The little boy handed me the unopened chips with tears in his eyes.
"Why don't we start with your names and how old you are? My name is Brittany and I'm 19." I prompted, hoping I could get him comfortable enough to explain why he was sneaking food in the restroom.
"I-I'm Trent and I'm 8... This is my si-sister Emma, she's 5." Trent said, stuttering nervously.
"It's very nice to meet you both." I started gently, "Now can you tell me why you were sneaking food in the restroom of a store?"
"W-we was hungry..." whispered Emma so quietly I almost didn't hear her. "T-tell her, Bubby. She's nice."
"If I tell you a secret will you tell our mom?" asked Trent.
"I don't know, Trent. But I can promise that I'll try my best to keep you both safe. You can trust me." I had a feeling that my life was going to change soon, and that these two skinny, dirty children would be the cause.
"W-well, we're hungry because our mom won't let us eat... She says that if we want food we have to buy it by ourselves. I try to rake leaves and do stuff for people for money but nobody wants to hire a little kid like me, so I gotta take the food or else we can't eat!" he pours out quickly, breaking into heart-wrenching sobs at the end.
My heart goes out to these precious kids. I remember what it was like when I was his age... I never knew if I would be able to go to bed with a full belly or not. We couldn't always afford enough food so I often went without. They have it so much worse though.
"Hey, hey..." I say gently, pulling both children into my arms, "it'll be okay, I'm here. I'll help you both in any way I can."
YOU ARE READING
Saving the Unloved
General FictionI'm not very good at summaries... 5 year old Emma and 8 year old Trent are forced to steal in order to survive. They are caught and adopted. Warning! Contains talk of abuse and may contain non-abusive spanking of minors. Don't like, don't read!
