Secrets Don't Last

Chapter 9

Hey guys!!!

I just want to thank the people who have been commenting, it really means a lot to know that some people are enjoying this story. Apologies abou the grammar and spelling, I have been doing the most recent chapters on my iPod 😞

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"Grab your stuff, and lets go." my step-father says gruffly as he throws an old backpack at my face. My mother and him went through the legal papers pretty quickly. NOw they are just goiing to leave me in the cold, without any friends or family.

I remember last night when my grandmother came to visit, begging my mother not to let her only child go. She was the only one who ever loved me. but my mother just shook her head, and patted her lower stomach.

"David and I are starting a new family now"

So my mother was pregnant. She was replacing me with a new child. That explains everything. Why mom doesn't seem to care about leaving me, why David has been storming around muttering about how I would be a 'bad influence '.

I take one glance at the backpack in my hands and know immediately that not all of my stuff would be able to fit in here. I grab two tshirts and two pairs of pants. I throw in one sweater and a bunch of socks. I grab some runners and some sandals. I put in my favourite book, a blanket I had for as long as I can remember. my grandmother knit it for me. The last thing I grab is a necklace that Echo gave me. Thinking of Echo brings a tear to my eye. I haven't seen her since the doctor office. In fact, i haven't heard any voices at all. I don't even know how this necklace can stay with me, if Echo was never even real.

I put on my favourite outfit. http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=58142917

I need to keep theese clothes that I love.I take my meager remains of my old life that sit in the pack, and sling it over my shoulder.

"Can I take the dogs?" I ask my mom when she shuffles past my room. She nods. "We need to get the dog stuff out of here anyways." she mumbles. I quickly throw all their food into a bag and wrap up their treats, toys and leashes in a grocery bag. The four bowls clang together as I scoop them all up. As an afterthought I throw in theire two favourite blankets. I smile at my small victory as I stuff them into their cages. " I love you guys" I whisper through the bars.

"DONE!" I call down the stairs.

"Get in the car." David huffs, jingling the keys. I comply, and hop in the front seat, throwing my pack in the back. he starts the engine and starts to pull out of the driveway.

"WAIT!" I shout. I hop out of the car and run inside up to my old room, which my mother is stripping bare of all my stuff. I see a half full garbage bag. Typical. Just throw out all my stuff as soon as I leave.

I quickly rescue my cellphone and ipod. I would never forgive my self if I had left these behind.

"Goodbye mom." I say. She nods, and tears a poster of Taylor lautner off my wall.

"I love you." I mutter. Then walk outside. I don't stay to see the tear run down my mother's face, or hear her whisper"i love you too"

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"Goodbye sir." my head snaps up at the voice of the secretary concluding. We had driven for hours and then got on a train for 2 more hours until we got to a small town called Burmingham. I had never heard of it before. We walked to a small building in a slightly busy part of town. I noticed the sign. It read "BUrmingham Orphanage" in clear black lettering. David had talked for a long time to the lady behind the counter, signed a couple things and now he was finally leaving.

"Bye David.' I muttered as he banged out the door. I'm almost sure that it wasn't heard over the clanging of bells.

"Skye?" the secretary asks. I nod in reply and notice the name card on the desk. Judy Ross it read. I have been reading alot of these lately I remarked. "Follow me.' she states and got up, the chair scraping across the dusty hardwood flooring. I follow her down a dark hallway. She stops at a doorway on the right. I hear the groaning of old joints as she pushes the stubborn door.

"THis is the mess hall" she says it as if I were staying at a fun camp for a week. there is nothing fun about this place. I look in and see 3 long tables all stuffed into the small room. THere are long benches to match. I walk out and Mrs. Ross motions to a door facing the one I had just come through.

"THis is a bathroom." she doesn't need to open the door for me to tell that it is a mess. The smell says enough to me, and i just want to get as far away as possible. We go up a creaky staircase. When I get to the first floor I'm shocked at what I see. There are 10 doors on each side of the hall, all crammed together. We continue up the staircase. I see the same thing on the second floor, then we stop at the third. We go down the hallway, stirring up dust in our paths and she stops abruptly, pointing to a door marked 306. She hands me a key and I insert it into a keyhole. As the door swings open I cough at the amount of dust swirling in the air.

"Bathroom's at the end of the hall" Mrs. Ross says, pointing to the door closest to the stairs.

"Thanks Mrs. Ross"

"Call me Judy." said says, shuffling down the hallway and then back down the stairs. When the creaks fade to nothing I step inside my room.

TO say that it is tiny would be an understatement. The room is only big enough for a small bed in a corner, with a desk crammed in beside it. Across from the desk was a closet. Opening the door let me see that is barely deep enough for the few hangers that sat in side. I carefully put all of the few clothes that I have inside, and that fills it to exploding point.. It is not wide. Or deep.

I throw the blanket onto the bed and put my book on one of the shelves on the desk. On top of the desk, beside my bed i set down my cell phone and ipod. I put on some sad, slow songs that are disrupted by a scratching. The dogs!

I can't think of a place to put them. Then I notice the piece of wall between the door and closet. I spread out their blankets side by side and neatly arrange their bowls on top of their blankets. I open the largest drawer on the desk and organize their treats, food and toys. Then I hang their leashes on a nail sticking out of the wall, probably meant for a picture. I don't take pictures. I open the levers on both cages, and pile them in the small space between my desk and bed.

With all the stuff that I added, and the dogs sniffing around, the place feels even smaller. But it feels homier too. I collapse on the bed, and only stay awake long enough to feel the puppies jump on, and curl up beside me.