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My grand

“Yes We knew”

I jerked at her touch Then her words sank in, and I turned to stare at her in shock as she clasped her hands placidly in her lap again

If o, why hadn’t they done anything then? I’d been living with a monster since I was seven years old, and not once had this woman even checked on me

“So why didn’t anyone coet me?”

Her thin shoulders lifted in a shrug “We didn’t need to intervene before You were taken care of You had your father and a place to live Why would you need us?”

I turned back to stare out theas roundedout at her the way I wanted to How could she make it seem like I’d been fine?

I squeezed s Memories of my dad’s fists, his brutal words, and worst of all, his tearful promises to do better, flooded my mind

They could have looked into it They could have corandchild was treated

Instead, they’d done nothing They’d left me alone with a man who’d verbally and physically torn me down until the day booze had finally killed him

An acidic taste flooded my mouth as we lapsed into silence Janet the social worker hadlike the rosy picture she’d painted Maybe I was better off with these people than in foster care, but the polished wo on the seat next to me didn’t feel like family at all

Janet was right about one thing though This is a chance tobetter for ood education, and get the hell out of here

“There’s Oak Park,” Jacqueline said another two hours into the drive, pointing out theto our left “You’ll be staying there while you attend”

Unable to help my curiosity, I leaned across the seat to peer out herThe cah brick wall, but I could see several large buildings rising beyond, their pristine white facades practically glowing against the bright blue sky Red tiles covered the roofs—Spanish architecture, I thought it was called—and the grounds were perfectly manicured The words Oak Park Preparatory Acadeates

It was beautiful and i as the driver rolled past