabbing her hand when she did.
“The thing is Amanda... I received a phone call this morning, a very important phone call. It was from a woman named Anne Cox...”
At this Colleen hesitated and squeezed Amanda’s hand hard, and looking her dead in the eyes as she delivered the last of her news.
“Amanda, Anne’s your mother.”
Amanda sat there in shock for a few moments before ripping her hand from Colleens grasp.
“YOU WHAT?! MY MOTHER?! But... What’s... She’s... Are you being serious?”
Colleen nodded. “Completely serious, and she wants to meet you.”
At that Amanda sat back down on the bed, a woozy feeling overcoming her body.
“She wants to meet me? When, and where?” Her voice was cracking, and she blinked quickly as she felt her eyes prickle, not wanting to show how much this was really affecting her.
“Well she’ll meet you here, or you could go the local cafe if you wanted. And as for when, she was hoping you would be up for it tomorrow.”
Amanda’s jaw dropped. Tomorrow? How was she meant to prepare to meet her mother tomorrow. It was so soon! She knew however if she put this off, it would never happen, she would worry about it too much, and she would back out.
“Fine, I’ll do it. But tell her I want to meet her here, so I can get away if I need too, if it gets too much.”
Colleen grinned at her, obviously she was preparing for a refusal.
“Of course love! I’ll get it all sorted, now you try and not panic too much about it, everything will be fine.”
With that Colleen left and Amanda sat there for at least half an hour just thinking up situations in her head, and what her mum would be like, and whether or not she had siblings and most importantly why her mother left her here when she was such a young baby.
Finally she left her room and wandered down the hall, towards the music that was drifting from the room at the very end.
“... Baby you light up my world like nobody else the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed but when you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell...”
She knocked the door, which was covered in pictures of bands, boys, clothes and friends.
Kiara opened the door wide and beckoned Amanda in. Kiara was a quiet girl, and also Amanda’s best friend.
She walked over to her computer and switched the music off.
“Your obsession with One Direction is scary Ki, they’re only boys.”
Kiara giggled at that, flashing Amanda a small smile.
“You like them too! Just because I’m a bit more... Hardcore than you! Anyway I heard you shouting earlier, you okay?”
Amanda sighed and when Kiara opened her arms for a hug, fell into them straight away, no longer denying the tears she could feel building up.
“It’s just, I can’t believe this! I’m 17! 17 years I’ve been waiting for answers, and now I might be getting them all tomorrow, it’s just getting me so worked up and I want to stay calm but I can’t it’s just so much!” She sobbed out, Kiara rubbingly her back soothingly, murmuring calming words into her hair.
“You have to go though Amanda, if you don’t go tomorrow you never will, and you will hate yourself forever because you did. It’ll just take some getting used to, that’s all.”
Amanda nodded her agreement into Kiara’s shoulder, not really caring that she was soaking the material of her t-shirt.
Kiara lead her to the bed and sat her down, still hugging her.
They sat like that for hours, just lying there, letting everything soak in, before Amanda sighed and sat up, thanking Kiara for the support and then went back to her room to attempt to get some sleep, so she was refreshed for the next day.
However she tossed and turned all night, and when finally at 3:45 she gave up and went downstairs to get a drink, she found a cup of hot chocolate sitting beside the microwave already, with a note.
“I guessed you might need it, hope you’re okay for tomorrow. Get as much rest as you can. Colleen. “
Thanking Colleen silently, she warmed it up for a few seconds in the microwave before heading back up to her room, sipping slowly, trying not to think about what tomorrow would bring. The warm drink did the trick however and she soon dropped off to sleep, however fitful and restless it was.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
When morning finally arrived Amanda dragged herself from the safety of her duvet and headed for the shower, washing as quickly as she could. Drying and styling her hair seemed to take an age, and she was getting more nervous every second. Finally she was finished so she headed over to her wardrobe to find something suitable to wear. However none of her clothes screamed “Great for meeting your mum for the first time” at her, so she darted down to Kiara’s room, knocking the door repeatedly until Kiara answered, an outfit already in hand. Amanda grabbed it, shouting a quick thanks over her shoulder, and slamming her door shut.
