Page 18 (1/1)

Poppy

I feel guilty, you know?"

The girl that was speaking couldn’t be any older than sixteen She was fairly new to the group s, but every time she spoke we all went quiet and listened intently She seeher than I was Her father had hurt her in uniinable ways, and when she tried to tell herto break up the fairl had run away fro on the streets The things she did to survive, the way people took advantage of such an innocent soul, ry Someone should have been there to keep her safe, just like someone should have been there to keep me and Salem safe from my father’s tyrannical rule Just like someone should have kept me safe froroup s: to help us all realize that eren’t alone, that our stories were shared by women across all walks of life We were there to keep each other safe The thing that tied us all together was that ere still here, we survived, and that er and better than the people that had done their very best to destroy us

I atching her so closely and she must have felt my stare because her eyes landed on"I feel like I don’t deserve a nice house and nice clothes for school I feel like having all these friends and being popular is all just a sca life" She gave a bitter laugh and lifted a hand to wipe away a lone tear that trailed down her cheek "Why should I still be here planning on going to pro special when so et a shot at the saet a chance and not one of them?"

It was a co on and finding peace after living a nightotten suspicious when her mother wasn’t able to offer up an explanation as to where her daughter had gone The girl’s extended family had launched an all-out manhunt to find her, and when they did they were appalled by what they found They knew all along her father was abusive and dangerous They’d been trying to get her out of the house for years until her one on the run to protect their dirty little secret She’d had people in her corner that loved her, but wasn’t allowed access to them, kind of like the way my parents did their best to keep me and Salem apart after Salem left home Under reement, I never had a chance to let the idea of rebellion take root I only wished I could have been as brave as this young wouilt will lessen and you’ll appreciate the fact that you get to have a chance at all the things you deserved fro you were subjected to for so long for you to think you aren’t worthy of the good things that are going to come your way, but you are, all of you are" The woroup was a survivor herself She always spoke to us in a calm, even tone and it was apparent to all of us that she took our healing and progress very personally This wasn’t a job for her: helping woe done by their abusers was her life’s calling, her passion I ad her pain and experience into so that was beneficial for others to learn fros will find you if you are open to the I blurted out, "How do you know that soood? I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been fooled by soood but turned out to be really, really bad"

When Oliver first started courting e, he seeh He was really into entlehter that I was and never pushed for anything I wasn’t ready to give He handleddelicate and he never, not one tiht up the supposedly sha fas That had been reason enough foroff ain that what had happened wasn’t my fault

I should have known … like always … that it was a front Any man my father practically handpicked for me, a man that was active in my father’s church, and believed the fire and brimstone my dad spouted nonstop, couldn’t be okay hat had happened to ht Oliver called in and saving htmare behind why I wasn’t untouched and inexperienced Fro to hide bruises and marks all over my body Sometimes the words hurt worse than his fists did and all I could do was question how I let myself end up in a situation that was a thousand times more horrible than the one I’d run from

Both the teen and the counselor turned their attention to roup atching me Typically I didn’t say much, I listened and learned It helped me feel not so alone and less like a fool to knoasn’t the only one that should have known better This was probably the first time I’d ever actually spoken up when it wasn’t roup didn’t use names, to protect anonymity, so the counselor motioned to me with a soft s or soe on a dime Even the happiest and healthiest of relationships can collapse over time and even the best of circu a rainy day All you can do is listen to your gut, pay attention to any warning signs and any red flags that are presented It’s up to you to deterhs the bad in whatever you face from here on out You have the tools You have earned the life has thrown at you"

I bit ly "But ment has led to the worst experiences in hs the bad?" Unwittingly hts turned to Wheeler He was the first person I had let slip past the iron guards I had put in place since enduring Oliver’s torture I refused to let anyone close, eh rooain I kept a wall up between me and the rest of the world, and so far, it had served its purpose, but noondering if it was keeping all the good out as well as the bad