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"Thank you, honey This baby's lucky to get you for a sister" Mom kisses her on the forehead Any other tiht now she doesn't er concerned with the landscape outside She has more important issues on her mind now A baby sister Too bad by the tie They wouldn't have ether, but Samantha would make it count She looks over at Minnie and smiles Now she knohere to put the stuffed mouse

"Not much farther," Dad says "We're almost home"

Samantha drifts off to sleep beneath Moht A second later she hears a screech followed by a sharp crack The car's horn sounds She es to lean forward to see her father sluainst the horn Next to hi

Samantha takes off her seatbelt and leans over the seat to shake her parents Neither of them moves "Mom? Dad?" she asks repeatedly, but receives no answer She collapses back onto her seat, her entire body suddenly numb

She remains like this until her door opens A sheriff's deputy leans in "Are you hurt, little girl?" Saet you out of here"

He starts to pull her out of the car, but she claws and bites at hi to stay with her parents She can't leave the her from the car and then she sees the black pick-up fused with her father's Impala The driver of the pick-up is handcuffed by another deputy and led towards a cruiser

Sa in her heart She wants to break away from the deputy to spit in this man's face, to scream at him, kick and punch him She wants to kill him for what he's done to her parents-and her little sister still in Morip on her shoulders "It's all right, sweetheart He's going to jail," he says He leads Sa ambulance

A paramedic drapes a blanket over her shoulders and tries to ask her questions, but she doesn't say anything She can only watch as firemen cut open the Impala to remove her parents froood care of you You're going to be just fine" The paramedic says as his partner pulls a blanket over Mom's face