Page 8 of Mistaken Magic

Butthat was allIgot.Thedoor closed beforeIcould ask anything else, leaving me standing there with a plate of cold leftovers from the "family" dinner.Iwanted to throw it against the wall, have a tantrum, and scream until someone came and told me what was going on.

Ididn't.Thesmell of it made my stomach growl, reminding meI'donly had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today.Iwas too hungry to waste this on making a point.Ialso had a feeling theSparkswouldn't give me a second plate.Instead,Isat down on my bed and ate, reading whileIshoveled the tepid food into my mouth.

WhenIwas done,Ipushed the stupid trinkets out of the way and set the plate on my bedside table.Iwanted to get out of here, but how?Therewere bars on the window, andIwas sure the door was locked.Whyelse would the man change the knob?Still, ifItold the caseworker about this, it should get me out of here, right?Whoknew, it might even get theSparksin enough trouble they wouldn't be allowed to keep any other kids.

SoIwent back to reading.Atsome point,Ifell asleep.Onceagain,Iwoke to the sound of the door opening.Likebefore,Ibarely parted my eyes, hoping the darkness would hide the factthatIwasn't sleeping.Thistime, it wasMrs.Sparkswho walked in.Thewoman stepped lightly, heading straight to my closet.There, she carefully checked that door, and finding nothing out of the ordinary, she turned to inspect me.

Iclosed my eyes again.Hersteps came closer.Icould hear the soft swish of her skirt, and then the fork clanked on the plate when she picked up my dirty dishes, but she didn't immediately leave.Instead, the woman let out a soft sigh.Fora little too long, she watched over me.Itwas almost long enough for me to drift back to sleep, but my anxiety prevented me from relaxing that much.

Eventually, she left again, taking my plate with her.Iheard one of the stairs creak when she made her way back down, yet there was one big problem.Ihad to pee now, and kinda badly.So, crawling out of bed,Imade my way to the door and looked for a hole to release the lock.Notfinding one,Idecided it was worth giving it a try, just out of sheer desperation.

Theknob turned and the latch released.Confused,Icarefully opened the door, listening for any hint that someone else was awake.Thehouse was completely dark, only the light from a streetlight out front making it possible to see at all.Steppingas lightly asIcould,Ihurried up the hall and into the bathroom.There,Ilocked the door behind me, butIdidn't bother turning on the light.

OnceIrelieved myself,Idid the whole thing in reverse.Mydoor wasn't locked, butIwas being kept prisoner?Whatthe actual fuck?Thisplace just kept getting weirder and weirder!Wouldit be worth it to make a break for it?IfItried, where the hell wouldIgo?

Butno,Ihad a meeting with my caseworker tomorrow.I'dat least give him a chance to do something about this.Then, if that didn't work,I'drisk whatever charm, curse, or insanity these people thought was keeping me in my room.Obedience?Ha!Idoubted that.No, there had to be some kind of trap somewhere, andIhad a feeling it would be safer to just deal with my caseworker.

Granted, it would mean another mark on my record, andIwas definitely going to the state home.Theproblem was that onceIwent in there, getting out would be next to impossible.I'dheard a million horror stories about those places - because there wasn't just one.Thingsranging from older boys molesting the younger girls to the bullying and criminal activity that ran rampant without enough parental oversight.

Iwanted to be a good kid.Ihad plans to get my act together, make something out of myself, and grow up to have a decent life.Iwasn't foolish enough to thinkI'dbe either rich or famous.Ijust wanted a job that paid more than minimum wage, so one dayIcould have a home of my own, and maybe stay in the same place long enough to think about a real boyfriend.

Iwanted friends.Iwanted consistency.Iwanted a little normalcy in my life, and yet hereIwas, shut in a room with a heavy metal doorknob and bars on the window, being treated likeIwas some servant for the lord and lady of the house!Ihadn't asked for any of this.I'dsimply been trying tohelp!

Thenagain, maybe that was my problem.MaybeIneeded to stop trying and accept that all of this shit sucked.I'dgive it one last chance, but if my caseworker couldn't do anything, thenIwas done.Iclearly couldn't get it right.Icouldn't figure out how to be the kid someone wanted to care about, so fuck it.I'dlearn how to be the best loner.I'dshow everyoneIwasn't the problem.Theywere.

