Adoption

“Charoum?” she heard Mr. Louie say after knocking on the door.  He poked his head in, and then walked on in. “Alright…” He started, taking a seat. “…have you picked?”

 

She nodded, and he pulled out his notebook. “Who do you want to stay with?”

 

“Mr. Nazarov…” He nodded approvingly and flipped to a page in the notebook.

 

“I’ll go contact him, alright?” She nodded at him and he left.

--

Grigori arrived promptly, as she expected. He walked into her room and headed to her bed, before being stopped by Mr. Louie.

 

“Mr. Nazarov.” He said, offering a hand. They shook hands, and Charoum quietly noted his continued serious aura. Grigori glanced at her.

 

“I’ve taken care of the hospital paperwork, Charoum…” She nodded and carefully sat up. His eyes remained on her for a moment before going into a conversation with Mr. Louie about Social Services. In the end, there was paperwork to be done, but she was allowed to leave with him that day.

 

She exchanged looks with Grigori for a moment before carefully getting out of the bed for the first time. He moved closer as she got up.

 

“Will you need help getting dressed?” She quickly shook her head, embarrassed at the thought. Her second foot got onto the floor, and as she tried to straighten herself, she lost her balance.

 

Grigori’s arm immediately clasped around her waist, and she fell against his chest. Unconsciously, her fingers dug into his shirt, in an attempt to keep herself from falling. Finding herself balanced, she blinked, and then blushed, mostly out of embarrassment, at her predicament. When she had recovered enough, she pulled away; faintly surprised that he let her.

 

He watched her for a moment, and then left with Mr. Louie.

 

She dressed quickly, wanting to get out of the hospital as fast as possible. Finishing, she peeked out of the room. Grigori was talking to a nurse’s instructions about caring for Charoum.

 

He nodded when she finished. “I will make sure she is taken care of, and I will bring her if there is any problem...does she need any medicine?”

 

She blinked slightly and went back into the hospital room, and grabbed the pill bottle. Don’t want to forget these…

 

When she went back to the door, the conversation was finished. Grigori glanced at her.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

She nodded, and he guided her out of the hospital. Blinking slightly at the light, she took a deep breath of the air outside, relieved to be outside. Grigori hadn’t noticed her pause, and was a short lengths away.

 

With a faint sense of panic, she half jogged to catch up to him. He arrived at his car just as she caught up, and he opened the door for her. She blinked slightly at the gesture, and got into the car, careful not to keep a neutral, serious expression.

 

He got into the driver’s seat and drove off. In the back of her mind, there was that nagging feeling that he had done it because of her arm. She brushed it off, reminding herself that he was the only person that hadn’t made a point about her arm, so surely he wouldn’t start then.

 

It wasn’t long before they arrived at his home. He got out and went to her side of the car, offering to help her out. Appreciating the gesture but not wanting to him to think that she would need help often, she ignored him and carefully exited the car.

 

The house itself was rather sizable. It was perhaps not as extravagant as a mansion, but certainly larger than the average home.  She felt an odd sense of excitement as he led her inside. As he led her down a hallway, she noticed a lady walk by, wearing a maid’s uniform.

 

That only served to increase her excitement, and the faint feeling of being a princess. Eventually, they arrived at a door, which he opened for her.

 

“This will be your room…you can alter it however you please…”

 

She nodded and took a step into the room, her eyes widening when she saw it.

 

It contained a big poster bed, light, creamy walls, several large windows dotted along the walls, different bits of furniture, and a large closet, at least as far as the doors implied. With a slight hop of happiness, she went over and plopped onto the bed. The bed was large and soft, almost seeming like it would swallow her up. For a few minutes she lay there, relaxed against the bed.

 

Then, she felt herself slowly tense as she remembered Grigori was still standing there, watching her. Slowly and carefully, she sat up, quickly regaining her composure.

 

“I like it.” He nodded.

 

“We will be able to get your items from your…home tomorrow.” She nodded.

