My Invisible Friends (Imaginary But Real) 3

Abuse

June 18

It's been a year since we met Gianna!

Aunt Becca made up this crazy new law that we can't have more than 4 friends over. At least she lightened up-it was going to be 1! Everyone left this morning and then Aunt Becca came up with that rule.

Today, as I was putting the laundry in the dryer, Enna, who was in the kitchen playing Barbies, said that she had gone to Gwen's house and asked if she could play, and they said she was a brat and was grounded. I thought that was odd, considering Lynn didn't have her own house and I figured Gwen went everywhere Lynn went. Enna made it sound like she had been to Gwendolyn's house, and I wondered who "they" were, who had called her a brat. Who could call that sweet child a brat?

Then when Brienna was on the phone with Lynn later, she sounded shocked and then she said she had to talk to me. We sat on the back deck where Brienna told me that Lynn had said Gwendolyn had a different father than Lynn, but they had the same mother. Trouble was, the father was now living in our neighborhood, and was abusing Gwendolyn. Brienna went on to say Lynn was afraid to stay there and I wondered where this house was. Before Bri could show me, she saw someone who looked like Gwen running next door.

We went to the front yard and saw Lynn coming toward us. She burst into tears when she got to us, and then we saw little Gwen coming, and Brienna went to get her while I took a sobbing Lynn to the front porch to comfort her. She was afraid to live with Gwen and her father because if he found out Lynn was Gwen's sister, he would start abusing her, too.

While I was on the phone with my mom, and Gwen was with me, I heard a man's voice hollering angrily and wondered if it was Gwen's dad. I then saw Gwen hiding behind a tree. Lynn and Gwendolyn came in with us and Gwen played with Enna, and later, Timmy came in the room and told me Aunt Becca had burnt him with a match. I couldn't (and didn't) believe it at first, but he showed me a mark on his arm, and then he proceeded to show Gwen. I couldn't believe what Gwen said next. She told him her daddy had done the same to her back and she lifted her shirt to show him. The thing was, she said it so casually, like it was perfectly normal.

This is way worse than I originally thought. Aunt Becca is abusing the kids (she yanked Enna's hair earlier) and Gwen is being abused at home. No wonder Lynn was bawling earlier.

Oh, and to make matters worse, guess who Aunt Becca's new boyfriend is?

Xoxo~ M