Chapter 1
Is it weird that I don’t believe in happy endings? The concept of falling in love and living “happily ever after” was never something I understood. How could a feeling make you happy for the rest of your life? If you ask me, I’d say it’s all a child’s fairy tale.
My parents were happily in love. They got married and had a big wedding and a fancy honeymoon to Europe. They bought a house, with an extra room for a nursery. They had twin girls, who they named Bridget and Sophia. They went on family trips to the park and to aquariums. They were living the dream.
Then they got back into the drug business that they got involved with when they were teenagers. Sophia and I were only two years old. When they started using and not just selling, the feds got involved. Me and Sophia didn’t have any relatives that were willing to take us in, so we got put into the foster system. My parents went to prison. I haven’t heard from them. They had a seven year sentence, so they’ve been out for eight years. Bad at math? I’m seventeen now. My parents are ghosts to me. Until I was thirteen, I’d dream about my parents coming back for me and Sophia. I’d imagine the castle we’d live in. I dreamt of a family.
When the realization that they weren’t coming for me sunk in, so did the realization that I would never see Sophia again. When we were five, this family came to meet me and Sophia. I was a brat. I didn’t want them; I wanted my really mommy and daddy. They adopted Sophia, not me, and they cut off all contact between us. I’ve been bouncing from foster home to foster home. Not all foster families are nice. I’ve had some pretty tough patches. I turn eighteen in five months, and I can’t wait. Maybe I’ll try to reconnect with Sophia. I wonder if she ever thinks of me. I might try to find my parents. I haven’t decided yet.
Chapter 2
I live in a home with three other children now. My foster parents are Mrs. Glens and Mr. Glens. They’re really strict. There’s no talking aloud. The sad part is that this is one of the better places. There’s two boys and one other girl, not counting me. The boys names are Carl and Michael. Carl’s twelve. He thinks he’s the smartest person alive. Michael’s seven, and this is his first foster home. He cries a lot, and I do what I can to comfort him. Shannon’s fifteen, and she’s been with me in several of my other foster homes. We have the same social worker, Mrs. Lyn, and she helps us send letters to each other. As far as friends go, I consider Shannon my best friend. Shannon’s parents gave her up or adoption after they found out she had asthma. They though she was the devil’s advocate.
Shannon and I talk about everything. We talk about the other kids, school, and boys. Shannon always gets too attached to boys at her schools. We’re never in the same place for more than a couple months, and it’s impossible to stay in touch with people.
Mrs. Glens walks in and sits on my bed. “Bridget, we need to talk.”
Mrs. Glens is a little woman. She looks scared all the time, and I have a strange feeling she’s afraid of Mr. Glens. I’ve only been her a week, so I can’t know yet. She isn’t as bad as him, and she seems like a very nice person.
“What is it?”
“Well, you’ll be turning eighteen soon. What do you have planned? Do you have a job? Somewhere to go? You can stay here, and do some work for us. Pat- I mean Mr. Glens, has some things he needs help with.”
The way she said that sends chills down my spine. I really haven’t given much though to where I’d go. “I’m still trying to graduate. Maybe I’ll get into a good college. I can get a job and start saving some money. There are some people I’d like to get in touch with….”