 

Then they simply…stared at each other. Silence and awkwardness hung heavily in the air, quickly making Charoum uncomfortable. What am I supposed to say?

 

“Thank you for letting me stay.” She awkwardly blurted out, hoping that that was what he wanted to hear.

 

He nodded again, and then motioned for her to get up. She quietly complied, and he led her out.

 

The next hour or so was spent with him leading her around, showing her the various rooms of his home. By the time they finished it was time for lunch, so he led her to the dining room. He pulled a chair out for her, and then he sat at the other side of the table, across from her.

 

“What would you like to eat?” He asked quietly, watching her closely.

 

“Ah…” she started to speak, before realizing she didn’t have an answer.

 

“Hm?” He raised a brow at her after she didn’t speak after a minute or so.

 

“Um, it doesn’t really matter to me.”

 

“Will pasta be alright, then?” She nodded meekly. He then stood and walked into another room. That was embarrassing…I can’t believe I froze up like that… A few short minutes later he returned to his seat. “They’re cooking.” She nodded again, and like earlier, they sat in silence.

 

I wish he’d say something…this silent treatment is starting to get weird…

 

“How are you?”she blinked at the sudden question.

 

“Fine. I’m…fine.”

 

He nodded slightly. “If there’s anything you want to talk about, feel free to come to me…” He always spoke in a quiet, even tone. The constant, almost monotonous tone made some of his statements feel like a threat. It got her nervous, and she nodded meekly.

 

A few minutes of awkward silence later, a woman with a solemn expression came out with the food, and placed it in front of them. She left quickly, and Charoum and Grigori began eating. Charoum ate silently, faintly disturbed by the woman’s behavior. Is everyone here so serious?

--

The rest of the day was uneventful. After lunch, he left her to her own devices, retrieving her for dinner. Before he retrieved her, however, she explored her room a bit. There was a bathroom attached to her room, which had a pleasant looking bath. She looked forward to using it. The closet was as big as she expected. Once dinner was over, she returned to her room. Feeling tiredness on her, she considered going to bed, when a knock on her door startled her.

 

“Come in.” Grigori calmly walked in, carrying his usual aura of confident seriousness. He carried something, which he almost immediately showed her. It was a nightgown, which she thought seemed like it might be faintly transparent. Or it could have just been her imagination.

 

“I thought you might like something to sleep in.” He handed it to her, and she tentatively accepted it.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Good night, Charoum. Sleep well.” He gave her a smile, though it was as serious as the rest of him.

 

“Good night…” He left, closing the door behind himself. With a faint sigh of relief, she carefully undressed. It was a bit difficult getting the shoulder cap off, but that was mainly due to her clumsiness with the strap. Once it was off, she sagged slightly in the freeing feeling. She tugged her bra off quickly, and then carefully pulled the nightgown on over her head.

 

She then proceeded over to the full length mirror that stood on one of the walls of her room. However, she jumped slightly at her reflection. Although she had adjusted to her arm not being there, it was jarring to actually see it missing. Her hair was messy, falling out of the neat bun she had put it in.

 

Studying herself, she found that the gown was at least slightly transparent, as she could faintly see the light coffee color of her skin through it. She saw her cheeks darken in the mirror as she noticed that her dark areolas were not hidden at all by the fabric. Glancing at her legs, her face reddened more when she realized that her panties were clearly visible.

 

Embarrassed and tired, she headed back to her bed. She pulled the scrunchie out of her hair, and set it on the nightstand. A flick of her finger and the lights were off, and she was off to sleep.

 

Reviews

[*Kantola*]

W-hoo!
Charoum has a crush, AND a home! :3
This was an interesting chapter. W-hoo!!!
"Oh well, he can practically see me naked... im dressed, who gives a crap *SNORE*"
xD
Nicely written, Elemiah! I WILL BE STARING AT MY SCREEN UNTIL ANOTHER CHAPTER POPS UP!!!