What is Home

Chapter One

"Momma Charlee!" I heard being yelled from the other room. I was tutoring a classmate when my baby sister called for me. This classmate was one that I had tutored on a regular basis. Honestly, I just think his parents felt bad for me. He was just as smart as I was and didn't need my help.

Little feet pattered on the hardwood floors to my location in the house. "I have lollipop?" She held up a light pink lolly to me that matched her shirt.

"Only if I get first lick." I smiled at her taking the lollipop from her hand. I removed the wrapper and pretended to take a lick handing it back. "If Ryder has-" before I could finish my sentence my little brother entered holding a matching pink lollipop. I laughed and opened his lollipop as well. "No running with them please."

"Tank you!" My brother and sister said in unison before slowly walking out of the room. I knew the moment they were out of sight they'd be running getting into all sorts of child trouble.

After a few hours of tutoring I rounded up my siblings and began the long walk home. By the time we made it to pick up the twins, the two youngest were asleep in their double stroller. I was thankful that the family we were just with would feed the youngsters dinner before we left. My classmate's parents thought of my siblings as their adoptive children. Unlike like most people in my situation, I was lucky to have people around to help.

Being sixteen to me didn't feel like being sixteen. Most of my time was spent taking care of not only my siblings but also my parents. Basically, I was a parent to six people when I shouldn't have been a parent to anyone. It took a beating on my appearance. Not only would I arrive at school covered in cuts and bruises, but I would also be in yesterday's clothes with unwashed hair. Even I thought that I looked like a mess. I would hear whispers escape from my classmate's mouths as I walked by. They thought they were being discrete but they were far from it.

Teachers would pull me aside after class and ask how I was doing. Everyone cared just enough to look like they cared but not enough to do anything about it. No one wanted to get involved and make things worse for me, which I understood. Sometimes I just wanted someone to speak up and say something. Not for me, but to save my siblings from the hell I grew up in.

A few weeks into my sophomore year a new kid started. He instantly became friends with everyone. He observed everyone around him. He wouldn't talk to everyone but just by his facial expressions, I could tell he was making lists in his head about everyone. He would spend extra time every day mapping out the cuts and bruises that covered my skin. His eyes studied the changes my skin would make over each week.

One day he walked up to me for the first time and sparked a conversation. "I bet the other guy looks a lot worse." His finger ran along a bruise that was the shape of a hand on my arm. His actions caused my hand to quickly cover up the bruise he had just touched.

"Yeah, his eyes rolled back into his head with needle marks lining his skin. Looks much worse." My eyes focused on the ground below my feet. The tension that my sentence caused filled the hallway. Except I was the only person feeling that tension.

"Are you okay?" His voice was concerned just as his face always was when he studied my skin.

"If you're even asking that question then you know the answer. I'm sorry I have to get to class." I walked past him and headed off to my next class leaving him in his thoughts.

Halfway through class the classroom phone began to ring. The teacher stepped out with a serious look on her face. I doodled circles on the top margin of my notebook while I waited for her to return. The rest of my peers created conversations with their neighbors while I sat alone in my never ending silence. The lack of any sort of friendship made it impossible for me to do the same. The time seemed to be dragging out. Every second she was out of the room was an another second I knew someone was focusing on staring at all that was wrong with me.

The handle to the classroom door clicked open as the teacher entered the classroom. "Charlee, you are needed in the office." My classmates called out in ou's. "Please pack up your things and head there now." I could feel everyone's eyes on me and I hated it. I just wanted to be this invisible person that no one noticed. It was hard to do that when I was the only one walking around like I had been hit by a car every day.

I quickly picked up my things to get the eyes off me and exited the room. Not knowing what I was walking into, I took my time while making my way to the office. Getting sent to the office was never good, especially when you were pulled out of class for it. If you were missing class time it was a serious situation.

The moment I stepped into the office I was sent straight to the principal. My heart was pounding. I could feel my face getting hot not knowing what the issue was. My head went instantly to the worst thing that it could. That thought being; my parents had overdosed and passed on. I started having a panic attack something I rarely had. The beatings had made all other issues feel irrelevant, so anxiety was something I didn't really deal with.

"There has been an on going issue that has been brought to my attention on multiple occasions. I can no longer sit back and let this happen to you anymore. A student brought something to my attention today. I was told that you confessed to this student that you have been physically beaten by your parents. I will not allow that to happen to one of my students, let alone any child in general. Therefore, I have had to take action on your parents for their wrong doings. The middle and elementary schools have also been contacted to pull your siblings from class as well." My mind went numb. Everything the principal was saying went straight through me. None of it was being processed. "You will be unable to return home from this point forward. A case worker from child protective services is on their way to get into things more deeply with you. I am beyond sorry that this has happened to you Charlee."

My head dropped and my hands found their way into my hair that was barely even brushed from the day before. Every emotion was flooding through me. So much so that I couldn't process anything. I couldn't speak or feel any emotion. My body was in shock and I had no one to help me through any of it.