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Nani clutched to her sister as they neared the new foster home they were being thrown into. In no way did she feel ready at seventeen years old to leave the home she had grown up in, but with her parents’ dead and no willing relatives, she had no choice.
One look at Lilo told her that the eight-year-old was wiser than any adult would ever be able to tell. She stared down at her little Scrump doll, rolling its head around in her hands, before looking up at her sister. She set a hand on her sisters and squeezed. “We’ll be alright. At least we’re still together.”
Oh, Lilo. Nani couldn’t help but be jealous of her hope. She wished she could be half as hopeful as her sister was as the car rolled up and dropped them off in front of the large white and brown-steepled house.
The two were shuffled into their rooms and left to unpack for a few short minutes before dinner would be served. As they made their way down into the dining room, right away they took notice of how there were two tables – one decorated with a brightly colored tablecloth and recently shined silverware, and the other decorated with a plain and stained white cloth. Without any hesitation, Lilo climbed up onto the decorative one, holding Scrump close to her. “Okay, Scrump and I are ready for dinner!”
At the sound of the voice, a blonde-haired woman came into the room from the kitchen, rushing over to Nani and Lilo right away. “Oh, you must be the new foster kids. It’s nice to meet you both. You can call me Cinderella.”
Nani gave her a half-smile and held out a hand. “I’m Nani, and this is Lilo. Thanks for—”
“Cinderella!” A shrill voice carried from the kitchen, and a woman with poofy black hair popped her head into the room. “Mother, Cinderella is letting the new little girl sit on the table! In my spot!”
Right away, Nani tried to gather her sister in her arms, apologizing aloud to the blonde, who promised her that it was alright.
When the mentioned mother came into the room, she gasped loudly and started to wag her finger in the face of the little girl. “Young lady, is that anyway to act in front of the owner of this house?”
Before Lilo could begin to explain herself, a chubby boyish kid with a black bob haircut and fancy red suit peeked her blue eyes out from behind the lecturing woman.
“Have some respect for my mother!”
“Yes, have some respect. Thank you, Geronimo. You can take your seat now.”
With a wide grin, the girl pushed herself into one of the seats at the fancy table as Cinderella lead the others to the less decorated one.
“I hope you two don’t mind eating with me,” Cinderella said with a strained smile, setting up two other plates on the table.
Once they all sat down, Lilo looked over at the girl with the bandana holding back most of her hair. “Why are they so mean to us?”
Sighing, Cinderella poked at her mashed potatoes. “Well, Miss Tremaine is my step-mother. The older girls sitting there are her biological daughters, and she never wanted anything to do with me, or any foster kids for that matter.”
“Then why did she take us in?” Nani asked, her voice struggling to stay afloat.
“She gets three hundred dollars a month for every foster child she takes in. She pockets the money, and I pay for the kids with what I earn for working at the café down the street.”
“Are we the only fosters?” Nani asked, looking over to the other table with a pout on her lips.
Cinderella’s face fell. “No, not exactly. Little Geronimo is one, but he’s the only one they seem to like at all. I think he’s just being used as a puppet until they don’t need him anymore.”
“That’s not fair.” Lilo said simply, shoving a spoonful of peas into her mouth.
“I know, but… that’s why I’m here. I must make sure all the kids get a good home. I’m hoping they let him have a home of his own one day, with a loving family.” She stared down at her plate with cold eyes. “And one day, I’ll get out of here and have my own home, too. Once I’m sure that woman can’t hurt anyone else.”
Nodding, Nani slowly took a bite of her peas. “Hopefully Lilo and I won’t be in here for long. I turn eighteen in eleven months, and the moment we can, we’ll be going back home.”
“It’s not home anymore.” Lilo mumbled, only looking up when Cinderella reached forward and gently grabbed her hand.
“Did you lose someone, too?”
The child nodded. “Mom and Dad were driving, and it was stormy…”
Humming, Cinderella wiped a tear off the girl’s cheek. “I lost mine, too. My mother got sick and died, and she left all of her money to her sisters and brothers, and none to us… my father had no choice but to remarry, and when Miss Tremaine leeched all of the money he had…he died under strange circumstances.”
Gasping, Lilo leaned forward. “You mean… you think she killed him…?”