Chapter Five

Iwoke up to someone knocking on my door the next morning.Crackingmy eyes open,Ihurried over to open it, findingStephanieon the other side.Sheheld out a plate of eggs and toast.Itwasn't anything spectacular, butIthanked her anyway.Shedidn't need to carry it up to me, but she still had.Then, after telling me she was still sorry, the oldest girl in the house hurried downstairs so she didn't miss the bus.

Iset the food on my bedside table, then went to use the bathroom, brush my teeth, and take a quick shower.WhenIgot back, the eggs were cold, butIno longer cared.Iwas done with caring.Ihated my entire life right now.Onthe upside,Ididn't need to spend the day cleaning.Instead,Iread.Itactually made the time fly.

Eventually,Iheard the other kids get home, but no one came to check on me.Ididn't really blame them.Guiltby association and all that.Acouple of hours later,Mr.Sparkscame back from work.Theman made a ruckus when he walked in, butIcouldn't make out his words.Idid hearMrs.Sparksmaking a fuss over him.

Theirvoices faded, but that didn't last long.Soonenough,Mr.Sparksshoved open my door and told meIhad five minutesto get ready to go.Clearly,Iwas expected to change and look presentable on his schedule, not mine.Iwas merely the prisoner, an inconvenience for him to dump on someone else now.

Itook the time to put on the same thingI'dworn that first day, and thenIpacked.IfIwas getting bounced again,Ididn't want to lose anything.Mybear and book went on top of my suitcase.Mynylon bag went beside it, andIwas gladIhadn't bothered to hang anything up yet.Iwas done with this joint - or at leastIhopedIwas.

Butsince he'd left my door open,Itook that to meanIshould come downstairs whenIwas ready.Mr.Sparkswas waiting there with his keys in his hand.Ibarely even got a grunt before he walked out the front door, clearly expecting me to follow.Together, we headed to his dilapidated luxury car knock-off, and he didn't even wait for me to buckle my seatbelt before he backed out of the drive without a word.

Tobe honest, the entire situation was a little terrifying.Hedidn't tell me where we were going.Hedidn't explain what was going on.Icould only guess because of the talk he'd had with me yesterday about my caseworker, butIdidn't know who or where we were meeting.Needlessto say,Iwas almost relieved whenMr.Sparkspulled the car into the massive parking lot of some church.

Seriously, this guy was flying a whole arsenal of red flags.Mrs.Sparkswas almost psychotically lost in some age gone by, but the mister?Hegave off this vibe like he had a cruel streak.Hewas the kind of person who, when the cops finally caught him, everyone would nod and say they'd always known he wasn't quite right.AndIwas now stuck with him, alone, in a darkening parking lot?Myheart was racing in the worst way.

Thebastard still didn't say a word, just got out and gestured for me to follow.Acrossthe asphalt, into the building, then weturned right, wandered up a white-on-white hall, and into a large room.Inhere, the carpet was dark blue, the walls had been painted in crude murals, and a lone man waited with a briefcase on the table before him.Mr.Sparksheaded right to this guy, who probably was in his mid-thirties.

"Liam, this is the kidItold you about,LorraineBrooks,"Mr.Sparkssaid, making some weak gesture in my general direction.

Theguy had a round face, the kind which seemed easy to talk to, and he turned it on me with a bright smile. "Lorraine?"

"That'sme."Ishrugged.

"Myname'sLiam, andIwanted to talk to you a bit, if that's ok?"Hewaited untilInodded, then turned back toMr.Sparks. "We'llbe done by 8:30, if you want to pick her up then."

"Thatworks.Justfigure out what to do with her."Mr.Sparksdidn't bother to smile before he stormed out of the room.

Liam, however, wasn't as rude.Witha kind look in his eye, he gestured for me to have a seat across from him.Asinking sensation of dread tightened my gut asIeased myself onto the chair, ready for just about anything.Thishad the feeling of "bad."Like, the seriously bad kind of crapI'dspent my life trying to avoid.

"So, are you likingPlainsboro?" he asked out of the blue.

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