The Streets

Chapter 21

Secrets and lies,

Define me.

I was never told,

I never knew.

It isn't my fault,

And yet...

I should have tried.

Harder.

To reach them.

To help them

I do not understand,

All that has happened.

I can not understand.

I can't begin to realize,

All of this pain.

And the loss because of it.

Chapter 21 (Grandma Bowler)

The question was an odd one. Yes, I was the mother of Aria Bowler, but her last name hadn't been Bowler when she died, and she was dead, so was I still her mother? Of course I was, but would other people think that?

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then, "Are you the grandmother of Katrina?"

"Yes," I answered slowly, wondering why this was so important.

The boy on the other end sighed and began speaking very fast, an urgent sense to his tone, "My name is Bret Treasure, I know your grandchildren. And, um, I know that you probably don't know any of what I'm about to tell you, but please just listen. And if the line cuts off then someone's found me on the phone, so please come to Sunny Acres Home for Boys because Casey Eisner is here."

My mouth fell open as I listened to the boy speak. Casey? At a home for boys? I scrabbled for a pen, hastily writing down the name of the place as the boy continued to speak.

"I'm sure you know Arthur Eisner to be the man your daughter married, but I'm not sure if you know the next part. He was an abusive husband once things in his life started to go wrong and that's why Aria threw him out of the house. He hated his children and they used to have to lock themselves in their bedroom for him not to find them when he came back at night, drunk."

I let out a barely perceptible moan without being able to stop it, as I slid down into a kitchen chair.

"He hired one of his friends, a lovely lady named Linda to take care of his children because although he hated them, they were his only reminder of Aria. But Arthur was in love with Linda and she got pregnant with another man's baby by accident, and Arthur threw her out. So Kat and Dev had to steal money from their father in order to be able to buy themselves food."

I gasped as my head began to feel faint. I put the phone on speaker and set it down on the table, gulping down a glass of milk that was still on the table from my breakfast.

"But eventually Linda came back with her daughter, Leah, and they lived there for a while. Until Arthur caught Dev stealing money for food and then he threatened the twins with Leah's life if they didn't give him back the money. So they did and then when Linda got home, Arthur told her that he had killed her child and so she left. So then Dev stole all the money he could find from Arthur and they packed their stuff and they ran away to a cheap motel on the south side."

They had been living at a motel? On the south side? I fanned myself, feeling weak and sweaty all at the same time.

"They lived there for a while and Kat and Dev got a job so that they could pay for food and stuff, but they never had enough so Dev took to stealing to get them food. And that's how he met me 'cause I lived on the streets my whole life and I had to steal to get food. Then Dev took me home for dinner and I lived with them ever since."