Kiara had given her a pair of black skinny jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a purple hoodie. She pulled them on, rolling up the sleeves of her hoodie and pulled on various bracelets and a cute cupcake necklace. She seriously wished she was a boy sometimes, so she could get away with just pulling on whatever and not having to bother getting her hair perfect, or having to put her make-up on. However she wasn’t a guy so she did have to suffer the torture of getting ready, but when she was finished she knew she would be glad she put the effort in, if she hadn’t it would make her look lazy and as if she didn’t care, when she really, really did.
When Amanda was satisfied with her appearance she walked downstairs into the kitchen, putting some bread in the toaster, as she had missed breakfast while she was getting ready.
“You look lovely Amanda” Colleen called at her from the living room when she walked past, and Amanda grinned at her, trying to hide her nerves behind a confident exterior.
Kiara came up to her with a smug smile on her face, and pulled Amanda into a tight, reassuring hug.
“I knew that would look good on you, it looks effortless yet still good. I just know you too well!”
Amanda let out a chuckle at that, rolling her eyes, even though it was true. Kiara did know her too well, so she knew that Amanda was insanely nervous right now. She let herself be dragged into Kiara’s room and placed on the bed, while Kiara placed a CD into the computer. JLS started playing and Amanda grinned gratefully at her. Kiara hated them, but Amanda loved them and they calmed her down when she needed it, so her friend was suffering willingly for her.
They sat in silence, it was one of those friendships, they didn’t need to fill every second with mindless chatter, and to be honest, the both preferred it that way, so when Colleen shouted up to say that Anne was here, Amanda was filled with the soothing sounds of her favourite band and she felt ready to face whatever today would send at her.
Kiara grasped her into another tight hug, before she bounded down the stairs towards the office area.
She slowed when she saw four people talking to Colleen who smiled at her, which caused the people to turn around. There was an older man, a woman, a girl and a boy. They all stood there for a moment, no-one quite sure what to say before the woman stepped forward.
“Amanda? My name’s Anne Cox, as I’m sure you’ve been told, I’m your mother. And you have no idea just how happy I am to see you again!” Anne said all this with tears in her eyes and a joyful smile on her face, and Amanda really couldn’t be blamed when she raced forward and engulfed her in a hug, burying her face into Anne’s cardigan, feeling the woman wrap her arms around her, and Amanda felt like she was finally home.
Suddenly it didn’t matter why her mum had left her, or why she had been deprived of a family for most of her life because Anne had come back for her. She was going to have a family, one that couldn’t just drop her like a toy they got bored of.
“I would like to introduce you to the rest of the family.” Anne said pulling back from the hug, yet keeping an arm around her.
“That’s Robin, your step-father.” She pointed at the older man and when Amanda grinned and waved, he smiled back.
Next she pointed at the girl, “That’s Gemma, your big sister” Amanda waved at her too and she poked her tongue out at me, I knew instantly we would get along.
“And this...” She said pointing at the boy, “This is Harry, he’s your twin brother.” Her jaw dropped at that, and Harry glanced at Amanda nervously from underneath a mop of curly hair and when she saw the tentative smile on his face she raced forward and wrapped him into a long, tight hug and when she felt him returning the gesture she knew for sure, that she would never feel alone again, because now she had a group of people who would never leave her, a group of people who would stay by her side until the day she died. She loved these people already, because they were family.
Words: 2,028
Amanda was sitting on the window seat in her room, watching the rain fall. It was something she had found herself doing more often recently, when she started getting more stressed.
Today it was the tiniest thing that had set her off, a boy in her class had been trying to poke fun at the fact she lived in a children’s home, and she had gotten upset. It was silly really, she thought to herself, sighing. Amanda had lived in various children’s homes and with a bunch of different foster families over the years, her entire life a blur of faces and names that she could barely remember.
A hesitant knock sounded from her door, and Amanda heaved herself up from the seat and crossed the room slowly, knowing who it was already.
“Yeah?” She called through the door.
“Amanda, it’s Colleen, let me in please love.”
The voice was worried, and rightly so. Colleen was her social worker, and she knew how sensitive Amanda was about her upbringing, and how stressed she got thinking about her biological family, and why they abandoned her.