Taking a sip of her drink, Cinderella shrugged. “I can never be sure. Dead bodies don’t talk, but… I think she may have poisoned him. That’s why I cook everyone’s food, now.”
Taking a bite of her mashed potatoes, Lilo nodded. “I’m glad you are. I don’t wanna eat poison.”
Laughing lightly, Cinderella finished her drink. “I’m glad. Do you want any cake?”
“As long as you made it.”
As dinner finished, the plates started to pile up on the table of the three.
“Clean these up, Cinderella. Put this one to work with helping you,” Miss Tremaine pointed to Nani, before turning her eyes to the younger Pelekai sister, “and you will clean Geronimo’s room for him, alright? He made a bit of a mess this morning.”
Lilo considered protesting, but her fear of the strange woman made her nod along and follow the young girl to her room.
To her surprise, a glance around the spacious room showed that there wasn’t much of a mess at all. Only a few toys and clothes scattered around, and nothing that Lilo wouldn’t have dealt with in her own room back at home.
Upon entering the room, Geronimo instantly started to laugh loudly. “Isn’t all of this so nice? I have some video games. Do you wanna play one with me?”
Cautiously, Lilo picked up a clown doll off the floor and started to put it in the toy box. “Don’t I have to clean your room for you?”
Geronimo rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah. Isn’t cleaning boring?” She started to pick up some of the action figures and put them away. “I’ll help so we can play quicker.”
The door swung open, revealing the black-haired older stepsister of the girl. “Geronimo,” the girl snarled, “why are you helping her clean?”
Shrugging, she stuffed her clothes into a little hamper. “Just being nice.”
Rolling her eyes, she glared. “You’ll never be a member of this family if you keep acting like this.” With that, she slammed the door, and left the two in silence for three long minutes.
“Do you remember yours?” Lilo asked suddenly, surprising the other child.
“Remember my what?”
“Your parents. Before you came here, I mean.”
Scrunching up her face, Geronimo dropped the toys she was holding. “No, I don’t. And I’m sure they don’t wanna remember me. They left me here, all alone. They never wanted me.”
Before Lilo could say any comforting words, Geronimo turned her back and went over to her bed, laying on her side. “Now finish cleaning my room and get out.”
“But… Don’t you wanna talk about it? I’ve always been told that talking about your problems can make them feel better.”
Rolling over and staring curiously at Lilo, the little girl pouted. “I dunno. Why should I talk to you about it?”
“Well, maybe if we talk about it, we can become friends.”
Shrugging, the girl played with the tips of his suit. “I don’t know. I’m not supposed to make friends with the other foster kids. If I do, they might not keep me.”
“That’s not right! Don’t you wanna have friends? Don’t you wanna have a family that isn’t mean?”
Huffing, the girl sat up. “You don’t get it, do you?” She hopped off the bed and approached Lilo, jabbing a finger to her chest. “I used to have no one! And I finally have a family saying they want me! I’m going to do anything to make sure they keep me!”
Falling backwards, Lilo stood back up slowly as the girl stomped back over to his bed and turned away, her arms crossed. “What if another family wanted you? Would you go with them?”
“It’s not that easy.” The girl murmured, staring down at her hands again. “No one could ever want me.”
“And why not?”
“Because I have a terrible secret.”
Lilo creeped up behind her, setting her hand on her shoulder. “What is it?”
Turning around and studying the other’s face with a scowl, Geronimo finally sighed. “I’m selfish.”
“What makes you say that?”
“My new mom said so. She said when I came here as a three-year old, my mom said I was really selfish and that’s why they had to get rid of me.”
“You don’t seem selfish to me.”
For a short second, Geronimo softened, scanning the other’s face as the door opened again.
“Geronimo, has she finished cleaning your room yet? I have another chore for her.” Miss Tremaine called, causing Lilo’s shoulders to fall.
Stuffing the last toy in the room under the bed, Geronimo called back. “Yes, Momma!”
“Good. You, come with me. And Geronimo?”
“Yes ma’am?”
“I’m still ‘Miss’ to you. I’m not your ‘Momma’, yet. Now, be good.”
The door closed, and Lilo was led to another room and given another job. By the time the night finally rolled around, Lilo snuck into her sister’s bed that sat across from hers, curling herself up into the pit of her stomach.
Before she could fall asleep, the little face of Geronimo peaked out at her. “Lilo? Lilo, wake up. I’m bored.”
