Alignments

Chapter 11

"Janet! Get back here, girl!" She ran as fast as she could and looked for a place to hide. "You can't hide nowhere. Bring your ass here!" The man yelled. Janet ran up the stairs. When she got to the top, she tripped, but got back up immediately. Going into one of the bedrooms, she went into the closet and hid as best as she could. She sat as still as possible while she caught her breath.

In the hall, the man stomped around as he looked for her. His drunken state made it harder for him to keep balance, but he continued on. Going into one of the bedrooms, he searched it thoroughly. When he didn't find her, he threw something at the wall. Janet jumped in fear, but stayed quiet. Silently to herself, she prayed. "Jesus, please. Please." Although the eleven year old didn't know much about God, she did trust the woman who trusted him.

"There you are." Janet eyes flew open and fear ran across her body as the man stood above her. "Let's go." He snatched her by her arm and dragged her out of the closet.

"Please! No!"

"Shut up." Janet tried to free herself, but had no luck. The man threw her on the bed and held her down. "You got me searching this house for you. What have I told you about that?" The man pushed down on her chest as he took a big swig of his bottle. After sitting it down on the nightstand, he climbed on top of her. He ripped her clothes off before taking himself out of his pants. Used to this action, Janet closed her eyes and took deep breaths. After a while, she went into her own mind. She imagined herself somewhere peaceful. Somewhere she was happy.

"Here you go, babygirl." She smiled at the woman.

"Thank you." The woman planted a kiss on her cheek and rubbed her head.

"You're welcome." She looked down at the plate of food. Today was a special day. Her report card came back and she had all A's. One of her rewards was having her favorite meal; authentic asian ramen. She had tried it on a family trip and has wanted it ever since. So her new mother learned how to make it for her. "Now, I tried my best to get it perfect, so I hope you like it." Janet picked up her chopsticks and spoon. She blew on the noodles and ate them.

"Mmmm." A smile came across her face. "It's so good."

"Good." The woman smiled as she watched the little girl eat.

"So, sweetie..." her new dad spoke. "...what do you want to do this weekend to celebrate?"

"Can we go to the pet store? I want to see the dogs again."

"Sure, maybe you can pick one out." Janet got excited.

"I can get a dog?"

"If you want."

"Yes. Yes. I want a dog."

"Then we'll get one." Janet looked at her new brother and smiled. The two of them were extremely excited. They had been wanting a dog for a while, but with the adoption process, it was too much at one time. So now that the adoption had gone through and Janet was officially a part of the family, they could get one.

"Which one should we get?" She asked him.

"We should get a brown dog. They're the best."

"I like black dogs too."

"Ohhh, maybe we should get one that's black and brown." The children talked excitedly. 

"And then we can name it Chippy. Like a chocolate chip cookie."

"That's cool."