Chapter 18

When Foster makes it back into C's room, he hears the shower going. He decides to lay on her bed. He scrolls through different channels on the TV before settling on some random cooking channel. While he waits for C to finish up, he falls asleep.

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Six-year-old Foster runs into the café, screaming bloody murder. His eyes are wide and filled with alligator tears, his hands are shaking around his blood-soaked raccoon toy. He is a mess.

Dawn drops everything she's doing, rushing to her distressed child. He tries to tell her what happened, but he can't catch his breath through his tears. He ends up grabbing his mom's hand and tries to pull her in the direction of the door. Once she realizes what he wants, she follows and what she sees outside knocks the wind out of her. Andrew, motionless on the pavement, blood everywhere, and no one is there to help. Her Andrew.

Dawn runs to her husband's body. She picks him up and cradles him in his arms. She sobs. She starts rocking him back and forth, continuing to cry. She is so lost in her thoughts, that she doesn't notice her child approaching.

Foster tugs his moms' phone from her pocket and dials 9-1-1. Within a few minutes, red and blue lights surround the area. Paramedics try to separate Dawn from the lifeless body of her husband. She is screaming and crying. Foster watches wide-eyed. He has never seen his mom act like this before. His mom was always the cool collected one. This is all his fault. Her pain is all his fault.

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Screams shake C from her peaceful shower. She turns off the water and grabs a towel, covering herself as she rushes in the direction of the sound. She bursts through the bathroom door. A few moments later Sylvia is there as well. Foster is screaming and convulsing. C looks to her mom for help.

"I don't think he is having a seizure, but just to be safe, roll him onto his side." C does as her mom instructs. She kneels on the bed next to Foster, placing his head on her lap. She rakes her hands through his hair. He is covered in a cold sweat. She continues trying whatever she can to comfort him.

"Shh, shh. Foster, it's okay. I'm right here. I'm here Foster." C cradles his head now, gently rubbing her thumb over his cheek, trying to wipe away whatever tears she can. The screaming stops, but the shaking continues. He opens his eyes, and more tears fall. He sits up and pulls C into his arms. She rubs his back and just holds him. He continues sobbing for a while before eventually calming down. Sylvia left the room once she realized C had a handle on the situation, not wanting to intrude on whatever is happening.

"Foster, what's wrong? What happened?" C continues to rub his back, trying to keep him calm. He takes a deep breath, face still hidden in C's neck.

"I don't know, I just. I had a dream about the night my dad-" Before he continues his statement, tears well up in his terrified bright blue eyes again.

"Shh. Shh. You don't have to tell me right now. It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Foster relaxes into her embrace, feeling soothed but still slightly on edge. He hasn't had that dream in a few days. He had forgotten just how it torments him. C lays Foster down and slides into bed next to him. She cradles his head against her chest and quietly hums her favorite lullaby. Foster continues to take deep breaths, her sweet smell helping him forget whatever he saw. 'She is so warm. She feels so nice.' he thinks.

Once Foster is no longer crying and is breathing normally, he pulls away from C. He hides his face behind his arm, ashamed with how weak he is. She straddles him, pulling his arm away from his face. She places a small trail of kisses up his neck and eventually ends on his lips. The kiss was short but powerful. Foster sits up and stares at this girl who always seems to know exactly what he needs. He kisses her forehead and stares into her beautiful golden eyes. He had never noticed just how much kindness is hidden behind them.

C blushes, remembering that the only thing separating her from Foster's intense gaze, is a small orange towel. Foster looks away, not wanting to embarrass her further. C stands up, gives him one quick peck on the forehead and grabs a t shirt and some pajama shorts before returning to the bathroom to get dressed.

When C is fully dressed, she exits the bathroom, motioning for Foster to enter. He gets up, pulls off his soaked shirt and heads into the steamy space. C studies his muscular back, noticing a few large scars. Before she can fully grasp what, she saw, he closes the door. C takes this time to comb through her hair, find some nice music to listen too, and set up her desk for some stress-relieving coloring. She flips through the pages of the book, landing on a pair of gorillas surrounded by jungle brush. She likes this picture, so she tears it out and waits patiently for Foster to return.

Foster leaves the bathroom, just the small orange towel hiding his manhood from C. C blushes and looks down at the coloring sheet. She hears a small chuckle escape from his lips. He leaves her room to go find some clothes to wear. He finds a pair of light gray sweatpants, a pair of boxers, and a random t-shirt. He grabs an extra t-shirt for C, knowing how she likes to wear them to bed.

After he re-enters C's room, he tosses the extra t-shirt in her direction. It lands directly on her head. Foster snorts but tries to hold in his laughter. She looks ridiculous. C pulls the shirt off her head and sticks her tongue out at him.

"What's this for?" She asks Foster, grasping the soft material.

"It's for you. I know my other shirt is in your laundry and you look so cute in them. I figured you might be happy if I gave you another one." He rubs the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. She stands up, removes her t-shirt, exposing her perky pale breasts and rosy nipples. Foster bites his lower lip, trying to keep it together. 'This girl is too much.' Not breaking eye contact, she slides the other shirt on over her head, loving how he squirms. She walks over to Foster and stands on her tippy toes to try and reach him, but he is still too tall. He bends down to meet her halfway.

One quick peck later, they both take their respective seats in front of the coloring page. They color away, listening to Chopin, enjoying each other's company. Sylvia cracks open the door and pokes her head in. She sees the two teens and smiles, happy to have two wonderful people in her care. She clears her throat, getting their attention immediately.

"I was going to cook but I have some more work to get done, do you guys want to order something?" C and Foster nod. "What should we order?"

After settling on sushi, Sylvia leaves to order and get back to work. Foster and C return to their 'work' as well. After finishing up their picture, C pins it to her empty corkboard, proud of what they accomplished. She steps back to admire their beautiful art. Foster stands next to her, snaking his hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"It's cool, but definitely not as cool as my shark picture." Foster scoffs, pretending to not be as proud of their work. C pinches him, escaping his grasp.

"Yeah right, these gorillas are ten million times more amazing than your stupid stinky shark." C attempts to run away but Foster scoops her up.

"I dare you to say that to my face." He says with a fake evil glare. She laughs and gives him a quick kiss on the lips, shocking him enough to escape a second time. They chase each other like this for a few more minutes before a doorbell captures their attention.

C and foster rush down to grab the food, each trying to outrace the other down the stairs. Once they make it there, they tip the delivery driver and carry their dinner back up the stairs. Sylvia meets them at the table. They sit and eat, chatting about what they accomplished today and their plans for tomorrow. Because they won't be able to unpack anything else, they decide to go to school tomorrow. They need to buy their homecoming tickets as well. Might as well do that before they forget about it.

After dinner, the pair separate from Sylvia and head back into C's room to get some rest before school tomorrow. They turn out the lights and turn off the TV, settling into bed together. C pulls out her phone so that they can look at memes before falling asleep. Foster sends a message to his mom about how things are going and then returns his attention to whatever is making C giggle.