Wiping at her eyes and glancing to her sleeping sister, Lilo slipped off the bed. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
Rolling her eyes, Geronimo held out some generic fighting game and presented it. “Maybe, but I’d rather be playing a video game. Whaddya say? You wanna come and play with me?”
Shrugging, Lilo followed the other into their room, where they had already scattered pillows and blankets in front of the little square television. As the two started to play and laugh, they heard footsteps approaching, both freezing and sharing a look of fear.
As the redheaded sister creeped into the room and sat beside them, the two children shared a look of confusion at the lack of yelling. “What are you guys playing? Tekken 2? I used to love this game.”
Without hesitation, Lilo spoke out. “You’re not going to tell on me for being in here, are you?”
Shaking her head, the sister snickered under her breath. “As long as you don’t tell on me for being awake this late when I’m supposed to be getting my,” she paused, switching to an impression of her mother, “beauty sleep.”
Laughing, Lilo stared at the girl for a moment and handed her a controller. “Do you not like it here, either?”
Shrugging, Anastasia picked up the controller. “It’s complicated. Now, let’s play.”
As the night continued into morning light, the older sister snuck back to her room, and before Lilo could do the same, she fell asleep on the floor. Unable to move her, Geronimo just covered her with a blanket and slipped into her own bed, hoping her mother wouldn’t be upset.
But, of course she was.
Carrying a barely awake Lilo back to her room, Miss Tremaine woke up her older sister without any hesitation as the sun finally peeked through the curtains.
Confused, Nani stared at the woman who held the sleepy and ashamed-looking little girl.
“I don’t know what type of home you take this for, young lady, but if I find your little sister sleeping in my son’s room again, she will be going without dinner for a week!”
And with that, she plopped Lilo into Nani’s arms and left the room, grumbling beneath her breath.
Before Nani could say anything to scold her sister, Lilo crossed her arms. “This was a trick! Geronimo invited me to play video games with him all night so I would fall asleep and get in trouble!”
Grimacing, Nani held her sister close. It wasn’t even eight in the morning of her first full day in the house, and already she felt like screaming at their so-called foster mother. There was nothing more she wanted than to pack her bag right back up and run away with her sister, but she knew she wouldn’t make it far.
“Just… be more careful, alright?”
Lilo pouted up at Nani and nodded. “I’m sorry for getting us in trouble already. I just thought Geronimo wanted to be my friend.”
Brushing a hair out of her sister’s face, Nani nodded. “I know, and maybe he did want to be your friend… but it seems like we’re on our own here. We just gotta stick together. Ohana, remember?”
The smile returned to her sister’s face, and Nani felt relief wash over her. “Ohana.”
“Now, I guess it’s time to get ready since we’re both up. One of the lovely Tremaine sisters gave us a list of chores to do for the day.”
Sighing, and wishing she had just went back to sleep the night before, Lilo trudged over to her dresser and started to pull out a dress for herself. Today was going to be long. She hoped she would be allowed to nap later.
Before anything else could happen, Nani came up behind her and picked her up. “I have a better idea. How about you crawl into bed and get some sleep, and I do your chores for you today? They only gave you a few.”
Shaking her head, Lilo started to protest, but a yawn caught in her throat before any words did.
“No buts. You need some sleep. But, I’ll be going to find a job when all my chores are done this evening, so I can get us a little money. I’ll wake you up then and we can go and explore the city. That sound fun?”
Nodding, Lilo yawned again and cuddled up to a pillow on the bed. “Thanks, Nani.”
Kissing her sister’s head, Nani grabbed an outfit to change into and left the room, closing the doors and the little girl’s eyes.
When they opened again, it wasn’t to her sister. “What do you want?” Lilo asked, yawning as she sat up in the bed and looked over to the alarm clock on the side of the bed. Already it was evening.
Geronimo rocked on her heels. “Well, my mom says you and your sister are going into the city, and I wanna go, too.”
Pouting, Lilo crossed her arms. “No way! You got me in trouble!”
Gasping at the words, Geronimo pulled a frown. “No, you got me in trouble! You shouldn’t have fallen asleep in my room!”
“You should have woken me up!” Without hesitation, Geronimo punched Lilo in the arm, and the little girl returned the favor.
