The Children's Home

Chapter 7: Adjusting

TRIGGER WARNINGS: MENTION OF STARVATION; EMOTIONAL ABUSE

CONTENT WARNINGS (CWs): Mention of abuse

AN: Yeah...this chapter isn't the best. But this book is currently undergoing edits, anyway.

"What?" yelled Aidan and Leah at the same time.

"Shh!" I whispered, putting a finger to my lips. "We'll get heard."

Everyone quieted down.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. It can be kinda shocking. But I don't want to keep on pretending to be someone who I'm not. So, will you trust me?"

Will they? All I've done is lie!

There was a pause. Then Leah solemnly spoke up.

"I will."

"And so will I," Aidan agreed.

"Winnie? Hallie? I know you already figured out my secret before I even thought of telling anyone, but still, I'm going to put the same question forward. Will you—can you—trust me, girls?"

"My answer is the same as the others," Hallie said. "Yes, I can—and will—trust you, Arwen. The way you behaved yourself during the battle—showing honor to your opponent, rushing to Leah's defense, among many other things—proved to me that you deserve to be trusted. And so, Arwen, trust you I will."

"Me too," Winnie added.

Oh my goodness! Can this be happening?

I felt all my anxieties melt away after hearing my friends trust me. All my life, I'd desperately wanted to gain someone's—no, anyone's—confidence. Right now, I had five people who would support me forever.

"Thank you. And now, you ought to know how I even ended up here in the first place."

"I've got one question, Na—I mean, Arwen," Aidan announced. "Will you tell us the entire story, starting with how you lost your mum and dad... that is if your parents are dead?"

I shrugged. "If you want. My first four years of life were as happy as a child could have it. I was named after Arwen Undómiel from The Lord of the Rings. My parents loved and cared for me, making sure I had everything I needed. But they were very busy, having to attend conferences every month. So, my Aunt Susanna babysat me.

"My parents died in a 'car accident' when I was only four. But somehow, somehow, I know that 'accident' wasn't really an accident, but on purpose. In other words, murder."

All the kids gasped. Leah looked ready to cry. So did Winnie.

I forced my bitter tears to stay where they belonged, back behind my eyelids. "So yeah, that's how I lost my parents.

"Anyway, I was sent to foster care." My mind relived the horrid treatment I had to endure those years. I took a deep breath. "And 'cuz I don't want to get into much detail, all I'm gonna say is that my foster mom couldn't have cared less about her traumatized four-year-old ward. She was in it for the money."

Winnie seemed horrified. "Couldn't you have called the law on her?"

"Why was she allowed to foster kids anyway if she was just going to abuse them? That doesn't make sense!" Aidan's eyes held an admiring look as he realized what I had to suffer through.

"How long did you even stay with her?" That was Hallie.

"To answer your question, Winnie, the law would never have listened to me, a little kid. Besides, when you're a little kid, you don't think about those things. And Aidan, I have no stinkin' idea. I just hope she's not fostering anymore. Hallie, I spent four miserable years there. Anyway, enough getting sidetracked. Let's get back to the story. On my eighth birthday, I ran away. I couldn't bear any longer the way she treated me. A few months later, the missing posters showed up. I became a fugitive.