“Yes. I’m Curtis.”
“Curtis, I’m Ms. Masters. But you’re welcome to call me Rose. I’m from the Atlanta Department of Human Services, Children and Families Division. I want to extend my deepest condolences to you. I’m so sorry for —”
“We accept. Now if you’ll excuse us, Curtis would like to go home. He has a lot to process right now. Here’s my card, if you have any questions you can call me.” Ruxs cut off anything else Ms. Masters was going to say and handed her his card. She quickly took it, and stuffed it in her brief case while keeping her attention on Curtis.
“Where is home, Curtis?” she asked, still not threatened by Ruxs’ bravado.
“Home with us,” Ruxs answered for Curtis again. “We’re his family.”
Ms. Masters huffed and finally looked in Ruxs’ direction. “Are you biological family, sir? Are any of you biological family?” She looked around, making eye contact with every one of them; none of them able to give the answer that would help Curtis.
Green had a sinking feeling he knew what was going on. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. How could this night go from best ever, to worse, and finally to fucking disastrous?
“Curtis how old are you?” she asked in a tone Green assumed was her “polite but don’t you dare tell me a lie” voice.
“Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to?” God snapped. “Get on with it.”
“Curtis you’re seventeen years old and according to the state of Georgia, you are still a minor. Your only living guardian has passed away. I’m going to have to take you with me.” Right then two very large men dressed in suits came in wearing human services badges just like Ms. Masters.
Curtis’ head snapped back to Green’s sorrowful gaze. He shook his head back and forth rapidly. “What? No. No. I have my own house. I pay the bills, I have for years. I’ll be eighteen in four months,” Curtis said hurriedly, cowering into Green’s body.
“Lady, you try to take this kid away and I’m going to rip your fuckin’ arms off and beat the shit out of you with them,” Ruxs barked. Syn, Furi and Ro were at Ruxs side in minutes, ready to hold him back. Because even though Ms. Masters was a woman and Ruxs was a cop, they all believed at that moment Ruxs just might be capable of throwing all the rules out the window to protect Curtis.
“Shh. It’s okay Curtis. I’ll handle this.” Green stood with Curtis plastered to his body. He still stood behind God and Day as he spoke to her. “Ma’am, I’m Detective Christopher Green with the Atlanta Police Department, the men in front of me are my direct supervisors, and also Curtis’ employers; currently overseeing his internship. We’ve been a make-shift family for Curtis for three years. He really needs our support to help him get through this very trying time. I’m sure you understand.” Green paused hoping she’d agree but her face was stoic and her enforcers were poised to act. “Curtis can stay with me at my home, like he does most nights. You are more than welcome to come by and check things out. I’ll be sure he continues with school and work.”
“I’m sorry Detective Green, but it doesn’t work like that. If you want to assume temporary placement of the minor, you’ll have to fill out the paperwork, go through the state-required protocol and complete the required assessment.”
“How long will that take?” Green’s eyes pleaded.
“Six to eight weeks,” she said emotionlessly.
“No.” Curtis sobbed, breaking down in his arms.
The room exploded in an uproar. Masters’ men didn’t know which way to turn. Ruxs had to be practically carried out by Ro, Syn and Furi. God and Day were still in front of them throwing out every suggestion they could think of.
Green fully turned and enfolded Curtis in his arms. He let all the noise and chaos fade into the background. His eyes flooded with tears as Curtis begged him repeatedly not to let them take him. Green rested his chin on top of Curtis soft blonde hair, stroking his back tenderly.
“Listen to me. Listen to me, Curtis,” Green said just loud enough for him to hear. “You are gonna have to go with them.”
“No.” Curtis bawled. “Let’s just go! Let’s just run!”
He pulled Curtis back to arm’s length so he could look him in his eyes, showing him his sincerity. “No. I’m not going to kidnap you. But believe me; I’m going to come get you out of there. And it’s not going to take weeks. You know us.” He tilted Curtis’ sad face up. “You know me. You know God and Day. We don’t fail. I’m not gonna fail you. I’m not going to lie to you. I will get you out of there. Fast. But for right now I want you to go with them. Quietly and respectfully. Be the man that I know you are. It fuckin’ kills me that I can’t be there for you tonight, but I want you to be strong. Be strong for your mom, be strong for me. Give us a little while to make some calls. Okay? I’ll be over to see you later this morning. I promise.”