Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 64617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Here’s your dinner,” another woman said, placing a plate of food in my lap.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Hey, everyone!” the same woman called out, not listening to me. Bringing the other kids’ eyes over to us instead.
“Everyone say hello to Aiden Pierce. He’s going to be staying here for a little while. I need everyone to make him feel welcome, alright?”
I went back to ignoring everything and everyone around me, staring at my plate of food. It didn’t look like anything my mom ever made.
I don’t know how much time went by before I heard, “So your name’s Aiden?”
I looked up, seeing an older boy who was maybe twelve or thirteen-years-old standing there. Looking down at me like he had the right to.
“How old are you?”
I didn’t answer him. All I wanted was to be left alone.
Why was that so hard for everyone to understand? Just leave me alone.
But he went on. “Why are you in foster care?”
I still didn’t say a word, and I could tell by the look on his face, he was getting mad at me.
Screw him.
Screw all of them.
I hated this place.
I hated everything about this day, about this boy, about the kids around me.
I hated it all.
The boy didn’t stop. He just stood taller, pushing his chest out in a big, bad, I’m better than you, sort of way.
“Don’t you talk, or are you just stupid? Is that why you’re here? Your mom didn’t want to take care of her stupid son anymore?”
My teeth tightened, and my body shook, wanting to wipe that stupid smile off his face.
“Did your mom do drugs? Did she beat you? Why the fuck are you here, kid?”
An angry feeling deep in my stomach took over.
“I'm not looking for trouble. So back off,” I told him.
“Oh… I know what happened now. Did she sell you?”
My heart started beating really fast, and my hands got really sweaty. I knew something bad was about to happen, and for the first time, I didn’t care because all I wanted was my voice to be heard.
Someone, please … just listen to me.
“You’re a pretty fucking boy, so I bet she sold you. That’s it, right? Did she sell you for drugs? Or did she sell you for dic—”
Before I knew what I was doing, I pushed my chair back and threw my plate of food in his face.
I didn’t care he was bigger than me.
I didn’t care that I was going to get in trouble.
I didn’t care about anything other than shutting him up.
“What the fu—”
I ran my shoulder into his stomach as hard as I could, and he fell to the ground with me on top of him. The kids started hooting and hollering as we wrestled each other on the floor. It didn’t surprise me that I could keep up with him, everyone always said I was big for my age.
“Break it up!” a man yelled from behind us, yanking me off the boy who looked like he was ready to kill me.
Yeah, me too, bro.
I shoved off the man I thought was the guard, and before anyone could say anything to me, I ran.
Except this time, it was straight toward the back door.
“Aiden, stop! Where are you going?” Misty yelled from somewhere in the room, but I ignored her too.
Taking off into the yard where there was a playground, going for the first hiding spot I could find.
Under the green slide.
Where I finally, for the first time that day…
Felt safe.
I let out a breath. The one I’d been holding from the second I walked into this stupid foster place. Wanting so badly to just run away.
Where would I go?
Who would I find?
What would happen to me?
Even though I wanted to be left alone, I hated that I was by myself. With no one to talk to, no one to make me feel like everything was going to be alright. I had nothing but the lonely, afraid feeling in my heart.
“Momma, why?” I quietly spoke out loud, hoping no one would hear me. “Why did you leave me all by myself? Who’s going to protect me and love me? Who’s going to be there for me? Who, Momma, who?”
“I’ll share my dinner with you,” someone offered out of nowhere in the sweetest voice I’d ever heard.
My eyes flew up, and I came face to face with a small, little girl with pretty, bright blue eyes standing over me. Holding onto her plate of food because it was the only thing she had to share, to give…
Me.
As if Momma had magically made her appear.
Did she?
“I don’t like to be by myself either. It really sucks, but I can come under there with you, and then we can hide from the mean boy together.”
I didn’t know anything about girls, other than they whined and complained a lot. Especially the ones in my class at school. They were always telling on us.