Embraced by them

10.

"Pain shapes a woman into a warrior." - r.h. Sin

1 Year Later...

Russell

"Boy's please stop bickering and get it finished, we're running out of time." I yelled at my sons fighting over who gets to hug Carys first when she arrives.

They are supposed to be putting up the rest of the decorations around the house while I prepare her favorite dinner.

A seafood boil which consisted of.. Lobster, shrimp, clams, crab legs, potatoes, boiled eggs, and corn on the cob. This was definitely something she had to teach us. I've been practicing to surprise her, the boys helped.

It's been a rough couple of years for her and when everything fell apart she really needed this time to learn to love herself. My wife and I took her in immediately after what happened, it was the plan all along we just wish it happened sooner and well... We wish we could have got Celeste out.

Aria and I made it our mission to make Carys feel as welcomed as we possibly could, It wasn't so hard. She's an amazing kid, literally the exact copy of her mother both inside and out. When everything happened we brought her to my wing in the hospital so she can be taken care of. I had a set of nurses and doctor that treated her without making such notice that she was still alive.

When she was good health wise and was ready to talk I had one man in the police force I knew I could trust solely on what was going on. One detective I've been relaying all this mess to, there was nothing we could do from the start because there was no official evidence I could bring to him to get a warrant and get them out. Much to my despise we had to wait for the right moment, I just didn't know that moment would be because of the murder and attempted murder of his family.

At that point Carys was able to provide so much information from being a witness of everything. The investigation was opened to new eyes, although keeping Carys identity out of the media was top priority so anything she said was only for Josiah my friend in the force. Anything she said did help push things along, he was able to make discoveries but not bring so much attention that it was questioned on how he obtained it.

It had to be like that until everything was out.

Until the truth was out, who knew it still be trying to come out now.

A year later and still nothing.

Luckily throughout all this Aria was able to get Carys into an in care patient group home where she could attend therapy, she had private sessions with a very close friend of Aria's that she trusted. Also as long as Carys felt comfortable she was able to attend group therapy as well with a few other kids there her age.

Carys started her 6 month journey with them and she couldn't have been more thankful. Even after she gets home she will have virtual sessions with the doctor there or with Aria if she felt comfortable to on a weekly basis just to keep with her progress and overall health.

She wrote to us every other day, letting us know how she felt and her own feelings on her progress. The doctor would send monthly reports to us on how Carys was adjusting and her progress. Nothing was ever told on what was discussed of course but we were giving the parental version on her progress and to helped put our mind at ease.