Lessons Learned, Healing Hearts

The Truth Will Set You Free (Chapter 23)

Hearing a video call coming in, Marlow threw herself across her bed to reach her phone, which was lying on the bedside table.

"Ciao, Bella," a cheerful voice said as Piero appeared on the screen.

Dressed in a fluffy white bathrobe, Marlow watched as he walked out of the bathroom, holding his phone in front of him while rubbing a towel over his head with the other. Making himself comfortable on the bed, she smiled when his bathrobe fell open, exposing his bare chest. Unaware of the flush of warmth he had caused to come over her, Piero propped an extra pillow behind his back and smiled at her.

"Piero, I'm sorry about getting all moody on you tonight," she said, trying to keep her tone calm and sincere.

"Hey, it's all good. Thank you for sharing what you did. I'm sorry you didn't get to stay with your mom. It must have been heartbreaking for you."

"It was."

"I get the feeling you weren't as lucky with your next foster family as you were with Charlotte."

"During the next seven years, I moved from one foster home to another and feeling more and more lost and rejected, I became one angry kid. By the time I turned 14, I finally had enough. Stealing $25 from my foster parent's wallet, I ran away. Sleeping under a stairwell for a week and I survived on cereal, crackers, peanut butter and three juice bottles.

"You weren't afraid?" Piero asked.

"I was terrified but there was no way I was going back. As you have witnessed, I can be very stubborn. When my food ran out, and I had no more money, I refused to dig through trash cans and didn't eat for a day. By the next morning, desperate for something to eat, I caved and hung around a gas station, drive-through coffee/ donut shop. Watching a worker grab several boxes of baked goods from the exterior freezer and carry them into the store without locking the freezer back up, I scrambled to fill my backpack with half a dozen muffins and a box of Timbits. Two days later, I tried to get some more. However, getting caught, I landed in juvie for the weekend. Even though it was so scary, the worst part was that Zoe's dad saw me come in."

"Zoe's father is a police officer?" Piero asked, trying to keep the facts straight as information came rushing at him.

"He is. I never felt so ashamed and balled inconsolably, snot running from my nose. He reassured me that everything would be OK. All I had to do was not give the guards a hard time and do as I was told. Come Monday morning, I would go to court and face a judge. Though my foster home was awful, juvie was worse. I'm sure I looked like a mouse when I entered the courtroom. Seeing Zoe's mother sitting on one of the benches, I couldn't look at her."

"What happened in court?"

"Because it was my first offence, the judge gave me probation, which was wonderful. However, when he said I would be released back to where I had been living before, I pleaded not to be sent there. I confessed because I had stolen money from my foster parents, that I was terrified to go back. That's when Zoe's mom jumped in. Interrupting the judge, she convinced him to let her and her husband take responsibility for me."

"Did you know Zoe before all this happened?"

"Yes, put together as science partners, we became friends at school. I didn't get to spend much time with her outside of class, but once, when I was invited to a sleepover birthday party, I bartered away my freedom for the next two weeks just so I could go. Zoe's whole family and I clicked right away. I never told them about what I was living with, but they had their suspicions. I lived with them until I aged out of the system."

"I don't understand what that means," Piero said.

"Ageing out happens when you turn 18 and are no longer the court's responsibility."

"Oh." Sitting back, Piero took a moment just to take it all in. Sighing, he felt relief knowing that her life had worked out OK. "You were incredibly fortunate."

"I was. My first year living with them was rough. I didn't make it easy, but they never threatened to send me back, even when I wasn't that pleasant. Eventually, I let go of my "I'm going to get you before you get me" attitude and became the much happier person I am today. I know my life would have been completely different had Zoe's family not stepped in."

Sitting in silence, Marlow had never talked so openly about her life to someone she barely knew. Scrutinizing Piero as he squeezed his cheeks with one hand, dragging his fingertips to his lips, and pulling on the whiskers on his chin, Marlow held her breath.

"Wow, Marlow..."

Averting her eyes, Marlow lowered her head as panic signals raced through her body. Based on experience, she knew that pity would come next. Giving no explanation, as tears filled her eyes, Marlow turned her phone off. Turning out the light and laying in the dark, only then did she let them fall. Hugging her pillow, she prayed for sleep to come.

***

Lying in bed, Piero pondered all that Marlow had shared. It all made sense. At 14, he had always had a strong core of people who loved and supported him. By the time Marlow was 14, she had learned to fend for herself. Surprised that her spirit was still so sweet, she was, without a doubt, a much stronger woman than he could have ever imagined. Just as he was about to tell her how proud he was of her, the call got dropped. Immediately calling her back and going to voicemail, the truth became apparent; it wasn't an accidental disconnection. Frustrated, Piero sent off a text.

"I don't understand why you won't answer my call. I deserve an explanation. Hopefully, come morning, you will speak to me. You told me earlier that people treated you differently; well, Marlow, maybe it's not them. Maybe it's you, and I will not let you shut me out."

Punching his pillow to fluff it back up, Piero reached over and turned out the light. Staring up at the ceiling, he would not let Marlow's ghosting spoil his great day with her. She had obviously turned things around, and that was what was important. Whether she liked it or not, he would speak with her tomorrow.