FOSTER

Part 4

Our small neighborhood had a doctor that accepted home visits. The moment I rang him and explained him the situation, he told me that he would come right away. He even gave us directions to keeping Cady warm enough so she wouldn't fall into hypothermia until he got there. My mind was filled by the thoughts of protecting this child, keeping her alive and safe in our care. Not only because she was our foster child, but because she deserved to be safe. Those scars were not a sign of any safety in her past. We could not afford more of that in her present life.

I sat down on my bed while the doctor along with his wife-nurse examined Cady. I had been feeling that something was wrong. For a month, I felt it. Now it's here, I didn't know how to comprehend the truth yet. Cady obviously came from an abusive background and it may have ruined her worse than we thought.

Tom was entering the room when I jumped up and rushed to him.

"I need to see her father," I demanded.

"Whoa, Jennifer. Calm down," he placed his palms on my shoulders.

"I can't. You know I can't. I need to talk to him. Her behavior comes from whatever they did to her and I will not accept it."

Tom sighed and pulled me into a hug. We stayed for a minute or so before Tom finally said, "Be back before dinner. I'll keep an eye on her."

I fiddled my fingers as I waited for Cady's father to be sent into the room. I had so many questions to ask him. I was so sure yet slightly nervous. I knew nothing could happen to me, but being in a prison was a new experience. I just needed answers. I wanted to help this girl badly. I had to.

The door was opened and I fixed myself on my chair. A bulky man walked into the room along with a police officer. He was neat and fit. His hair was completely shaved. His eyes were deep, just like Cady's. But his lips were firm. I could only imagine that this was the person that had been giving Cady and his mother hell. My gaze fell down onto his tight hands – the hands that had landed punches and cigarettes onto Cady's little arms. My nerves were boiling.

He sat down across me and extended his hand for a shake. "Abraham Bunton. You must be Jennifer Goode."

I shook his hand briefly. "Yes..."

"What brings you here, Mrs. Goode? Cady's been misbehavin'?" He scratched his nose with the tip of his thumb.

"No. That's not it." I cleared my throat.

"So?"

I hesitated for a moment. "Cady had been involved in an accident."

Abraham's face went stiff. Huh.

He waited for me to continue.

"She fell into a frozen pond. But we managed to pull her back up."

He let out a sigh of relief. That was weird. He was worried.

"That kid..." He lowered his head. "Always get into trouble."

"Always?"

"Yes..." He turned his face to his left, biting his lips. "Well... no, actually. But she always gets hurt."

He paused for a moment before looking at me. "I bet you've seen them. Her wounds."

I gulped down the fear that had been creeping on me. "Yes... That is why I'm here. I would like to ask you about them."

He leaned to me. "One thing you need to know, woman. I was not the one who hurt her." He leaned back against his chair, shaking his head. "I'm tellin' ya. Liv, that crazy bitch. She did it."

"Olivia?" My eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yeah. She's a junkie and tends to get a little physical on Cady. Fuck knows what she's done when I'm not home." He mocked.

"Has anyone found where she is?"

"Pfft. Fuck if I know. She was with Cady the last time I remembered. Dragging the kid into the bedroom. Screaming-..."

"Why didn't you stop her!?" My rage was boiling. He knew Olivia was abusing Cady, but he did nothing. What a father.

"Fuck, woman. I was with my customers." He threw his hand into the empty air, lifting his shoulders. "But she toned down soon after. No more screaming. That was also the last time Liv was in the house. She took off after that episode. Never seen her again. Never heard of her either."

"Okay, Bunton. Time's up." An officer stood next to him, grabbing him by the upper arm.

"Try finding Liv, will ya? She'll ruin you and the kid if she finds you first." He got up. "Oh. And get her jailed. I'm fucking lonely in my cell."

***

           

I rushed myself back home after visiting Abraham. Tom had been calling and texting me the whole time I was inside. He said he had found something in Cady's room that I might want to see.

"Tom?" I called for him as soon as I entered the house.

Tom popped up at the kitchen's door and signaled me to join him there. I walked with him to the counter. "What is it?" I asked.

"Don't freak out." Tom sighed as he pulled out a silver fork from the drawer. The missing fork. "Her wounds were unsettling for me. I had to search around her room for something. And I found this in one of her books. She made a slot inside the book to hide the fork."

The tip of the fork was stained. It had a discoloration of brownish red color.

"Is this...?" I took the fork from his hand and exchanged worried look with him.

He nodded. "Blood. Cady's been hurting herself with this. It matches with the wound on her thigh."

"Jesus..." I slumped to the counter. "I-... I don't know what to do."

"How about the father? What did he tell you?"

"He told me that it was Olivia. She's the one who had been abusing Cady while high on drugs."

Tom rubbed his forehead, squeezing his eyebrows together. "And she's still missing. Do you think she'll be back for her?"

I looked at Tom. "Abraham said she might."

"We need to find her."

"No... That's not a good idea." I turned from him.

"Jennifer, we need to find Olivia!" He grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him.

"And what, Tom!?" I released myself from his grip. "Telling her that she's ruined the child's psychology? That Cady's now a masochist from all that abuse!?"

"I don't know! But yeah, maybe we can tell her that for a starter!"

We must have been raising our voices too much. Cady stood by the kitchen's door, standing sluggishly. However, her eyes were fixed on the fork that I was holding. Her eyes grew wider the longer she stared, the more she understood that it was her fork. I quickly threw the fork into the sink as I turned myself to her. The next thing I knew was Tom jumping in to catch Cady, who was dashing towards me while screaming out like a madman.

"AAAAAAAARGGGGHHHH!!! NOOOOO!! AAAAAAARRRRGHHHH!!!" She kept screaming.

"Cady, sweetheart! Calm down!" Tom tried hugging her but she started swinging her arms everywhere, punching on Tom's shoulders, scratching into his skin.

I stood frozen, watching the scene in horror. Cady lost it. She had lost it but this was what we needed to see. The broken little kid from an abusive mother.