Free Amelia's story by D. G Torrens

tightly and told him to keep out of her way as much as po ssible, and do whatever she asked of him. I promised Jake that on my return we would go to the old ruin again for the whole day.

I told my mother how much I missed being at home and how much I missed her too, which was a lie. I just wanted to be close to Jake so I could take care of him. On my return to Breeton House , I was determined more than ever to have my c ase reviewed in regards to going home. I needed t o be there for my siblings; they needed me more than ever now. I went to see the head of the house, Gary . He was more than happy to give me some private time to hear me out. I asked him when I could go home , as my mother wanted me back. “S he’s changed, she’s happier now,” I told him. Gary advised me that sending me home was something they were considering and they would come back to me once they have spoken to my Social Worker.

Gary also advised me that the p olice and my Social Worker wanted to talk to me about my accident, that this was normal practice for their records. I was interrogated by the staff and p olice a s to whom had done this to me. I just said I had fallen down the stairs , as the thought of more problems at my door frightened me after Glenda’s attack. The police had to be called in , as any injury to a child had to be reported and investigated. On my return to Breeton House, the staff made a point of telling me how worried Glenda was about me and that she had been asking after me almost by t he hour. O f course I knew why, and a short while later when I was alone in my room Glenda came in to see me . She asked if I had told anyone. I said no, and she said she was really sorry and had never meant to hurt me like that ; she just lost control. She begged me never to tell , and I promised to abide by her wish as long as she left us all alone going forward. W e had had enough of her.

Glenda changed after that , and the bullying stopped , she knew full well she would have been removed from Breeton House if I had told the Social Worker and the Police what had really happened. S he could not do enough for me and she actually became quite pleasa nt to be around. A ll the other kids were a lot happier too , so it seemed my beating was not in v a in!

I spent twelve months in Breeton House, during which time I was attending a local all girl's school called Mount Pleasant School for Girls. I was the only girl from Breeton House attending this school. This was a great school , and I was doing well, above what was considered average for my age in English and Math . The teachers went on to say I could excel in these ar eas and do well in future exams. However, regular visits to Breeton House from my mother had started to disrupt my behavio u r again . She would arrive stinking of alcohol, swearing , and screaming at me in front of everyone. This was just too much for me to bear and was not helping my case for going home at all.

I felt as if she was doing it on purpose so I would not be allowed home. It was always like this when I was doing well at something too. It was like she could not bear for me to be doing well at anything. She was the only person on this planet capable of stealing my confidence wit h a few lashings of her tongue. H er life’s mission seemed to be directed at making mine as miserable as possible. Why couldn’t she just be proud of me , put her ar ms around me, and say I love you? W hy did everything have to be about her? It was so little to ask and so easy to give.

The decision was made to reduce her weekly visits to twice monthly and this suited me fine. I missed my siblings so much it hurt beyond belief, and I still needed to get home no matter how much I did not want to live with her. All I wanted was for her to love me and be proud of m e. I t was very little to ask , I thought. I started truanting from school shortly after , and my sub jects were noticeably suffering. I could not be ar to be t he only child