She cracked the door over slightly then went back and sat on the window seat, her gaze once again falling on the rain on the window, droplets racing each other down the glass, being replaced faster than they could get to the bottom. Amanda could relate to the droplets sometimes, when a foster family would announce they were having a baby, or had decided to send her back to the home because it just “wasn’t working”.
“I’m alright, before you ask, Jack just took me by surprise. I had gotten used to people accepting the fact that I was a care kid.” Amanda got out quickly before Colleen could even open her mouth.
“I know you are. You’re a tough cookie Amanda, but that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about.”
Amanda looked round, surprised. Usually all Colleen wanted to do was talk about her insecurities and problems, so much so that there had been many arguments about it in the past.
“Really? Then what’s up?” She asked curiously.
Colleen looked around the room shiftily before glancing at Amanda, obviously worrying about something, as per usual. She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, motioning for Amanda to join her, and grabbing her hand when she did.
“The thing is Amanda... I received a phone call this morning, a very important phone call. It was from a woman named Anne Cox...”
At this Colleen hesitated and squeezed Amanda’s hand hard, and looking her dead in the eyes as she delivered the last of her news.
“Amanda, Anne’s your mother.”
Amanda sat there in shock for a few moments before ripping her hand from Colleens grasp.
“YOU WHAT?! MY MOTHER?! But... What’s... She’s... Are you being serious?”
Colleen nodded. “Completely serious, and she wants to meet you.”
At that Amanda sat back down on the bed, a woozy feeling overcoming her body.
“She wants to meet me? When, and where?” Her voice was cracking, and she blinked quickly as she felt her eyes prickle, not wanting to show how much this was really affecting her.
“Well she’ll meet you here, or you could go the local cafe if you wanted. And as for when, she was hoping you would be up for it tomorrow.”
Amanda’s jaw dropped. Tomorrow? How was she meant to prepare to meet her mother tomorrow. It was so soon! She knew however if she put this off, it would never happen, she would worry about it too much, and she would back out.
“Fine, I’ll do it. But tell her I want to meet her here, so I can get away if I need too, if it gets too much.”
Colleen grinned at her, obviously she was preparing for a refusal.
“Of course love! I’ll get it all sorted, now you try and not panic too much about it, everything will be fine.”
With that Colleen left and Amanda sat there for at least half an hour just thinking up situations in her head, and what her mum would be like, and whether or not she had siblings and most importantly why her mother left her here when she was such a young baby.
Finally she left her room and wandered down the hall, towards the music that was drifting from the room at the very end.
“... Baby you light up my world like nobody else the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed but when you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell...”
She knocked the door, which was covered in pictures of bands, boys, clothes and friends.
Kiara opened the door wide and beckoned Amanda in. Kiara was a quiet girl, and also Amanda’s best friend.
She walked over to her computer and switched the music off.
“Your obsession with One Direction is scary Ki, they’re only boys.”
Kiara giggled at that, flashing Amanda a small smile.
“You like them too! Just because I’m a bit more... Hardcore than you! Anyway I heard you shouting earlier, you okay?”
Amanda sighed and when Kiara opened her arms for a hug, fell into them straight away, no longer denying the tears she could feel building up.
“It’s just, I can’t believe this! I’m 17! 17 years I’ve been waiting for answers, and now I might be getting them all tomorrow, it’s just getting me so worked up and I want to stay calm but I can’t it’s just so much!” She sobbed out, Kiara rubbingly her back soothingly, murmuring calming words into her hair.
“You have to go though Amanda, if you don’t go tomorrow you never will, and you will hate yourself forever because you did. It’ll just take some getting used to, that’s all.”
Amanda nodded her agreement into Kiara’s shoulder, not really caring that she was soaking the material of her t-shirt.
Kiara lead her to the bed and sat her down, still hugging her.
They sat like that for hours, just lying there, letting everything soak in, before Amanda sighed and sat up, thanking Kiara for the support and then went back to her room to attempt to get some sleep, so she was refreshed for the next day.
However she tossed and turned all night, and when finally at 3:45 she gave up and went downstairs to get a drink, she found a cup of hot chocolate sitting beside the microwave already, with a note.
