Broken

Here I was, again.
The welcoming dark building known as Happy Momma's Home for Girls.
I've been in and out for years, adopted and then returned, back to the dark home of despair.
This time, instead of being depressed on the event that happened seven years back, I was going to make the most of it.
At least I had several pros in my life. I had a roof over my head, I ate whatever the community donated, I was healthy, and I was alive.
I walked up into my room. There were suitcases that had been packed and unpacked for seven years, since I was adopted every year and returned about a month or two later since I was orphaned at nine.
I was seventeen, now, about to turn eighteen.
"Alice," a call from the other side of the room, "You're back?"
It was Edith, my home roomie.
"Yeah, yeah," I said, dropping another suitcase of belongings on my bed.
She smiled, "What was it like?"
I looked down, "Like I always say, amazing. They acted as if they loved me. But as you can see, here I am, back in the home."
She sighed, "I'm sorry, Alice."
I looked down, "It's not you're fault. I guess, I'm just going to have to deal with it. This is life, you know?"
She lied down on her bed, "Goodnight."
I smiled, "See you tomorrow."
It wasn't long before I saw her eyes close, and her soft snores.
I soon fell asleep.

"Alice."
A poking on my shoulder woke me, it was Mrs. Momma, the owner of the home.
"Yes, Momma?" I said, struggling to stay awake.
"A lovely young woman wants to adopt you."
The words completely woke Edith up, whether it be happiness or envy for me.
"O-Okay." I got out of bed, and followed her into her office.
There was a woman and a man, standing there, waving.
I smiled, "Hello."
I wasn't going to get too excited, I already knew where I was going to end up. Right back in the home.
After several questions, and several signatures, the couple led me into their convertible.
"So, Alice?" The new mother said, "I am Katherine, your new mother."
The father cleared his throat, "I'm José, your new father. We have a few surprises for you back home."
I smiled, "Really?"
The mother smiled, "All for you. You'll have a brother too, his name is Robert."
I nodded.
"When we get to our new home, I'll show you around a little." The father said.
I smiled, "Thank you for adopting me."
They both smiled.
"I mean, I hope I get to stay with you forever."
We pulled into a small lot, "We're here." Mother said.
I stepped of the convertible, "Your house is um, huge."
I looked up at the huge mansion, "I mean, it's bigger than the home. Way bigger."
Mother held my arm, "Watch your step."
I stepped up to the beautiful door, and with a click, it opened.
"Well, you're room is right upstairs, the third door on the left."
I smiled, and walked up the beautiful stair case, in the middle of the huge open floor planned room.
I opened a door.
"Excuse me, Missy?"
A boy stood behind me, "What do you exactly think you are doing?"
"Looking for my room..."
"Well this ain't yours. Move away little orphan, and never come close to this door again."
He stood inside, and slammed the door in my face.
Holding back a tear, I opened the door next, then the door after that, then the door after that, until I found a purple painted room with a beautiful bed with a pink canopy and four huge gifts on top.
I walked inside, and gently closed the door behind me.
I opened the smallest present, it was a charm bracelet.
I marveled at the beauty, before vowing never to take it off.
I grabbed the next one, it was slightly bigger.
Inside was a box filled with expensive school clothes.
I opened the next, a heavy jacket, mittens, scarf, and snow boots.
The last one.
I opened it slowly.
A jewelry box.
When opened, a beautiful tune played. I had no idea what it was, but I fell in love with it.
I walked down the stairs, with pajamas I had found in the dresser drawer.
"Thank you for adopting me."
I lied in bed, until I fell asleep.
I heard multiple noises, then a whisper, "You are mine, you will always be."
I pushed my head up, there were scratches on the windows. Fingered in the fog, You are Mine.
I ran down the stairs, "Mother!"
Mother and Father stood at the kitchen table, pouring syrup over the pancakes.
"Baby? We were just about to call you for breakfast."
"Mother, Father, someone tried to break in."
They exchanged looks, "You are safe here. The windows are bulletproof, no one can get in."
I sat at the table, and ate a piece of the rich, buttery, pancakes.
"Why is she still here?"
I looked up, it was the boy from last night.
"Robert, we adopted her. She will be with us, now."
That was Robert?
Robert frowned, "Why did you adopt her? Don't you think I'm enough?"
Mother put her hand on his shoulder, "Sweetie, Alice here didn't have a family. No one to look after her. I adopted her to give her love."
I teared up.
No matter how great these people treated me, they would never be my true mother and father. I remember the day. We were driving down the rode, and they were arguing. My father screamed at my mother, my father put his hands around her neck. I was there to witness it all. The choking didn't kill her, though. His hands were off of the wheel, the wheel spun around, hurdling towards a tree. The car tipped to its side, I was the only one wearing my seatbelt, they flung through the glass and onto the rocky ground. I grabbed my mother's phone, called the police, and told them everything. They drove me to the Home, and I've been in and out ever since.
"Alice?" My new father asked, "Are you alright?"
I couldn't help it, my sons were loud, and I ran up into my bedroom.
A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. Robert stood there.
"What? Now you want to make me cry louder?" I held back cries, and let out sniffles.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean it, I guess I'm jealous or something."
"Jealous? Of me? My whole family died when I was ten, I was put in and out of nursery homes for seven years!"
He smiled, "It's just, you're so pretty and mom and dad give you a lot of attention?"
I laughed, "What about being pretty goes with that sentence?"
He laughed, "I don't know. You just are. I kind of did what came out, I regretted it afterwards."
"You don't get it."
He sat next to me on the bed, "What don't I get?"
"Being orphaned. Having to take care of yourself. At like what? Sixteen?"
He smiled, "Nineteen."
I playfully punched his shoulder, "Well, I'm seventeen and I know way more than you on taking care of myself."
"How bout we get to know more about each other, during a walk in the park?"
I nodded, "Sure."

