I gasp and feel my heart pounding in my chest. Was that a scream? I hear it again along with whimpering and crying. I hop out of bed and shake my twin brother awake. He opens his blue eyes and yawns “What wrong?” It’s hard for me to speak so I stutter “I-I…I h-heard a s-scream…” he hops out of bed and takes my hand.

We peer out the door together and go down the hall quietly hand in hand. My brother peered into the living room and then freezes in fear. I peer out, squeeze his hand and tremble. Our parents and our older brother were bloodied and on the ground with their head bashed open.

Tears roll down my cheeks and my brother comforts me. I cry in his pajama shirt and he rubs my back “It’s okay…everything is going to be okay…” I nod and continue crying.

After a few minutes my brother and I called 911 and were now sitting in the kitchen, playing with our guinea pigs, Thor and Loki, and waiting. “Keith?” I quietly say while petting Loki’s soft brown fur. My brother looks at me “Yeah Kris?” He sets Thor on his lap and starts petting his wheat blonde fur. I don’t look up at him instead I sadly look down at Loki “We’re going to be in foster care, huh?” My brother nods “Yeah…I hope we get to take Thor and Loki with us.” I nod. Thor and Loki were our first pets after all. We were so happy last week on the day we got them.

There was rough knocking on the door “Open up it’s the police!” My brother and I open the door. A police officer goes in to investigate the bodies and his partner looks down at us and smiles. He kneels down to our level “It’s alright kids we’re going to take you and your furry piggies to a safe place okay.” My brother and I nod. The officer leads us to the car and then goes back to his partner.

That was a few days ago, now my brother and I are in foster care with our foster fathers Alex and Ian Charleston. Alex was from Ireland and had met Ian in a university here in Washington. They soon got married after two years of dating. Keith and I liked Alex and Ian. They were nice to us and read story books to us a lot. They even took us to the park to play.

I was in my room feeding Thor and Loki when I heard Ian call my brother and I for lunch time. I finished up and washed my hands then I went to the kitchen and sat at the table. My brother got there before me and was now eating a sandwich. Ian gave me a sandwich and a juice box then went to write something on the dinner chalkboard.

I took a bite of my sandwich, chewed then swallowed. I looked at Ian “I-Ian?” He put the chalk down and looked at me “Yes?” I took a sip of my juice box. “Why do I have two dads now but back then I had a mom and a dad?” Ian sighed “well…Alex and I volunteered to foster you. Not all parents are a woman and a man sometimes it’s a woman and a woman but in this case it’s a man and a man.” I processed that for a while then nodded. Ian smiled and finished what he was writing on the chalk board.