Searching for Love

Chapter 20

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(Flashback Sequence)

Since I met Cindy, I felt like there’s hope for me to have a home. To have a family. To have a home. Imagine that. Sydney Dawson feeling love that doesn’t come from sharp, inanimate objects.

 

            One morning I was watching TV and there was a knock on my door. I almost didn’t want to answer it considering my luck in the past… first with Kyle and then with Michaela. But something told me to go answer the door, and there was Cindy with a huge smile on her face and two large suitcases at her side.

 

            “Hello, Pumpkin! It’s move out day today!”

 

 “What?” I said. “Sydney, do you want to get out of this hell-hole or not?!” “Well, yeah. Yes,” I answered. “Well then, Sydney, pack your bags, grab your stuff, and we’re out of here. Honey, in simpler terms: I’m adopting you. The papers are signed and we’re supposed to be out by two.”

 

            I stood there awestruck. I couldn’t even talk. I couldn’t even think. All I could do was cry. So that’s exactly what I did. I broke out in tears. As I sobbed, Cindy came over and hugged me so tight, I thought my head was going to pop off.

 

            We gathered the rest of my stuff. Only a few things… I didn’t have all that much, but what I did have, I cherished. Material things, yes, but still MY things. My clothes, my makeup, some junk collectables. Crappy stuff that wouldn’t mean anything to anybody else, but it meant the world to me.

 

            I packed up some books. Those included some Harry Potter, The Hunger Games Trilogy (Gale was my favorite), Percy Jackson, some self-help books and workbooks given to me by Westburry, and finally, and old leather Bible. I had forgotten about it, but seeing that little black book with gold lettering on the front got me thinking. Thinking a whole lot.

 

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            A couple days have passed and honestly, I’m so restless. I can’t think about anything but Dad’s letter. And Summer’s. I’m so distracted, I can’t even think about Brandon. How crazy is that? Life is weird. Love is weird. Everything is weird.

            Friday after school I get a call. A very strange call. A very, very, scary call. I hear the phone ring and grab it. Caller ID says Burbank, CA. That’s the city where Westburry Orphanage is located. Just 15 minutes from where Cindy and I live… Central Los Angeles. I hesitate for a few moments realizing that this very phone call could be from Westburry; a place of which I’m still not comfortable.

            I slowly pick up the phone, scared of what I was about to hear.  “Hello. This is Westburry Orphanage calling for Sydney Dawson. Is she available?” I couldn’t place the voice of the caller… But it has been three years since I left. “This is she,” I answer. “Miss Dawson, this is a mandatory call we’ve placed to you and the other individuals that have stayed at Westburry during the time of the residence of Kyle Martin. “Yes,” I said slowly, “What about it?” “Miss Dawson… Mr. Martin has been charged with many counts of child molestation and sexual harassment and abuse. We need to let you know that he is still out there and not yet been found. If you receive any word or contact from him you need to contact the police immediately.”

My hands grip the edge of the table so hard my fingers turn white matching the color of my face. Memories come flooding back and it takes all my energy to bring the cordless receiver back to my ear to squeak out a response. “Thank you,” I reply shakily, “I will do all I can do.” My voice is the sound of a hoarse whisper. “Thank you Miss Dawson, and stay safe.”

            The next thing I hear is the sound of a dial tone and I know that the conversation has come to an end.

I place the phone back in its charger and wobbly make my way over to the family room. Cindy is in the kitchen making dinner – I don’t think she even knew the phone rang. If I thought life was weird and confusing before, boy, was I about to learn what weird and confusing really meant.

            Fear grips my body. Flashbacks take over my brain. My head starts to spin and I can barely open my eyes. And then, in the back of my mind, I hear a small, hoarse, recognizable voice chanting my name, The voice of Kyle saying over and over… “Sydney, Sydney, Sydney, Sydney…”