Belong - an adopted by Hamilton fanfic [Hamilton]

3. To leave

Ruth's point of view
I woke up the next day on the hard floor, no sign of the Lovell's anywhere. Except from the note on the table, that they've scribbled down in a rush.

We called you in as sick for a week, we've booked an appointment with the foster care system on Friday.

Not even a name written down on it. I sighed as I placed it back. I knew what that meant, I knew that they wanted to hand me back, only so they could take in another child to neglect. To be honest, my time here was running out. Six months was the deal for most foster families, and that was in two weeks for me now.
I tried to stand up, every bone in my body aching. Biting my lip, I forced myself to get upstairs, tears building up by the pain I was experiencing. Finally, I sat down on my bed, sighing. I picked up my phone from my right pocket, only to see that the glass was shattered. It belonged to the system, so taking it away from me wasn't allowed. But, destroying it by making me fall was their solution of the case. I blinked away the tears of pain. Only three days until Friday. I can manage this.
Snap your fingers 21 times on each hand, and you'll be outta here by the end of the week.
And so I did.

I opened the door on Friday, my hands shaky, as I smiled to greet the important-looking people I'd been seeing a few times every year, even though doing it hurt. Mr Chang and Ms Clarke smiled back, and stepping inside in their fancy clothes.
"Hello, Mr Chang and Ms Clarke, it's great seeing you two again", mrs Lovell said, shaking their hands a bit nervously. Rachel put an evil smile on her face when she turned to me behind her mother's back, miming something. Something, I'd rather ignore than discovering. Mrs Lovell walked over to me, determined-looking. "You better not say anything about the bruises, child, or we will make you regret it", she whispered in my ear. I gulped.
My bruises had turned from a blue and lilac colour to this disgusting yellow one, and her and Rachel had spent the last hour covering them up on mr Lovell's orders. I'd been sat down in a chair, while they violently smudged makeup on my face, muttering little sentences to eachother. I couldn't help sitting there without feeling a bit fancy, almost important, although it wasn't in the best way.

We all sat down on the table, Ansel and Warren almost making me fall over by putting their legs out, and mrs Lovell desperately trying to cover it up.
"Oh well, boys, let's not play at the dinner table", she said, arrogant and smiling. Inside, I couldn't help but laugh. They were 17 & 15, not 8 & 6, so her pathetic action was as see through as Harry's invisibility cloak. Only that Harry's actually worked being, you know, invisible. She completely failed that.

Mr Yang picked up a folder with my papers in it, smashing it down on the table. Ms Clarke quickly took a part out, writing something down. She turned her head to me, smiling a painful smile.
"Ruth, so I hope you understand why me and mr Yang are here", I nodded as she spoke, looking right at her, trying to shut the others than them out. "Well, just to be clear, mr and mrs Lovell have sent us a notification saying that they want to end their fostering period of six months a little earlier due to personal demands", ms Clark continued, carefully flipping through her papers, exclaiming an "aha!" when she found what she'd been searching for. "In the remark, you've written 'due to needing to focus on your own children' and that 'Ruth's been behaving badly', for instant...", but mr Lovell cut her off, sitting right beside me, he grabbed my arm.
"Yeah! She's been all over the place, not doing what she's told! A few days ago, she came home an hour late!", he shouted, shaking me.
26 minutes, I thought, it was 26 minutes.
Count the flowers' leafs, or they'll keep you.
I started, putting each finger down for every one, opening them when there were no fingers left to put down.
Ms Clarke just nodded calmly at his statement, moving her head to mine again.
5, 6, 7, 9...
"How are you feeling about ending this fostering period two weeks early, Ruth? Would that be okay? You'll be in the placement home for a little longer, just so that you're aware of that", she said, looking right at me.
"Ye-yeah, of course", I spoke quietly, blocking mr Lovell's staring out.
"Well then, we'll just have you all sign this paper here, and then you'll have to come with us Ruth", mr Yang said, handing an important-looking paper to mr Lovell.
Finally, 23 leafs.
Just as he was about to put the pencil to the paper, he paused for a bit, looking up at mr Yang.
"We're still getting paid for this month, right?", he said, quite aggressively, desperate eyes.
Mr Yang nodded, but hesitated for a moment, continuing with talking.
"Well, it's not the full payment. We can guarantee your family half the salary, mr Lovell", and mr Lovell angrily scribbled down his autograph, snorting.
"Bullshit", he mumbled, only so loud so that I could hear.
I wrote down my name.
Ruth.
No surname, my decision. I didn't belong anywhere, not right now. And definitely not after writing this.
"Ruth, you'll need to write your surname too", he said. I sighed and scribbled it down as ugly as I could, to message the filthy word that I wasn't its.
Leighton.
Mr Yang continued to go over to Mrs Lovell, she angrily writing it down too.
"So, Ruth, have you packed?", I nodded as Ms Clarke asked that, calmly walking upstairs, my step siblings making a little fellowship. As I grabbed my suitcase and put my broken phone in my back pocket, they took it right in front of me. Rachel smashing it in the wall, to keep it quiet, Ansel kicking me in the stomach. I winced.
"Keep quiet, you little freak. It's your fault we won't get enough money this month. It's your fault!", he whispered strongly in my ear, as Warren joined him, by kicking me on the shin. One of the absolute most painful place, for as I knew. I bite my tongue, to keep my scream inside, only to make it start bleeding. Shutting my eyes by the dreading pain, they left.