After rubbing her arm for a minute and scowling, a bright grin rolled onto Geronimo’s face. “There, now we’re even. Go change out of your pajamas and we’ll go into town.” With that, the girl skipped out of the room, and Lilo grumbled as she changed and joined the girl, her sister, and Cinderella in the hallway.
When they reached the city, Nani hurried off to check out a few job options, and Cinderella walked with the two kids, letting them explore the city. After a few minutes of silence, Geronimo broke out into a huge smile and lightly smacked at Lilo’s arm. “Tag, you’re it!” And with that she sped off, and Lilo followed, her grumbles turning into giggles.
Finally, she reached her, and the two went back and forth until they reached the little creek in the town. “Let’s jump over it.”
Lilo started to mumble. “I don’t know.”
“Come on! It’ll be fun!” And with that, the other girl jumped over, turning and facing Lilo. “Your turn!”
With a smirk on her face, Lilo hopped across, and skidded to a stop, elbowing the girl. “I’ll beat you back!” And with that, she jumped back over, slipping on mud in the process and falling onto her face.
Quickly, Geronimo laughed and hopped back over and slid down in the process, covering her pants with mud. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, Lilo turned onto her side and sat up, looking down at the gash of blood on her leg, her eyes growing wide. Upon seeing it, Geronimo gasped and ran off, dragging Cinderella over to the scene.
Upon seeing the blood, Cinderella bent over and picked up the crying child, wiping off all her cuts and covering her mark with a large bandage that she pulled out of her purse. Leaning over, she kissed the spot and gave Lilo a comforting smile. “Is that better?”
The child nodded slowly, just as her sister came into sight and joined the group. “Are you alright, Lilo?”
“Mhm. Cinderella made it better… but I think Geronimo needs another outfit.” She pointed to her friend, who was caked in mud, pouting.
“I guess he does, but… I don’t have any money to buy any other clothes just yet… I barely had enough to buy Lilo this one.” She pulled a little green and white dress out of the bag in her hands, and looked to Cinderella, who sighed.
“I don’t have any extra money either, or else I’d grab you something. I guess you’ll just have to wear the dress until we go home today.”
“Alright. Let’s go find somewhere to change.” Nani announced, and the group set off.
After changing into the little dress, Geronimo went quiet as they walked through the town, holding to the sides of the dress nervously.
“It looks pretty on you.” Lilo said suddenly, causing the other child to look up and smile sheepishly.
“Does it really…?”
“Yeah! I think a blue one would look even better, but green is really pretty on you, too.”
“Thanks, Lilo.” The kid went quiet again as they sat down to eat at one of Cinderella’s friend’s houses.
“And who is this little angel?” The friend asked, looking down at Geronimo with brown, inviting eyes. “I don’t think I’ve met you before.”
Abashedly, Geronimo gave a curtsy. “It’s me, Geronimo, Tiana.”
The woman glanced over at Cinderella curiously, who shrugged. “His overalls got all dirty, and it’s all we had with us.”
“Well, Geronimo, you look lovely. Do you like how it feels?”
“Mhm. And Lilo said it looks pretty on me.”
Tiana turned her attention to the other kid. “And is that you?”
Shyly, Lilo offered her hand. “It is.”
“And you must be her sister,” Tiana said, standing back up straight and taking Nani’s hand. “Cinderella’s talked about you two.”
The mentioned woman returned from the kitchen. “Is it alright if we all join you for dinner today? I’ll help cook it.”
“Of course, Cindy.” The woman replied, joining her in the kitchen and leaving the kids to all settle themselves before they pulled Headbandz off the shelf and began to all play together. After gobbling down the pot of stew that Cinderella and Tiana made, the group all headed home.
Upon seeing Geronimo, Lady Tremaine started to scold all the adults involved and ordered her to change into something else, despite the pout at the idea.
Once Geronimo was changed, she invited Lilo into her room and the two sat in silence, facing each other for a few long minutes as they listened to Cinderella and Nani defend the girl with matching yells and protests.
When Lilo started to cry at the sound, Geronimo inched towards her and wrapped her little arms around Lilo, burying her head in her shoulder and crying as well.
As the door opened slowly and Anastasia sat with them, Geronimo turned to her and hid in her chest. “I don’t get it, Ana. All I did was put on a dress ‘cause I was all muddy.”
“I know… just give her some time, she’ll calm down soon.”
“I… I thought I looked pretty in it.”
