Troubled Child

Traumatized

⚠️Trigger Warning ⚠️ *Talking about sensitive subjects like child abuse and suicide*

"Aunt Riley? I'm home." Emily said as she walked into the living room. She jumped on the couch and kicked off her shoes. "Guess she's not home."

"I'm home." Riley whispered, walking out from the back room. "I was about to make something to eat. Do you want somehing? I have ravioli."

"That's fine." Emily nodded. "Thanks." She frowned. "Hey, uh, Aunt Riley? Can I, um, talk to you about something?"

Riley gave her a small smile as she walked into the kitchen. "Of course. You can talk to me about anything. What's on your mind?" She asked nicely as she took out two cans of ravioli.

Emily walked over to the kitchen table. She gripped the back of the chair. "Was my dad your first kiss?" She asked.

Riley nearly dropped the bowls as she took them out of the cupboard. "Uh well, he was my first boyfriend so yes. Wh-Why do you ask?" She fumbled with the bowls as she placed them down on the counter not expecting such an awkward conversation with her niece.

Emily looked down at the table. "How old were you?"

Riley blushed. "Thirteen. Do, um, do you want advice? Is there a boy you like? I can't exactly tell you that you're too young because I'd be a bit of a hypocrite, but maybe you should talk to your father about it first. I didn't tell mine and when he found out it was not a pleasant time." She let out a nervous chuckle.

Emily sighed. "Oh. I've already had my first kiss. I was ten."

Riley almost cut her finger on the can. "Ten?!" She gasped. "That's, um, that's a little early to be kissing someone, but um, I guess it's too late to tell you that." She nervously chuckled some more and plopped the contents of the can into a green bowl then she put it in the microwave. Her hand fumbled with the buttons for a moment then she hit the number two button. "Was it just a little peck with a friend?"

Emily shook her head. "No."

Riley felt her face heat up with even more embarrassment. The conversation felt very awkward and she was trying not to show her discomfort. She finally turned around and looked at Emily, but instead of seeing a young girl awkwardly standing behind a chair, she saw a sad girl hanging her head and gripping the back of the chair until her knuckles were white. Riley frowned. "Emily, sweetie, why are you telling me this?" She walked over to the chair across from Emily and pulled it down. "Come on. Let's sit and talk." She pulled out the chair making a loud scraping sound in an otherwise silent room.

Emily released the chair and pulled it out also making a loud scraping noise. She gulped and sat down across from her guardian. Emily couldn't look her in the eye. "I was ten and Mr. McPhee was like fourty." She whispered.

Riley gasped. "He kissed you?"

Emily nodded, still not looking up from the table. "Yeah. He was my foster dad for a few years. Him and Mrs. McPhee."

Riley sucked in a breath. "You- Was that all? He kissed you?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah. I mean I felt his tongue, but he didn't go any further. Mrs. McPhee was nice. I liked her. She was the closest thing to a mom I ever got in a foster home." Emily sniffed. "But when I told her what he did she called social services and kicked me out. She told them I stole from her purse and she didn't want me anymore. She didn't believe me and she blamed me."

Riley slowed reached for Emily's hand and when she placed it on top of the thirteen year old's hand Emily finally looked up at her. "It's okay, sweetie. You can tell me about anything you want me to know. I won't let anyone hurt you again. I promise." Riley gave her a reassuring smile. She felt Emily's hand tense under her own. "I'm sorry that happened to you, sweetie. I wish I had known about you sooner." She sighed. "I know Lucas would have searched high and low for you if he knew. He's very protective of the people he cares about. He would've made sure that man never touched you inappropriately."

Emily frowned. "He wasn't the only one." She gulped. "Mr. McPhee was the worst because I trusted him and I liked living there, but it was actually this place in Brooklyn I lived at that was the worst." She felt a tear roll down her cheek as she thought about it. "I'd take a kiss that tasted like beer and made me gag over sleeping on that cot in the basement."

Riley frowned. "A cot?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah. Mrs. Greystone had six of us and we shared a cot in the basement. I lived there when I was eight and after living there the McPhee place was like a dream come true." Emily said choking back tears so she could get the words out. "All six of us shared one cot in the basement. It was dark and cold most nights. We had to snuggle real close to stay warm and when it would rain the basement flooded a little." Emily's eyes glazed over as she remembered the worse foster home she'd been in.

"How did your social worker allow that?!" Riley gasped.

Emily shrugged. "Miss Annie wasn't my social worker at the time. Miss Annie took over after I left the McPhee house. I had a different one when I was younger, he didn't really care where the kids ended up. The more he placed the closer he was to a promotion so a lot of us got taken to Mrs. Greystone and she hated kids." Emily wiped at her eyes. "She liked the money she got though and she got even more when the girls got older and men would pay to spend the night with them." Emily tried not to gag at the thought. "I was lucky, I left before I became a teenager but my friend Lisa and her friend Carrie, they were fourteen when we all lived there so Mrs. Greystone used them to make more money."

Riley felt tears falling down her cheeks. "What happened to them?" She asked already dreading the answer.

"Carrie got pregnant and ran away." Emily's eyes widened like a trauma victim. "Lisa- Lisa killed herself in the basement. We saw her, hung from the rafters.. After that happened, the neighbors called 911 and then social services took the rest of us girls out of the house and Mrs. Greystone was never allowed to house children again." Emily's voice cracked.

"Did you say- you saw her?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah. We all saw her. Lisa was really nice. She was like a big sister to all of us. She kept saying she'd find a way to get us out.. I guess that was her way." Emily swallowed hard. "We got out. Lisa saved us." She sighed. "If I was older maybe I could have saved her too." She starting sobbing so Riley immediately got up and walked over to hug the young girl. "I used to say when I turn fourteen I'm going to see Lisa again." Riley gasped and held her tighter. "But- now I- I don't want to. I wanna stay with Holly and you and my dad and I wanna spend time with my mom, but she doesn't want to be in my life." She shook with tears in Riley's arms.

"You worry about living your life, a good, happy life, and let me worry about your mom." Riley pulled away to look into the girl's eyes. "I promise I am going to make everything better for you." She brushed back Emily's hair and held her face in her hands. "I promise you." Riley said determinedly through her tears. "Okay?"

Emily nodded.

The microwave went off pulling them out of their moment. Riley got up to get it and set the bowl down in front of Emily. "Eat something, honey, you'll feel a bit better."

Emily nodded again.