Chapter 13: Mr. Policeman

                                    

                                          
(Quinn's POV)
                          
When Kaden's mommy comes home, Sam takes me to the Policeman. Mr. Policeman tells me that he will show me some pictures that can be scary but that I shouldn't be scared. I hold Sam's hand whilst we wait for Mr. Policeman to come back after he went to get the pictures. 
                          
Mr. Policeman comes back and a lady is with him. "This is Sandra Rivers, she's a child psychologist," He tells us. The lady smiles and shakes my hand before shaking Sam's.
                          
Sam takes me off my chair and puts me on his lap whilst the lady sits on my chair. Mr. Policeman sits behind the desk and he puts a picture on it. It's a picture of a lady with brown hair and green eyes. "Do you know this lady, Quinn?" The lady asks me. I shake my head. 
                          
Another picture is put on the desk. The lady has blonde hair and gray eyes. I tell them I don't know that one either. Then Mr. Policeman puts a third picture on the desk. I look at it and scream. I turn around and bury my face in Sam's t-shirt. I start crying and Sam wraps his arms around me. 
                          
"Is this your- momma?" Sam whispers in my ear. I nod my head and look up at him. 
                          
"Please don't give me back." I tell him.
                          
"Never," He answers and hugs me again. 
                          
"Quinn, darling, I know that you don't like this lady, but she really can't hurt you now." The lady tells me. I nod and look at Mr. Policeman.
                          
"What about Him? Can he hurt me?" I ask. 
                          
"Not if you can tell us which one of these pictures is a picture of him. Do you think you can do that?" He replies. I nod and he puts four pictures on his desk. I point to the one with Him and hide in Sam's t-shirt again.
                          
"That's good, Quinn. See? They won't be able to hurt you anymore." Mr. Policeman smiles at me. I give him a smile back and soon we say goodbye to him and the lady and leave.
                          
Sam takes me for some ice cream as a reward for being a good girl. I like being a good girl and getting rewards. Back with Momma, I was never a good girl, even though I never knew what I did bad. Sam calls me a good girl all the time and I love it. I love Sam. I wish he was my Daddy and I wish I had a good Momma. 
                          
Kaden once asked me why I don't call Sam 'daddy' because he didn't know that I don't have one. I started crying and Sam had to give me a hug. I wasn't upset with Kaden, because he didn't want to be mean, but I was upset that I couldn't call anybody 'daddy'.
                          
I get bubblegum ice cream with sprinkles and Sam gets vanilla ice cream. We sit at the table and talk. Sam says I have to go to school soon and he tells me what it is, because I don't know. School sounds... fun. He says I'll be there with Kaden and I won't be lonely and I'm happy because of that.
                          
Once we finish the ice cream, we go back home. Kaden and his Momma are in the living room, Kaden watching his stinky Pokemon, and his Momma playing on her phone. I run to Kaden and sit beside him telling him about the visit with Mr. Policeman. "Was it fun?" He asks.
                          
'No. But we got ice cream later." I tell him.
                          
"Lucky." He says. I smile and stand up, because Sam calls me to wash my hands.
                          
***
                          
(Sam's POV)
                          
I give Quinn a bath and put her in her pajamas. I lay her in bed and call Kaden, who has become a frequent visitor in her room during bedtime stories. Once they're both settled, I start reading. 
                          
"My nightmare started like this. I was standing on a deserted street in some little beach town. It was the middle of the night. A storm was blowing. Wind and rain ripped at the palm trees along the sidewalk. Pink and yellow stucco buildings lined the street, their windows boarded up. A block away, past a line of hibiscus bushes, the ocean churned. Florida, I thought. Though I wasn't sure how I knew that. I'd never been to Florida. Then I heard hooves clattering against the pavement. I turned and saw my friend Grover running for his life-"
                          
***
                          
"-As I stepped outside, I glanced at the brownstone building across the street. Just for a second I saw a dark shape in the morning sunlight – a human silhouette against the brick wall, a shadow that belonged to no one. Then it rippled and vanished." Once I'm done with the chapter, I close the book and Emma takes Kaden, who isn't a sucker for lullabies like Quinn, and goes into the guest room, whilst I start singing a song.