Lifting the child’s puffy face, Anastasia brushed a hair out of her face. “I’m sure you did.”
“I liked being a girl.”
The room went quiet before the door flew open once again, and Miss Tremaine stormed in. Without hesitation, she grabbed Lilo by the arm and started to drag the screaming child out of the room, as Nani ran in and started to attempt to pull the woman off her sister.
“Listen, you will not talk to my son anymore, you little brat, you hear me?”
“Let go of her!” Nani punched the woman in the nose, sending her hand to her face in shock. Quickly, Nani grabbed her sister and started to run.
Out of the room. Out of the house. To the closest place she felt safe.
She pounded on the door and pushed past Tiana the moment she opened it, flinging herself to the couch, holding her sister tightly and crying.
When she finally calmed down and explained to the patient Tiana what had happened, she promised them they would be allowed to stay with her for as long as they liked. However, when Cinderella showed up with her head hanging low and explained that if they didn’t return home Miss Tremaine would be calling the police, Nani could feel their freedom slipping away.
Promising her sister that she would keep her safe, the two were escorted back to the mansion, where Miss Tremaine glared at them from the doorway. The moment they stepped inside, the three were sat down and told that their chores were going to be much harder and they weren’t allowed to eat any of the food she bought anymore. Lilo almost started to cry, but she sucked her tears back into her chest as to not make things worse. If they could be worse, anyways.
The three were sent to do chores for most of the night, only being allowed three hours of sleep. When morning came, Cinderella and Nani were ordered to cook a large breakfast for the family, and Lilo was forced to scrub the kitchen floor.
When her mother finally left and took her prying eyes off Lilo, Geronimo fell to the floor in front of the other child, hugging her and apologizing before composing herself at the sound of footsteps.
A week passed by slowly, and Miss Tremaine took her two daughters on a cruise and left the home to the fosters and Cinderella, with a threat of not being allowed to leave the house for two weeks if they returned and the house was not polished they way they liked.
Finally, the group was all able to sleep an adequate amount, and Lilo and Geronimo spent their days racing around and playing until Thursday night, when Cinderella offered to take them to a fancy party a few blocks away.
Happily, they all joined, each throwing on a fancy dress.
“Are you sure this one looks good on me?” Geronimo asked, twirling the bottom of her bright baby blue dress, her chest pounding at how right it felt to fit into a dress.
“Uh huh! It brings out your eyes!” Lilo added, smoothing her golden muumuu dress out. “But it is missing something…”
“What?”
Lilo’s face lit up as she pulled the matching baby blue hairband off Cinderella’s dresser drawer, sliding it into Geronimo’s hair. “Perfect!”
“Hey, Lilo?”
“Yeah, Geronimo?”
“Can you call me a girl now…?”
Surprised, Lilo stared at her friend, cocking her head to the side. “I mean, sure…do you wanna try out another name?”
Shrugging, the child twirled their dress. “Maybe, but… I need a little bit to think of one.”
Cinderella, who overheard the conversation, smoothed out a bump in the child’s hair. “Why do you wanna be called a girl?”
Staring at their feet, Geronimo shrugged again. “It makes me feel good.”
“Well, Nani and I can call you one too, if you’d like, alright?”
Nodding, the kid could feel their cheeks heating up. “Thank you.”
“Now, how about we get going?” Nani added, picking up her sister and happily showing off her golden sundress. “I’m starving, and Cindy said that Tiana is bringing food.”
“I know it’ll be good, then!” Geronimo cheered, and the group ventured out into the evening.
At the party, Cinderella danced around with Tiana and her friends and laughed, Nani joining them relatively quickly, while the kids stuffed their face with the little cubes of cheese and crackers. There was supposed to be a prince coming, but only Tiana’s blonde friend that wasn’t Cinderella seemed interested in him when he showed up, while Tiana and Cinderella continued to dance and laugh.
As the night neared, Cinderella called over the two kids, and the group took a photo at the booth that was rented and finally arrived home. Almost right away, everyone clambered in front of the tv and threw on some horror movie that both Lilo and Geronimo insisted on watching. Within minutes, the two kids fell fast asleep, and Nani and Cinderella didn’t take long to join them in their dreams. The next day, sitting down at the fancier table for the pancakes that Cinderella made didn’t make anyone feel threatened.
