Hannah (The Girls of Mulberry Manor)

Chapter 1

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My earliest memory is of my older sister handing me out a bedroom window to my mother in the middle of the night, then getting into the backseat of our old hatchback. I was about three years old at the time. I didn't know why this was happening, only that I needed to be quiet so that my mom's boyfriend, who was sleeping on the couch in the living room, wouldn't wake up and catch us. I didn't even realize it was an actual memory until much later. It was just a strange dream I had often. Many years later, I mentioned this dream to my sister, and she confirmed that it had really happened. Maybe this memory is one of the reasons I am the way I am today. I don't know.

I never had a father. Mine didn't stick around when he found out my mom was pregnant. I don't even know his name. There was a revolving door of men that liked to pretend they were "Daddy" for a month or two, then they eventually disappeared too. "Hannah, don't ever depend on a man to take care of you." That's what Mom always told me. Too bad she never took her own advice. Maybe if she had, she would still be around. The last boyfriend beat her so badly she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and never came back. She died two days before my 13th birthday. My older sister, Lainey, was 17. After mom died, Lainey ran off. I can't really be mad at her for it. She didn't sign up for any of this.

I was placed in a foster home. It was okay. I missed my mom and sister, but the Parkers were nice people. I lived with them for four years. It was nice knowing I would have food to eat every night and a bed to sleep in. I was hoping to stay with them until I aged out of the system, but that didn't happen. Mr. Parker was in a car accident that left him in a wheelchair. Mrs. Parker couldn't care for him and the foster kids. None of the other foster families in the area wanted to take on a 17-year-old, so I was going to a group home for girls a couple hours away.

We pull up outside a huge three-story purple house. I've never seen anything like it. Surrounding the yard is a white picket fence. It's dark outside, but what I can see clearly astonishes me. Sam, my social worker, opens the gate and ushers me up the front steps. Beside the front door is a sign that says Mulberry Manor. I walk into the house carrying a small suitcase with all my belongings. I guess I was lucky to even have a suitcase. Most kids have to haul their crap in a garbage bag. We walk in the front door and down a long hallway to an office on the right. Sam knocks on the door.

"Come in," says a voice from the other side. Sam opens the door and the first thing I notice are the pictures all over the walls. They're all teenage girls. Several of them were old black and white photos. Then I look at the woman sitting behind the desk. She has to be at least eighty years old. She has white curly hair, tons of wrinkles, and horn-rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose with a thin chain around her neck. She's wearing bright blue eye shadow and peach colored lipstick. If I had known my grandmother, this is how I would have pictured her.

"Hi honey. Come in and have a seat. You must be Hannah. I'm Nanette, but everyone calls me Nan," she says. "We have a few things to go over before we get you settled into your room. There are five other girls currently living here. Everyone's in the den right now watching tv and reading. As soon as we're finished in here, I'll introduce you." She pulls a sheet of paper out of her desk and passes it to me. I quickly glance at the list. It shows meal times, curfews, and a list of prohibited items, including recreational drugs and weapons. No boys allowed in bedrooms or in the home after curfew. That won't be a problem for me anyway. "These are the house rules and the list of banned items. There is no smoking or drinking allowed, and if you are found with any of the listed items it's an automatic removal from the home."

She peers at me over her glasses. "Your previous home said that they never had any issues and that you were quiet and kept to yourself most of the time, so I'm sure we won't have any problems here either. I want you to know that while we have very strict rules here, I want you to feel comfortable. Most of the girls that live here are here because of no fault of their own. I want this to feel like home to you." Nan stands up and walks to the office door. She motions for me to follow her. Sam tells me she'll be by on Friday to take me shopping for school clothes and to call her if I need anything before then. Then she walks out the front door.

I follow Nan down the hallway. As we're walking, she points to the staircase next to the office door. "The bedrooms are up those stairs there." We pass a bathroom on the left and straight ahead I can see a big kitchen. Just past the bathroom she opens a heavy wooden door. Nan walks in and I peek around her. This must be the den. It's a huge, brightly lit room with sunflower yellow walls. One of the walls has floor to ceiling shelves filled with books. There are two long green sofas, two mustard yellow recliners, and an oversized gray chair.

"Ladies, this is Hannah," Nan announces. Four of the girls are watching something on tv and wave as Nan says their names. "Hannah, this is Chloe, Bailey, Olivia, and Abby." She sweeps her hand to the corner where a petite girl with red hair and freckles sits reading a book. "And this is Kodi," Nan tells me. Kodi looks up from her book and stares at me for a few seconds, then goes back to reading.

"Bailey will you please show Hannah to her room?" Nan asks.

"Sure!" Bailey says jumping up from the sofa. "Your room is right next to mine," she tells me.

I follow Bailey back down the hall and up the staircase. When we reach the second floor, I see three doors on each side of the hall and one at the very end.

"That door at the end of the hall is the bathroom. Make sure you get up early if you want to shower in the morning. The hot water doesn't last long around here," Bailey says. "Usually, half of us shower at night and the rest in the morning." As we walk past the doors, she tells me who they each belong to. "On the left we have Chloe, Olivia, and Kodi. On the right is Abby, me, and you. Abby is my best friend. We're both sixteen and we've been with Nan for three years. Chloe is twelve and Olivia is fourteen. They're sisters. They're pretty cool once you get to know them. They've been here for a little over a year. Kodi has only been here a couple months and I don't know a thing about her. She's super quiet. When Nan can get her to come out of her room all she does is read. I don't think I've heard her speak more than ten words."

I try to take all of this information in. Bailey is very cheery and talks super fast. Just listening to her makes me want a nap. She does seem friendly though.

When we reach my room, Bailey opens the door. "It's all yours," she says.

"Thanks," I tell her. I go in and put my suitcase on the bed. The walls are painted a light gray color. There are lilac purple curtains on the window. The twin sized bed is in one corner, a basic four-drawer dresser on the opposite wall, and a small desk with a lamp on it sits near the window.

"You can come down and watch tv with us when you're done unpacking, if you want," Bailey says. "Lights out is at 9 o'clock since tomorrow's the first day of school. See you later maybe." She closes the door behind her as she leaves. I start unpacking my things. I don't even have enough stuff to fill the dresser. I decide to take a quick shower tonight since I'm not really a morning person.

After my shower I sit on the bed debating whether or not to go downstairs and join the other girls. I decide against it and lie down. I don't remember falling asleep, but I do remember the dream.

"Shh, Hannah, you have to be quiet," Lainey whispers. She picks me up and passes me out the window into my mom's waiting arms.