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The tears welled and ry for that little kid being shown the cruelty of the world no one should have to face alone
“To have to carry around the few clothes you have in garbage bags under the glare of the foster fa because they want toHave you ever had to leave a house without shoes? Or drank as much water as you could fro for the next two days?”
“No,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around my waist
“Do you want to knohat’s in this bag?” He stormed over to the backpack beside his doorway The one he’d brought to the engage it off the floor, he tugged on the zipper and pushed it forward
I peered into the wide-open co Neat rolls of clothes Jeans and t-shirts rolled up Deodorant Toothpaste and a toothbrush Another pair of shoes shoved along the side
“I never knew if I’d have more than five minutes to pack It’s an old habit Keep essentials in an old backpack, so you can snatch it and run if you need to”
Tears crested down my cheeks at the pain in his eyes I zipped the pack closed
“You’re not that kid anymore” My voice wobbled My heart was chipped and bruised for that little boy who didn’t know anyone cared “You’ve done sothe draft”
“But I’m still that kid I’ll always be that kid You don’t knohat it’s like when you’ve gone through a life like that with someone else So you you’re trash
“How you’d take the fall for that person, even if they’re not blood, because you’ve ended up in the saether over two years And she’s an ally in a place where you don’t even knohat the enemies look like”
“You said she ended up in a good home”
He scrubbed his hands down his face “She did We both did But you don’t get how hard it is to trust a good thing when you grow up like we did They were a great family Treated us well Treated us like their own kids, like wefor the other shoe to drop In the back of yourfor whatever coood You’re always looking for the cracks” He leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, dropping his head “And sometimes you make them yourself”
“What happened?” I slid down beside hi my hand up on my knee, palm up
He glanced over, staring at it like he wasn’t sure he’d take it Like he didn’t want to take it A part of me curled up inside and I drew it back His hand shot out and he caught it, threading his fingers through mine
“She got into trouble They were great people, but they had a couple rules No drinking and no drugs It was to keep us safe, but…” He shook his head “Alexis has alanted to push buttons She’s always teetering on the edge And she started hanging out with the wrong crowd I warned her Told her not to reat home” He talked more to himself than me, but he kept his hand in h school I couldn’t keep her out of trouble and one day, they found a stash of drugs she’d been hiding for another kid Soet in trouble”