You Belong To Me- Part 2 (KAYLOR)

280.

"Where are we going mom?"

"I'm going to show you how lucky you are." Tracy replied.

The cab pulled up to a rundown looking building. They got out and approached the door. An older woman answered as Tracy introduced herself.

"Oh, you're here to see Gloria. She's expecting you. Follow me."

The older woman led them down a hall that was lined with rooms on either side. The inside of the building looked just as rundown as the outside. She knocked on the last door and allowed them in, once she heard her friends soft voice on the other side.

"Hi, I'm Gloria, you must be Tracy and this must be Karlie. How are you ladies?"

"We're fine." Tracy said. "Thank you for allowing us to come meet with you."

"Not a problem, whatever I can do to help. By the look on Karlie's face, I take it that she doesn't know why she's here."

"No, she doesn't." Tracy replied.

"Well, Karlie, I'm a social worker and director of this facility called New Beginnings. It doesn't look like much because I just bought the building and I wanted to renovate it and make it perfect but instead, I opened early because there were too many women that needed a place to stay. Come on, I'll give you a tour."

Gloria led them back down that long hallway and opened a few of the doors. Inside were large rooms filled with bunk beds. Some of the rooms had buckets of children's toys in the corners.

"How did you get involved in this?" Karlie asked.

"About fifteen years ago, I was married to a man who I thought was the love of my life. We didn't have much. He was at the beginning of his career and I was still in college. I got pregnant and everything changed. He wanted me to be a stay at home mom and not finish school. We fought and argued constantly until one day our fights became physical. The man who I thought I knew so well, turned out to be a complete stranger. He would work late and when he'd get home, he'd go straight to the shower. I knew he had someone else, but I was afraid to leave. He controlled me and didn't allow me to work and make my own money. I needed him and he knew that. I couldn't just leave because I had my son and I didn't know where to go. We had moved away from my family and he wouldn't allow me to call them. One night, my entire life changed. He came home from work and I was determined to leave him. I built up enough courage to finally tell him that it was over. He didn't love me anymore and I just wanted him to let me go. That was the night that he tried to kill me. He beat me at first and then stabbed me multiple times, leaving me in a pool of blood to die."

Gloria walked over to a bulletin board that had several children's pictures all over it.

"This is Ben, my son. He would have been eighteen. After my husband attacked me, he killed our son. I spent years blaming myself. I turned to drugs and really lost sight of who I was. I met a woman who ended up changing my life. When I finally got my life back, I went back to school and vowed to help as many women as I could, to get their life back. So here we are. This is someone's new beginning. We're going to be serving lunch soon, would you like to see our dining hall?"

"Sure." Karlie replied.

They walked into a room that looked like the size of a high school gym. It was lined with tables and within minutes, it began to fill with women. Karlie couldn't believe the amount of people that came through the doors. Some had one child and some had more than that. They all took a seat, as the staff began to serve them lunch. Karlie felt a tug on her shirt as she looked around the room. As she looked down, she saw a young girl, no more than ten years old.