I had straightened my hair and brushed a little mascara onto my eyelashes. My green dress draped comfortably across my body and ended at my knees. I fidgeted on the couch next to Noah, my hand curled around his.

All of my foster brothers sat in the living room around me, glued to the game on the TV. Jenna was in the kitchen with Momma, her hand on her belly as they talked about her growing baby. Papa was pacing behind the couch, his arms crossed.

The men all looked so nice in their button-down shirts, preparing themselves to meet the man that abandoned me all those years ago. I thanked God for the family I had ended up in, so supportive and understanding.

My family didn't want to meet Adam. I could see it in their eyes, the trepidation and worry when I informed them of my decision to invite him to dinner. Even then, the next day Ezekiel and Jenna were on their way to us. I wasn't sure why I wanted to give Adam a chance. He hadn't been nice to me three days ago when he sat on the very couch I was currently sitting on, but for some reason, I was clinging to the unlikely occurrence of Adam apologizing, feeling bad for all those times he had the chance to save me and didn't.

The knock on the door, although quiet, made me jump. Papa looked to me with two thumbs up and an encouraging smile. Noah squeezed my hand and I pushed my body closer against his arm.

When Papa answered the door, I heard his friendly, booming greeting from the hallway. "Hello, Adam. Please, come in," he greeted. I found it so sweet that even though my papa didn't like Adam, he still treated him kindly because I had asked them to.

"Hey, good to see you again! Thanks for having me," Adam replied. His voice was eerily smooth and made me shiver. Even though everyone else knew to be kind and to introduce themselves when he entered the living room, I stayed where I sat, feeling chicken because it weirded me out to have this man in my safe space.

"Eden, you look great, sweetheart," Adam declared. His smile looked more menacing than I liked. I attempted a smile back.

"Thank you," I replied politely, trying to be loud enough for him to hear.

"Adam, hello!" Momma rushed into the room with Jenna at her side. "I hope my boys have introduced themselves. This is Jenna. She's my daughter-in-law, married to Ezekiel." Momma was the best at making awkward situations better.

"Oh, Jenna, it's so nice to meet you. Your eyes are lovely, dear."

"Thank you," she stated. Jenna's smile didn't reach her "lovely" eyes. She walked to Zeke and he put his arm around her protectively.

After an awkward pause swept across the room, Momma cleared her throat. "Alright, everyone. Dinner should be ready. We can head into the dining room. Adam, you can sit at the head of the table closest to the wall."

As we made our way to the dining room, Adam waiting until Noah and I began walking so he could walk beside me. For some reason, this man I adored as a child was currently scaring the hell out of me. I waited for Adam to take his seat at the head and I tried to sit as far away as I could, without being at the other end of the table.

"So, Eden. I was thinking... If today goes well, maybe we could work out a way for you to spend the holidays with me. I think that would be so much fun."

Adam seemed so nonchalant. It was like he was asking me about the weather. I, however, could not bring myself to answer. Who did he think I was? Did he know how much he scared me, how much he reminded me of my past? I wasn't okay with spending time with him, much less spending the holidays with him.

Holidays were for being with the family. They were a happy time. Holidays were supposed to take away the stress. Spending time with Adam seemed like the farthest thing from that.

"Well, Eden and Noah are about to head to college and they'll be so busy," Papa spoke. "It might be really hard for Eden to find time to relax and I'm sure the holidays are when she'll want to do that. Give her a chance to see how her schedule is before we decide on any vacations." I was grateful for Papa. He said exactly what I wanted to say myself.

"Oh, that's right. I'll just have to come here for Christmas then," Adam said as he stabbed a piece of ham and stuffed it in his mouth. Ezekiel scoffed at his plate, hiding it with a cough.

"I forget she'll be going off to college," Adam voiced thoughtfully.

"Yeah, it must be so hard keeping up with the daughter you abandoned," Isaiah jabbed at the man.

"Isaiah! Act your age," Momma admonished her son lightly.

Adam laughed. "He's right. It is very hard to make a relationship with Eden. And she isn't my daughter. I just want to reconnect with her, as a good friend I guess."

"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," I bit at the man.

"Well maybe if you talked more, it wouldn't seem like you weren't here," he rudely sneered at me. I wondered if he heard how awful he was being.

"Alright, so Adam. What made you interested in rekindling your relationship with Eden?" I could tell Joseph wanted to keep the peace.

"It was actually because of my new girlfriend. I was telling her about the twins and mentioned that I used to think I had another daughter, and you know that got her going on about how badly she wanted to meet you, Eden."

"You should have brought her to meet us. We could always set another plate," Momma offered.

"Well, she's kind of shy and only wants to meet Eden when it's just us. You know how it is, she wouldn't say a word and she'd never really get to know Eden. That's why I wanted Eden to stay for the holidays." He took sloppy bites of his meal and spoke with his mouth full.

