Chapter 1

                                    

                                          
"Liam, I need to see you, please," Miss Amy calls from the doorway of the dinning room where us foster kids are sitting around the dining room table, doing our homework. 
Picking my head up enough to look at her through the fringe of my dyed black hair with wide blue eyes. Closing my chemistry book, leaving the pencil in the binding to keep my page, so I can finish my work later as I stand from the chair to quickly walk over to her. My heart is beating like it's trying to thump itself from the inside of my body. 
As I stop next to her, she gives me a soft, reassuring smile as she tells me; "Come along, we need to speak in the office." 
Silently nodding and following along beside her until we reach her office, where she shuts the door behind us, and my breathing catches in my throat because whatever she has to say must be bad news. She only shuts the door when the news she's going to deliver is horrible. 
"Liam, have a seat, sweetheart, and breath," she gently commands as she motions toward the chair across from her's on the other side of her desk by the window. 
Tentatively sitting on the edge of the cushioned seat, lacing my fingers together in my lap as I silently wait for her to begin speaking, and keep my eyes trained on her chin. 
She lets out a soft sigh, placing her folded arms across the top of her dark wood desk before softly speaking; "Liam, I have some good news for you. You're going to a foster home tomorrow, to live with a family that consists of a mom, dad, and their two teenage children. Their names are Morgan and Mary Greene, and their kids are Kyler and Kerrie. Kyler is your age, a few months older actually, so he's already eighteen, and Kerrie is fifteen. They've fostered twenty-one other teens over the last ten years, and have allowed them to stay on if they age out, and want to stay for college, trade school, or until they've found themselves housing, and a job. I'm sure they'll offer you the same option." 
Chewing on my lower lip aggressively as I take in her words for a moment before quietly asking; "Why would they take me in when I'm gonna age out in three months? Even if they offer their fosters the option to stay after aging out, I'm so close to my eighteenth birthday, it just seems silly to me." 
Miss Amy gives me another soft smile; "They only take in teens, regardless of how close they are to aging out. They just want to give older kids a safe home before and after aging out of care, and help guide you in life as much as they can." 
Lightly shrugging my thin shoulders, whispering; "I guess it's fine, not that I'm sure I don't have a choice in the matter. When do I leave?" 
"They'll be here to fetch you in thirty minutes, so go grab your school bag, and then go up to the bedroom, and pack your belongings," she replies after quickly glancing at the time on her cell phone. "You can say your goodbyes to the other children before you leave, okay?"
Nodding once, I stand and rush from her office to the stairs, heading toward the bedrooms to quickly pack. Packing up my belongings won't take long since I only have clothing, a few loose family pictures, and a few personal hygiene items. Pulling the black garbage bag from the nightstand drawer between my bed and Andrew's, and quickly placing my belongings inside, and tying the bag once I've finished a few minutes later, I head back downstairs to grab my school bag, and my items that are on the table. The other boys are staring at me as I do this because I know they saw me carrying the garbage bag into the room. 
"Where are you going, Li-Li?" Andrew's shaky little voice asks, and I sit down on the chair to look at them all before settling my gaze onto Andrew's little face, his wide, scared green eyes, and dirty blonde hair. 
Andrew, he's eight, and he's here because his mom left him with his alcoholic father because her new boyfriend was more important. Parker's twelve, and he's here because his parents died in a car accident. Tommy's fifteen, and here because his parents were abusive drug addicts. Then there's the twins - Caleb and Carl and they're ten, and they're here because their mom died from cancer, and she had no other living relatives, and their father didn't want them. Last but not least is  Robin, he's fifteen, and he's here because his parents split, and no one knows why. 
"I'm going to stay with a foster family until I turn eighteen," I honestly answer with a soft, sad voice. "I promise I'll come visit as often as I can, even if I have to walk here from wherever they live." 
Andrew lets out a loud sob as he launches himself off his chair, runs around the table to throw himself into my open arms, and crashes into my body as he continues to sob. Andrew and I came here about the same time, within a few days of each other, and I was here before him. We've been here the longest of this round of boys. Pulling him tightly to me, but not too tight to where I'm hurting him, we dig our faces into each other's necks, and by now, I'm crying too. 
"Y-you p-promise to still l-love me?" he whimpers into my neck, and I tighten my hold for a second before easing off. 
"I promise that no matter where I'm at in the world, I'll always love you, Andrew, and the other boys, too," I whisper, pulling back to kiss the top of his head gently before repeating this sentiment to the other boys, too. "You boys are my brothers, now and forever."