“I guessed you might need it, hope you’re okay for tomorrow. Get as much rest as you can. Colleen. “
Thanking Colleen silently, she warmed it up for a few seconds in the microwave before heading back up to her room, sipping slowly, trying not to think about what tomorrow would bring. The warm drink did the trick however and she soon dropped off to sleep, however fitful and restless it was.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
When morning finally arrived Amanda dragged herself from the safety of her duvet and headed for the shower, washing as quickly as she could. Drying and styling her hair seemed to take an age, and she was getting more nervous every second. Finally she was finished so she headed over to her wardrobe to find something suitable to wear. However none of her clothes screamed “Great for meeting your mum for the first time” at her, so she darted down to Kiara’s room, knocking the door repeatedly until Kiara answered, an outfit already in hand. Amanda grabbed it, shouting a quick thanks over her shoulder, and slamming her door shut.
Kiara had given her a pair of black skinny jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a purple hoodie. She pulled them on, rolling up the sleeves of her hoodie and pulled on various bracelets and a cute cupcake necklace. She seriously wished she was a boy sometimes, so she could get away with just pulling on whatever and not having to bother getting her hair perfect, or having to put her make-up on. However she wasn’t a guy so she did have to suffer the torture of getting ready, but when she was finished she knew she would be glad she put the effort in, if she hadn’t it would make her look lazy and as if she didn’t care, when she really, really did.
When Amanda was satisfied with her appearance she walked downstairs into the kitchen, putting some bread in the toaster, as she had missed breakfast while she was getting ready.
“You look lovely Amanda” Colleen called at her from the living room when she walked past, and Amanda grinned at her, trying to hide her nerves behind a confident exterior.
Kiara came up to her with a smug smile on her face, and pulled Amanda into a tight, reassuring hug.
“I knew that would look good on you, it looks effortless yet still good. I just know you too well!”
Amanda let out a chuckle at that, rolling her eyes, even though it was true. Kiara did know her too well, so she knew that Amanda was insanely nervous right now. She let herself be dragged into Kiara’s room and placed on the bed, while Kiara placed a CD into the computer. JLS started playing and Amanda grinned gratefully at her. Kiara hated them, but Amanda loved them and they calmed her down when she needed it, so her friend was suffering willingly for her.
They sat in silence, it was one of those friendships, they didn’t need to fill every second with mindless chatter, and to be honest, the both preferred it that way, so when Colleen shouted up to say that Anne was here, Amanda was filled with the soothing sounds of her favourite band and she felt ready to face whatever today would send at her.
Kiara grasped her into another tight hug, before she bounded down the stairs towards the office area.
She slowed when she saw four people talking to Colleen who smiled at her, which caused the people to turn around. There was an older man, a woman, a girl and a boy. They all stood there for a moment, no-one quite sure what to say before the woman stepped forward.
“Amanda? My name’s Anne Cox, as I’m sure you’ve been told, I’m your mother. And you have no idea just how happy I am to see you again!” Anne said all this with tears in her eyes and a joyful smile on her face, and Amanda really couldn’t be blamed when she raced forward and engulfed her in a hug, burying her face into Anne’s cardigan, feeling the woman wrap her arms around her, and Amanda felt like she was finally home.
Suddenly it didn’t matter why her mum had left her, or why she had been deprived of a family for most of her life because Anne had come back for her. She was going to have a family, one that couldn’t just drop her like a toy they got bored of.
“I would like to introduce you to the rest of the family.” Anne said pulling back from the hug, yet keeping an arm around her.
“That’s Robin, your step-father.” She pointed at the older man and when Amanda grinned and waved, he smiled back.
Next she pointed at the girl, “That’s Gemma, your big sister” Amanda waved at her too and she poked her tongue out at me, I knew instantly we would get along.
“And this...” She said pointing at the boy, “This is Harry, he’s your twin brother.” Her jaw dropped at that, and Harry glanced at Amanda nervously from underneath a mop of curly hair and when she saw the tentative smile on his face she raced forward and wrapped him into a long, tight hug and when she felt him returning the gesture she knew for sure, that she would never feel alone again, because now she had a group of people who would never leave her, a group of people who would stay by her side until the day she died. She loved these people already, because they were family.