There I was, walking next to Robert, in the park.
"I'm sorry about what I said. I obviously didn't know you. I mean, it's cool that even though you were a teenager, so many people adopted you."
I smiled, "I know right? My friend Edith watched me in and out of the house, she never got adopted."
He sighed. "Maybe it's a beauty thing. You would always be first to go if that was it."
I blushed, it was like he was flirting.
"Well, you aren't that ugly yourself."
He laughed.
"Anyway, I want to show you something."
He pulled my arm into the cave under the bridge.
"Wow, do you always come down here?"
He smiled, "I have since I was ten. That was when my family was talking about a daughter, and sometimes I wanted peace and quiet."
He smiled, "It's peaceful. We are alone, and..."
He grabbed me, and kissed me.
I jumped, he stopped.
"What was that?" I asked.
"I'm sorry, your beauty is just..."
I grabbed him, and continued to kiss him. Hours flew by, and we were still in the cave.
"I should go, I plan to visit some of my friends."
As I walked, it seemed to have gotten darker.
Then, a bag. Around me, I struggled.
I kept on struggling, until it got dark.

The sun shined in my eyes, I awoken. At first I was confused, then, I thought it had been a dream.
There I was. Back in my room in the Home.
I looked over, the room was empty. Where have Edith gone?
I stood up and turned the knob, it didn't budge, I kept trying to turn, I was locked in.
I opened the window, and pushed my legs out of it, not yet to remember that I lived on the fifth floor.
It was a drop, a bang, and then darkness, again.

"Alice! Alice! Alice!" The sound grew greater and greater, until I could make out the words being yelled.
When my eyes opened to see Mrs. Momma stood in front of me, "What were you doing? You can't jump out a five story window onto the pavement and expect to be fine!"
"I thought I was adopted..."
Mrs. Momma smiled, "I'm sorry baby, they took you back."
I looked down, "Really? It's only been two days."
Mrs. Momma shrugged her shoulders, and helped me up.
I got up, brushed my dirty skirt, and practically fell down again.
"My leg!" I screamed.
Mrs. Momma called the ambulance.
I had never been in one before, except for the blaring sirens, it was calm and gave me time to think.
I remembered, a bag, then a scoop, then the Home. What if...
I was interrupted in thought as my wheeled thingy was yanked out of the truck and pushed into the emergency room.
I forgot what I was thinking, and I lied on the hospital bed.
The doctor quickly examined my leg, "It's broken all right. You need lots of medical procedures."
I looked down, realizing half of my bone was through my skin.
See that, made it hurt worse.
I don't remember that day well, the doctor did surgery on my leg for a while, then put on a cast, cause my leg was still broken, but now it was actually in my leg.
A few days later, I was free to go. The doctor didn't want me to walk, at all, and put me in a wheel chair.
I wheeled down town, which was really fun. I raced against myself down large heels, and almost needed another procedure!
Then I saw the family that had adopted me most recently.
"Where have you been!" They all screamed.
"At the home, she said you took me back..."
Mother shook her head, "We didn't. What happened last night?"
I remembered everything, "It all makes sense! I was walking to your house when this bag went over my head and through me into some type of vehicle. Then tossed me onto the bed at the home! Maybe, all those times, I wasn't returned back..."
Mother and Father's mouth dropped, Robert grabbed my hand.
"You are staying with us, right?"
I nodded, he smiled.
"Well, we don't have a happy ending yet, what are we going to do with Mrs. Momma? Just because we have Alice doesn't mean she's not going to try something again."
I looked down in thought, "We need some way to put her behind bars, but we have no evidence."
Mother and Father smiled, "When you're rich, you need no evidence."
A call of the police, then, screams in the Home.
It was Mrs. Momma, "It wasn't me!"
I thought, "What if it was someone else?"
Mother looked at me, "Do you have any friends that might've wanted you to stay?"
I thought of Edith, how she always seemed to be with me.
The first day with Mother, Father, and Robert, I heard whistles through the window and scratches. The nail on the window was just like Edith's.
"Edith! It was her?" I waved for the police, "It wasn't her!"
Edith walked out, "Really, you're going to send me to jail? Just cause I want to be with a friend and not alone in the home. How friend like."
"Edith, if you would stop kidnapping me, maybe you could come over and come on vacations with us."
She looked down, "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to be alone, you know. I hate being an eighteen year old orphan, no one wants me."
I looked at Mother, she knew what I wanted.
"Welcome to the family!" Father said, as they pulled us into a hug.
I knew the relationship with Robert was done for, Edith was more pretty and had a prettier figure. I was wrong.
"Hey, Alice."
"Hey, Robert."
"Want to, um, meet me in the cave later on?"
"How bout seven?"
"Deal."
So, there we go. My life was great after that, all the pieces coming together. I guess I was fixed, after I was broken to pieces. Try not to be broken.
THE END