The Player's Flower

Chapter 1

Poppy's Point of View

"We are here, Lilly," I said to my fifteen-year-old sister as we arrived at our new apartment. We got out of my old 2001 Honda and started walking to the front door of the old apartment building. It wasn't in the best neighborhood or the best building, but at least it was ours.

"Hello, Beautiful," an older, drunken man that was standing by the front entrance with two others said.

"Hi," I replied and walked into the apartment building, holding my sister's hand. We walked up the stairs to the third floor, which was where our two-bedroom apartment was located.

"This is it?" Lilly said as we walked into our new, well old apartment.

"I know it isn't the best, but it is ours," I said as I sighed.

"Yeah, this is better than me staying in the foster home," Lilly said and I agreed.

We walked around the small apartment. There was a small kitchen with old appliances. I would have to call the office because the stove didn't work and looked old and worn out. The bathroom tub and toilet needed to be cleaned because there were still stains in them, and the carpet had stains. It was like they just moved us in without cleaning the place. The worst part was that I could see some roaches climbing on the walls.

"Well, we will have to clean this place before we relax. Let's go get the bags from the car," I said, and Lilly and I went out to the car to get our bags.

My name is Poppy Jones, and I am eighteen years old. My little sister Lilly and I have been in foster care since forever. When I was four years old, my mom took me and Lilly, who had just turned one year old a few days earlier, to foster care. My mom gave me a note to give to the person that answered the door and told me to wait there and that she would be back for Lilly and me soon. After that, she hugged me and knocked on the door before walking away and leaving Lilly and me there. That was the last time I saw my mom.

I used to think she was coming back for us, but she never did. It hurt knowing that my mom abandoned Lilly and me. We were mistreated by some of the ladies that worked at the foster home and some of the kids. They used to make fun of us because our mom just left us there and never came back.

I was happy when I turned eighteen three months ago. My best and only friend, Kayla's mom, whose name is Greta, helped me find a lawyer to help me gain custody of Lilly. She knew Lilly and I were being mistreated and wanted to get us out of that situation as soon as possible. She tried adopting us a few years earlier, but that didn't work out. They said she was a single parent and didn't make enough money to care for two extra kids.

That was the dumbest thing I had ever heard. It would have been better for us being there than for them to make us stay in foster care, where we were being constantly mistreated physically and mentally. The ladies that worked at the foster home were evil and would beat the children there. I protected Lilly by taking punches for each of us. Whenever one of the ladies would get mad at Lilly, I would shield her and tell her to run. Sometimes she wouldn't get away, and they would beat both of us, but most of the time, it worked, and I would be the only one that got hit.

I was so happy when the courts gave me custody. They said that I would need a place to stay, a job, and to make sure that Lilly went to school. I agreed, and they released Lilly to me. Now we have to get our apartment together because the social worker would be coming to the apartment in the morning to check it out. We had been staying in one of Kayla's and mom's friend's houses until our apartment was ready because they were out of town for a few months but was expected to be back in a week. She hadn't made me pay a lot of rent, and it had two bedrooms. Now that it was, we had to leave.

Once Lilly and I got the bag out of the car, we started to clean up the apartment. My phone rang, and I took it out of my pocket to see the delivery driver who was calling that was supposed to be bringing our new furniture and beds for Lilly and me today.

I answered the phone and the man that answered told me he would be there within the hour. I told him thanks and ended the call.

"The delivery drivers will be here in an hour," I told Lilly, who was moping the kitchen floor.

"Okay, the carpet is too dirty," Lilly said.

"Yeah, we will have to go to Kroger and rent a carpet cleaner tonight. I will also have to get a new stove because I don't think the apartments to tell them to fix it before the social worker shows up tomorrow," I said.

We waited for the delivery driver to come and deliver our furniture, then we headed to the store to rent a carpet cleaner. I called Kayla and told her about the apartment. I was lucky because Greta had an old stove that worked and was still in good condition that she told me she would give me.

I thanked her, and Kayla and Greta came over that night with the stove and also helped Lilly and me clean the apartment. There were people standing in the halls, and that made me uncomfortable. We would definitely need to keep our doors locked at all times.

"Thanks for helping," I said to Kayla and Greta when they were about to leave. It was almost ten at night, and we had been working the whole time.

"Of course, girl. You know I got you," Kayla said, causing me to smile.

"What time is the social worker supposed to show up tomorrow?" Greta asked.

"At ten in the morning," I replied.

"I will be here at eight. Show them you have people that support you," Greta said.

"Thanks, that would be great," I replied.

"You start college next week, and Lilly started her sophomore year in high school, right?" Greta asked.

"Yeah, I am going to get her registered after the social worker leaves tomorrow," I replied.

"And you have everything ready for college," Greta asked.

"Yep. I have already checked, and everything is ready to go," I replied, and Greta smiled.

"Good. That will show the social worker that you are responsible and are planning for your future. I wish you could talk Kayla into going to college," Greta said.

"Hey, I said I would enroll next semester. I need a break after four years of high school," Kayla replied. Greta and Kayla left, and Lilly and I got ready for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.