It felt like family. Like Ohana.
Suddenly, Geronimo stood up and sprinted to the other room, muttering about how she needed to find a hair beret in Miss Tremaine’s room, and when she returned, she held a photograph instead, a confused and depressed look on her face.
“What did you find?” Cinderella asked, as she saw the little child climb back into their seat, setting the image down without another word.
A glance to it showed the child’s parents. Flipping it over revealed a letter, and as Cinderella lifted it and read it aloud, her chest started sinking with every word.
“To Miss Tremaine: Please, take care of my baby boy for me. I have found out recently that I am dying, and I won’t be able to afford both my treatments and a good life for my son. I ask that you take him in and love him and find him a good home for me. Let him know everyday that his Momma and Papa love him with all our hearts, love Anne-Marie and Tobias Grover.”
The room fell silent in pity, and all eyes studied the child carefully as she crossed her arms on the table and propped her chin up before softly crying.
“I don’t know what to do. My whole life I was told my parents didn’t love me…” Cinderella swooped in and picked the girl up, rubbing little circles into her back. “I don’t know why Miss Tremaine would lie to me.”
“It’s because she’s terrible,” Lilo said blankly, “she lied to you and she killed Cinderella’s dad… I hate her.”
Hiding her face in Cinderella’s shirt, the little girl nodded in agreeance. “I think I do, too…but I’m not sure. This whole time I thought she really wanted me to be her kid, but…I wonder if she lied about that, too.”
“We’ll get out of here soon, little one,” Cinderella hummed, rocking the child gently, “we’ll move out soon, alright? I’ll take you with me.”
Wiping away snot and tears, the child stared up at the woman. “You will?”
“Of course. I won’t ever leave you behind. I just need to make sure that wicked woman won’t be able to foster anymore first. I’m still working out how to do it… anytime social services have been called in the past, she always manipulated them into thinking everything was alright.”
“We’ll find a way together.” The child proclaimed, looking down at the photograph of her parents and hugging it to her chest. “I’m going to go and hide this for now. I don’t want her to have it anymore.”
Lilo followed her friend, who stopped in front of her dresser drawer and stared at the photo for a long minute. She turned it over and ran her fingers over her mother’s name. “Lilo? You know how I said I liked being called a girl?”
“I do.”
“I think I found a name now… I wanna be called Anne-Marie, after my Mama.”
“Are you going to tell Miss Tremaine…?”
Nodding, the determined child turned around. “I’ll never be her little Geronimo again.”
Lilo smiled at that. “I like Anne-Marie. It fits you. Now, let’s go play monopoly. I wanna be the car this time!”
With that, Lilo raced out of the room, Anne-Marie following her and laughing loudly.
The next day, as the rest of the household arrived home, Anne-Marie slid into a poofy purple dress from the back of Anastasia’s closet, adorning her head with a large bow as well, answering the door with a cheeky smile.
“Geronimo, what in the world are you—” Miss Tremaine started, but the girl cut her off.
“It’s Anne-Marie now, after my Mama.” She curtsied, “You know, the one that you said hated me when she didn’t?”
Her face turning beet red, the woman grabbed ahold of Anne-Marie’s arm and started to drag her to her room. “I don’t know why you think you can talk to me like that, young man, but it will not be tolerated.” She tossed the child in and locked the door. “You will not come out until you’ve learned to behave like a proper boy. No dinner, either.”
With that, the woman stormed off, grabbing Cinderella’s arm the moment she found her. “I leave for a week and come back to my son dressed up like that? I know you’re behind this!”
Calmly, Cinderella stared up at her stepmother. “I haven’t done anything wrong. She found the letter herself.”
“She?”
Cinderella continued to stare, her mouth frozen in a thin line. “I… I meant—”
“You put this idea into his mind, you damn rat!” She shoved Cinderella to the ground. “You move from this room, and you’ll be sleeping beside your father, you understand me?”
Slowly, Cinderella nodded and glued her eyes to her feet. “Yes, stepmother.”
With that, she closed her door as well, locking it and proceeding to Nani and Lilo’s room.
Glaring into the room, the vile woman’s eyes settled on Lilo, and before the woman could do anything, Nani pulled her sister into her arms.
“She had nothing to do with this.”
