If that's what it takes

10

Zoey sat on the bed in her new bedroom, her eyes downcast and withdrawn as she swallowed hard and tried not to cry. "No crybabies..." She whispered to herself as she tried to remain strong. "No crybabies..." She lifted her head when she thought she heard someone out in the hall, but quickly dipped her head back down. She lifted her teddy bear into hear arms and looked into its dark colored eyes and its friendly smile.

"Mister Derek." She whispered to the bear. "I'm scared." She whimpered. "I don't think she likes me... I think Just Derek was wrong..." She shook her head. She lifted her bag up onto her bed and glanced toward the door as she slowly unzipped its contents. She pulled Molly from within the bag and placed her on the bed, putting Mister Derek beside her as she reached into the bag again and pulled a small picture frame.

In the frame was a picture of her mother, holding her tenderly in her arms when she was just a few hours old. Her mother was so young in the picture, so young and innocent, and it didn't look possible for her to be the same person that had held her in her arms just three weeks earlier. She held back her tears as she stared at the picture, sniffling slightly as she tried to form a word. "Mommy..." She whimpered as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. "Mommy... please... please come get me... please..." She whimpered as she watched a teardrop fall tenderly down, splattering on the glass of the picture. "Please, mommy..." She sniffled.

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Derek walked up into his bedroom and tossed his suitcase on the bed. He tossed his briefcase atop it and he sighed as he listened to the sound of Mark's car making its way down the driveway. "Great... not only am I an asshole, but I'm pushing away the only person that will talk to me." Derek grumbled as he lay down on the bed for a moment. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open, pushing buttons to find the one with the gray eyed little girl. "I hope you're doing better than I am." Derek whispered as he smiled sadly and flipped the phone closed, resting it on his chest as he drifted off to sleep.

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Zoey sat in her bedroom, her tummy growling loudly as she stared at the wall across from her bed. She was trembling as she lay there, the sounds of bumps and booms coming from downstairs kept her from venturing out into the hallway. Lexie had given her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner with a cup of water and that was it. She listened as her tummy growled again, wincing at the pain in her stomach as she sat up slightly in the bed.

She could hear the sound of thunder outside, though the bedroom didn't have a window, she was thankful that she couldn't see the lightning. Thunderstorms had always given her a stomach ache, always given her a queasy feeling, and her mother had always been there to comfort her. She tiptoed to the door and listened carefully, hearing the sound of two people downstairs talking, she figured that one of them was Lexie's boyfriend. Lexie had talked about her boyfriend, Joe, and told Zoey that he didn't really like kids all that much, that he wasn't pleased that Lexie had to take care of her. She told Zoey that the best thing she could do would be to stay out of his way.

Zoey trembled at the thought of a person who could sound so mean and heartless. She opened the door slowly and listened again. Her foot had just touched the floor of the hallway when a crash of thunder startled her, making her squeal loudly as she ran back into the room and slammed the door. She covered her mouth with her hand, absolutely frightened that she had made her presence known as she listened to hear the sound of pounding feet on the stairs. It only took a moment for the door to be swung open, sending Zoey running to the other side of the room. She leapt onto the bed and covered herself with her blankets as she heard Lexie's angry voice invade the room.

"What the hell is your problem?" She exclaimed as she stepped into the room, watching the blanket on the bed tremble with fear. "What did I say about screaming?" She exclaimed as she stepped over to the bed as she pulled the blanket off Zoey and threw it to the ground, she watched the little girl cower in the corner as she trembled. "Cut it out right now, you little shit... I'm serious. I'll just as soon send you to live on the streets than have you mess with my life, do you understand?" She asked as she kicked the bed, sending the girl into a high squeal. "Did you hear me?"