Adopted By Zerrie

Chapter 23

~~~~~Jade's POV:~~~~~

I wake up and look around. I'm lying on a cold, hard, wooden floor, staring up at a green ceiling that had mould growing in the corners. Ugh, I hate mould.

What! Mould at the orphanage! And I'm sleeping on the floor! Mrs Smith would never allow that to happen! 

Then, I realise. I'm not at the orphanage any more. When I was there, I wanted to get out. Now that I'm out, I want to get back in. Because of this. I tuck my knees up to chin and start whimpering. 

"I don't cry!" I yelled loudly at myself. Then, I slap my hand over my mouth, cursing myself for being so loud. I hear footsteps outside. "You okay love?" a man asks outside. He sounds genuine, so I decide to play with it.

"Not really." I say in my smallest, most vulnerable voice.

"Anything I can do for you?" he asks another question.

"No. I'm okay thank you." I say.

I hear the footsteps quieten as they go further away. Then a door closes. A bedroom door, I guessed. I push myself up and try the door. I'm so stupid, of course it would be locked. I sigh and sink down onto the floor again. 

Hours come and go. Finally, the other man came to my door. "Coming in!" He called. He unlocks the door and kicks it open. He hands me a plastic tray with a glass of water, a piece of toast and a pottle of jam. Before you start thinking that's not so bad, I touched the toast and it was hard and the jam was mouldy around the edges of the jar.

Because I was so hungry, I ate the toast but I didn't touch the jam. People joke that I could eat anything anytime, but I'm not getting food poisoning or anything like that because of one pottle of pathetic, mouldy jam.

About half an hour later, the man comes to take my tray away.

"Fussy are we?" he asks, glancing at the jam.

I don't answer, just hang my head and fiddle with my skirt hem.

Then, the door slams and I'm left alone.