Breathing heavily through her nose, Miss Tremaine hurried out of the room, mumbling something about punishing them. The moment she was out of sight, Drizella closed the door and locked it, leaving them behind with a smirk.
“It’ll be okay, Lilo.” Nani whispered, trying to comfort both herself and her sister.
Pushing her sister away, Lilo started frantically searching around the room until she found her sister’s cellphone. Without announcing her plan, she opened it and scrolled through the numbers until she spotted one that stood out. Holding the phone to her ears as it dialed, Lilo cleared her throat and spoke quietly.
“Hello? Is this Mr. Bubbles? I think we need help. Could you send someone?” A pause. “Yes, to Miss Tremaine’s house.” Another pause. “Thank you.” Click.
Meeting her sister’s eyes now, Lilo grew a big smile. “We’re gonna get out of here.”
Nani brushed hair out of her sister’s face. “That was… very brave. Maybe a little reckless, but brave…Let’s just hope it works.”
The two sat perched by the window, watching as the familiar black car rolled up, and the familiar man strolled to the front door and knocked loudly.
As the group started to walk around the home, the clicking of their door sent the two sisters to their feet.
“Alright, I’m here now, Lilo. What seems to be the problem?”
Upon seeing the look on Miss Tremaine’s face, Lilo felt her stomach flood with fear. “She hasn’t been very nice to us, Mr. Bubbles.”
“Has she hit you?”
“She grabbed my arm a few times, really hard.” She held her mentioned arm up, but no bruises showed, and he hummed in thought.
The two sisters started to follow close behind their trusted social worker as they went to each room in the house, the eyes on the backs of their heads feeling more present than ever.
“And that is all of them. Such angels, aren’t they? I know they’re having a difficult time adjusting, but they all struggled at first.”
Stopping at the end of the hallway, Cobra lowered his sunglasses. “What about your stepdaughter? I’d like to meet her.”
With a thin smile, Miss Tremaine glanced uncomfortably to her daughters. “She is taking a nap right now we best not wake her.”
“No, she isn’t. You locked her in her room, like you did us.” Lilo stated loudly, causing the woman to glare daggers at her again. Nani tightened her grip on her sister’s hand.
Raising his eyebrow, Cobra stared down at Miss Tremaine. Without saying anything else, he raised his sunglasses back to his eyes. “Show me her room.”
Lilo lead the way, shaking the doorknob. “See? Locked.”
Reaching forward and unlocking it with her keys, Miss Tremaine cleared her throat. “She is very violent. I have to lock her in here occasionally to keep the rest of the family safe.”
Rolling her eyes, Lilo ran forward and jumped into Cinderella’s arms. “She isn’t violent. She’s the nicest person here.” She hugged at Cindy, who laughed and looked up to meet Cobra’s face. Her smile fading a little, she stood, still holding the girl. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“You, too, miss. Now… there’s one more child, isn’t there?”
Cinderella glanced over the group and nodded. “My little sister, Anne-Marie. I’ll show you where she is.” With that, the blonde walked with confidence over to the little girl’s room, opening it and revealing her, curled up on her bed and crying.
Upon seeing the stranger, she wiped her eyes and paced over to him, knitting her hands together.
“This isn’t my foster daughter, Mr. Bubbles. This is my foster son. He’s just been a little delusional upon looking at a letter from his mother.”
The man took his sunglasses off and knelt in front of the child, eyeing her. “What’s your name?”
“Anne-Marie, Mister.”
“And you’re a little girl, aren’t you?”
“Duh!”
With that, Cobra Bubbles stood back to his full height. “She is not in anyway delusional, Miss Tremaine. Now, are we done here?”
“Wait!” Anastasia said suddenly, refusing to look towards her mother, who she knew was looking at her with pure hate now. “I…I must confess that none of my mother’s money she is receiving has been going to help these kids. She’s been using it to buy me and my sister stuff. I’m sorry.”
“Is this true?”
“Of course, it isn’t! I’ve bought these children food and clothes ever since they arrived, I haven’t spent a penny of their checks on myself or my daughters!”
Anne-Marie’s face turned into a scowl. “She’s lying! Cinderella has been the one buying us food with her own money!”
Nani nodded confidently. “It’s true. And I’ve bought all my sister and I’s clothes, and Cinderella has bought all of Anne-Marie’s.“
Anastasia nodded. “She never spent any checks she’s been given over the years on any of her foster children.”