Noah was very quiet and leaned close to me, I could feel how angry he was becoming. "Well it seems you being here isn't exactly giving you the chance to really get to know her either. You haven't really done anything to make Eden feel good about you being here."

"Well, it's much harder to rekindle old friendships than I thought. Eden doesn't seem to be very receptive to my offer for a relationship. Don't you want to be my friend, Eden?"

"Are you on crack?" I exploded at the man that was looking at me with a small smile as if he had been waiting for me to blow up all night. "Do you honestly think I invited you over here to be my friend? That after all these years I would just feel A-OK with you coming into my life without any sort of preamble? I want an apology! I want you to say you're sorry for allowing all of this to happen. I want closure so I can finally kick you- no, all of that dreadful past- out of my life!"

"Eden, really I did nothing wrong," Adam refuted. He had the nerve to stab his knife at the last chunk of ham. My whole family erupted in protest, telling him he needed to get himself in check.

I felt silly, but I wasn't finished. "How could you believe that? How could you honestly think you didn't cause this to drag out for so long? I heard you in the kitchen, I knew you were fully aware I was down in that basement. You were my father, the only one I had ever known, and you knew that I had never been in that basement before. I'll never understand how each and every one of you dreadful people went from treating me like royalty to throwing me to the hypothetical dogs. I was good, I was a baby. You knew I was there. You didn't show up to my trial. Did you ever really care? Could that many people honestly believe a three-year-old was enough to ruin a family?"

"Regardless of what happened, you were never my daughter. Who am I to interfere with a kid that's not mine?"

"But I wasn't a stranger! I thought you loved me! What happened to that?"

"I lost that love when I realized you weren't my blood," he shrugged. His hands shook as he stood up. "Honestly, I didn't come here to be yelled at. Eden, I'm here because I wanted a relationship with you and my girlfriend wants to know you. I wouldn't be here otherwise."

My papa stood up abruptly, shaking the table. "You need to leave," He growled. His voice, usually warm turned ice cold, boomed louder than ever. "You are not welcome here and you will not have a relationship with my daughter the way you are acting. I have listened to you insult Eden enough out of respect for her and her wishes. Now, I can no longer condone you treating her this way."

Adam began to speak, "Well if she had only-"

"Get out, Adam. The second you claimed you could not love Eden because she wasn't your blood, shattered any illusion I may have had of you. She is the perfect daughter and you are a fool for not realizing it."

Adam looked around the table, at the angry faces of my overwhelmingly supportive family. "Alright," he said with a huff of breath. "I'll just tell my girlfriend it's not likely she'll be meeting you anytime soon. Keep my number, though. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me sometime in the future. Goodbye, everyone, Eden."

He left without another word. The moment the door closed, my shoulders relaxed.

I could see my family regarding me with guarded eyes. Usually, I was a wreck after this kind of stuff. They were just waiting for me to cry. Instead, I giggled. "Sorry, guys," I said with a laugh. "I just needed some closure before I headed off to college. Although I would have liked that to go better, looks like that was the closure I needed. It finally feels like that part of my life is gone for good."

Some of my family chuckled, others smiled, Noah kissed me on the cheek.

"You and Jenna are the best daughters we could have ever asked for, Ed," Momma said. She stood up and put her arms around my shoulders. "Don't ever question how much we love you. And if you do, we're all here for reassurance."

❃❃❃

Looking back at the troubles of my life, I realized every problem I had ever had pushed me closer to the greatest feeling I had ever known. Every slap, every struggle, ever fear, pushed me forward, into the waiting arms of a new, loving family.

I had never been happier than when I was with the Winters. In fact, I would do it all over again if it meant I could stay with those I love.

Noah and I were in our sophomore year of college. I was a nursing major, preparing to specialize in pediatrics. Noah played college football and was going to school to be a coach. School was hard but meant everything to me. Every time I felt like giving up, I remembered myself as a child wondering if I'd ever make it to twenty years old alive, much less attending university. I was thriving, I was excelling.

And the rest of my family was prospering as well. Isaiah and Joseph had completed college and were starting a company together, selling kitchen appliances. It didn't seem like much of a job to me, but they seemed very happy, so I was ecstatic for them. Momma and Papa adopted a puppy and began training for a marathon now that all of their children had left the nest. But they were never really alone because baby Elijah was there every day while Jenna and Ezekiel worked.

Yes, Jenna and Zeke had their baby boy and were fantastic parents, as if they would be anything less. Elijah was the most loved baby I think I had ever known, always doted on and spoiled. It was a testament to how giving the Winters really were. Momma had been begging for Jenna to have her second baby since Elijah was old enough to roll over on his own.

Noah and I became stronger than ever, loving every minute of our freedom from home. We decided to complete college first but had every intention of getting married and having our own family.

Now, every part of my old life seems like a bad dream. In fact, even the nightmares have been replaced. I'd never be able to forget my past, but it would never define me. That's what Momma said was the definition of growth. I may not have believed her at the time, but I fully believed my scars made me the person I am today.