I officially couldn't fall asleep. I tried everything! Counting sheep, looking at pictures of me and my dad, even a glass of milk! Nothing worked! So, when I went downstairs to tell my mom, you can imagine the surprise I got when I saw the boy from school there! You know I'm not a rude kid, so I didn't interrupt their conversation. Instead, I listened to it. Now, most kids would call that rude but I like to think of it as not interrupting their conversation by listening at a safe distance. Because I know some people get nervous when a person other than the one they were addressing to is present they get a little nervous. Once I got situated I realized that my mom closed the kitchen door. Crud! That means I either open the door and get caught or just deal with not knowing. I for one am not annoying my mom any more than I already have so I just chose to deal. Then, I thought, nah, and peeked through the little wooden door. What harm could it do anyways I thought.
I listened to them chatting about worldly matters. I also heard my mom asking him a bunch of questions. That's when their voices became a decibel quieter. I couldn't even hear them anymore! I contemplated whether I should walk out the door and listen to more but I decided to just stay near the kitchen door so if their voices became louder I may be able to hear them. You can imagine the surprise I got when I heard a knocking on the door! A woman came in and she looked really fat. Not to be rude or anything. She was shouting about giving him back when she looked my direction. I tried to stay still as possible so she couldn't see me but alas. She grabbed me and I ended up screaming as loud as possible. I kept on screaming, "Mom!" That's about when the woman spotted Michael. She dropped me on the floor (quite rude of her) and backed him towards the wall. I tried to find anything to throw at her but just as she was about to shoot him police officers came and dragged her away from Michael. Safe!
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I tried my hardest to answer the questions Amanda (as she liked to be called) asked me. Some of them were super easy like, "What's your name?" or "How old are you?" Others I wondered if I even should answer. When she asked me how I got my wounds (which healed by the way) I wondered if I should make up something or tell her the truth. I didn't want to lie to her as she was kind enough to give me food and water so I told her the truth, the whole truth. Plus, it'd be helpful to have a witness if this case is going to court. Knowing Janice she'd probably take it that far. She was practically seething by the time I finished. "I can't believe that woman!"
"It's fine. Over the years I've gotten used to her."
"It's fine?! Pah! She isn't even your mother and she's hitting you!"
I looked down at the floor at the mention of my mother. I tried to stop the tears that sprang from my eyes, but they came out regardless. "Oh dear! I am so sorry. You must miss your mother don't you?" I nodded my head. "Well, I guess I can relate!" She looked at a photo hanging on the wall. It was a man who had the same eyes and hair color as the girl from school. He was the spitting image of her. The man was smiling and laughing in the photo and carrying 2 girls on his shoulder. Wait... 2?! "Umm, why are there 2 girls, not one." The woman smiled a weak smile at me.
"You met Katy I presume! Well, Katy used to have a twin sister. They played almost everything together!" Katy! That's her name. A pretty name to go with a pretty girl. She looked again at the photo. Then, she walked over to the picture and traced her finger over the faces. "We used to go to the park every Saturday. Chloe needed to use the restroom that day, but I was busy with Katy." She traced over the photo again. "My husband offered to take her and I agreed not knowing what was going to happen next. When they didn't come after a while, I called Chloe's phone. When she didn't come I called the police. They searched for hours until they could find a clue, which was Chloe's phone. It... had blood on it." She started to tremble. "They never found out who...you know... they are pretty certain it's her father but after months of searching and no leads, they gave up the case..." Then, I heard a knock at the door. The woman got up from her chair and opened the door. Five minutes later I started to hear arguments. I strained my ears to hear what was going on but could only catch a few words. Then, I heard a gunshot. I leaped up and ran towards the front door.
Oh no! It was her. "Give him back or I'll shoot!" She pointed the gun at her. She then looked a little over to the corner where the kitchen was and caught a shred of blonde hair peeking out. She smiled that wicked smile she always does. The one that gives me chills down the spine. Then, with a motion as quick as a tiger she grabbed the person behind the door and with a yelp lifted her up into the air. "Give him to me or I shoot!" growled Janice.
"Mom!" cried...Katy? Oh no, this is bad. Then, Janice finally spotted me and threw the girl to the side. "So..." she growled, "Trying to escape the house are you?" I backed up from her slowly. Then, I hit the wall and knew I had nowhere to go. I closed my eyes hoping this was just a dream.
Then, I heard sirens slowly opened my eyes and saw her being torn away from me and watched as a bunch of cops tore the gun out of her hand and dragged her away screaming. Then, a cop came up to me and said, "You mussssst be Michael Trinh, I asssssume that was your fossssster parent ssssscreaming like mad just now." I didn't know what to say so I just nodded my head. Little did I know that meant that I had to be sent to the camp. The camp that tortured me, gave me nothing but bad memories. I was so glad when someone finally adopted me that I never even thought what would happen if they died or something else. The officer looked at me then said, "Well, lead me to the house. You've got to pack your bags for the camp!" I looked at the floor, I knew it. I sighed then started to walk away. I searched my pocket and took out the brochure for the camp. Here we go again.