“Thank you for telling me… Miss Tremaine, these children will all be removed immediately. You will not be allowed to foster any more, do you understand me? I will notify the police of your crimes soon.”
With that, Cobra turned his back on the woman and lifted his phone up as he called the police. While it was ringing, he looked over to Cinderella. “Do you know of a place they could stay until this is all sorted out?”
Smiling, Cinderella nodded at him. “Of course, I do.” She lifted Anne-Marie into her arms, hugging the child. “I told you I’d get you out of here. Now, let’s go pack out bags. I’ll call Tiana now.”
The family settled into the familiar woman’s home, where despite not having their own spacious beds and a ton of room, they felt safe, some generic cartoon playing on the television as the two little girls dozed off on the floor.
“So… what now?” Tiana whispered to her girlfriend, who sighed in thought.
“I’m not sure. I thought I would have had a little more time.”
“Well, you’re free to have them stay here until they need it, but you know they will be put back into care… unless you have another idea?”
Cinderella leaned her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “I do, but… I’m not sure if you’ll agree.”
“Go ahead, ask me.”
“Well, if you marry me, we can maybe adopt little Anne, if nothing else.”
Blinking in surprise, Tiana pulled away and stared at her lover. “Did you just ask me to marry you, Cindy?
Cinderella only shrugged and gave a sweet smile, leading her gf to kiss her. “We still don’t have room, and what about the other two?”
“I’m not sure about that part yet…”
Nani, who had been standing in the doorway, spoke up. “You know, Lilo and I still have a house that we get the moment I turn eighteen…it does have some empty rooms.”
Upon hearing the idea, Cinderella looked at Tiana excitedly. “What do you think, Tia?”
“It sounds perfect. Now,” She gave a sarcastic smile and raised her eyebrows at her girlfriend, “if only these girls had someone willing to foster them for a few more months…”
“You read my mind, Tia.” She turned to look at Nani, opening her arms. “We’ll be happy to foster you and Lilo.” The teenager happily fell to her knees in front of the other, hugging her tightly.
“You don’t know how happy hearing that makes me.”
As the months passed, the group slowly moved into the spacious home, where Anne-Marie was able to run around in any dress she desired, and the young girls called each other cousins without hesitation.
One night, the moon rose up into the sky and the stars were exceptionally bright, sending Lilo, Nani, and Anne-Marie laying underneath the stars on the back deck.
“You know, our parents are up there.” Lilo said matter of factly, a wide smile on her face.
“They are?” Anne-Marie asked softly, her eyes twinkling with hope.
“Mhm. That’s why the stars only come out sometimes. Everyone’s loved ones are up in the sky, and they come out when they need to check on us.”
The three sat in silence for a moment, before the blue-eyed girl spoke up. “Do you think my parents are up there, too?”
Nani looked over to the little girl. “Of course, Annie. Why wouldn’t they be?”
“I dunno. Sometimes I forget that they loved me… but I’m happy they did, because I love them, too.” Anne-Marie brushed her fingers through her hair to comfort herself. “I bet my Mama Cinderella’s parents are up there, and my Mama Tia’s dad, too! I bet they’re all friends.”
“I bet they are. They’re probably bragging about us in the big barbeque of the sky.” Nani said, lightly elbowing the little girl, making both children laugh.
“The big barbeque?”
“Yeah. That’s why the sky gets cloudy sometimes, you know. It’s all of the smoke from the barbeque.”
After the laughter died down, Anne-Marie sighed. “I’m happy I met you. I’m glad I have a family now.”
“Me too.” Lilo said in a heartbeat, holding the other’s hand. “I missed having an Ohana.”
“What’s an Ohana?”
“Well, Ohana means family.” Lilo started, looking up at her sister, who continued off her.
“And family means no one gets left behind.”
“Or forgotten.”
Anne-Marie’s eyes filled with tears as she smiled. “Is that why guys didn’t run away for good before? Because… because you couldn’t leave your family behind?”
Nani smiled at the idea and brushed strands of hair out of the girl’s eyes. “Of course.”
Wiping her tears away, the little girl leaned against Nani. “Well, I’m glad you guys never left me behind. I promise I’ll never forget you or leave you behind, either.”
And with that, the three turned back to silence, taking in the stars and thanking them for bringing them all together.
Family truly was the most important thing there was.