Birthmarked

10-Truths

A/N: Sorry its been a little while since i've uploaded. i've been having problems with my desktop and have had to do everything by switching the story from one computer to another. So to make up for this, i am uploading chapter 11 too.

Enjoy,

Aliyahrenee

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I stood from the bed with a determined mind and took a quick shower. I dressed in a black and white t-shirt, jeans and converse. I ran my fingers threw my hair and decided that I looked decent.

I walked out of the house quickly. The cab I had called for already waiting for me.

We pulled up into the entry way of a decrepit looking building with recently painted blue shutters that clashed with the sickly brown of the building. The building had been standing for ninety years. Once a running hospice in 1921, it was in desperate need for remodeling. The sign above the two story building read Hillsboro City State Housing in clean cut, simple letters. Originally painted white, they were turning a color similar to the building's first paint job, making it hard to make out the letters.

I sighed as I climbed out of the cab and looked up at the building I once called home.

I pushed open the door and listened to the familiar squeal of protest. I remember because everyone used to turn their heads to the sound, excited to see if it was a new couple ready to take a child home. At a certain age, you began to realize that it didn't work so easily, and you stopped turning your head to see who it could be coming through the door.

The smell of floor cleaner and stale clothes still filled the hallways. It was a usual smell here. There were days set aside for clothes to be washed, leaving the halls smelling of their rancid fumes.

It wasn't the most pleasant place to stay, but it was home to many kids, maybe the only home they ever knew.

"Is that my Penny?" I turned at the sound of a nasally soprano. I turned to see Mrs. Fitz bustling towards me, her beefy arms outstretched. I remembered Mrs. Fitz well.

She was one of the Counselor's here, maybe the only one who actually cared. She loved me from the first day I came through those doors.

Mrs. Fitz was a large woman, round in the mid-section with a wide rump that made her waddle when she walked. She was pale with small brown eyes and dull colored hair that could only be described as a wan mix of brown and grey. She had a faint accent that hinted her heritage to Scotland or somewhere from the British Isles.

Mrs. Fitz looked like she could have been pretty in her day, but life hadn't treated her very well. She had lost three children before they were ever born, leaving her with a grumpy husband that didn't say much whenever he was around and a house full of pets. I think she surrounded herself with so many kids at work to make up for the fact that she could never bare any herself.

I hugged her tightly, breathing in her familiar smell of lavender. She held me at arms length. "Let me get a good look at you. Wow, you have grown. And you look so beautiful. You were a beauty when you were a child too but I always knew you were going to grow up to be a heartbreaker. So tell me, lass, do you have any boys chasing after you like a fly to honey?"

I laughed and tried to hide my smile. Her eyes lit up as she laughed a squeaky sound. "That's right!" she said proudly. "You've got you a bonny lad, have you?" she laughed again and patted my arm. "What brings you back to this place? I know you didn't come all this way just to see me? I heard the good news, also!" she gushed, her cheeks reddening with her excitement.