Free Dear Tabitha by Trudy Stiles Page B

missed him so much. He snores softly and turns his head toward me. I lean forward and softly place my lips on his forehead, barely grazing his skin. I close my eyes and linger for a moment, wishing everything was how it used to be. I want so much to move my lips lower to devour his.
    I look at the picture that caught his eye before. I can’t allow him to see her again, so I quickly remove all of her pictures from the room. Hopefully, when he wakes up, he won’t have any recollection of seeing her face.
    I will tell him about Emily. I absolutely will. When I’m ready, and when I think he’s ready to hear about her. Tonight he showed me that he still cares about me. Oh God, that he may even still love me.
    I’m just not ready to tell him yet.
    Because I’m not ready for him to leave me again.

Past
    Age 17
     
    I STARE at myself in the mirror and see tired, worried eyes staring back at me. Dark circles sit on my pale skin. I’m tired. Tired of moving around. Tired of this place that I’m in now. I’m with another new family, the Lohmans. I’ve been living with them for six months. This should be my last foster home before I’m forced into a group home when I turn eighteen. I’m not sure which is worse, and I decide that it’s living here. I will hopefully be out of here soon. A group home has got to be better than this hellhole.
    “Tabitha, get out of the bathroom!” Lucy Lohman yells from the hallway.
    Ugh! I just got in here and she’s bugging me already. I pretend not to hear her and I turn the shower on and wait for the water to get hot.
    “Tabitha, you have five minutes, so hurry up.” She stomps away.
    What a fucking bitch. These people make my skin crawl. I’m one of four foster children living with them, in addition to their eighteen-year-old, pervert son, Richie. Not Richard or Rich. Richie. I cringe every single time Lucy says his name in her shrill voice.
    I strip off my black leggings and tank top, and pull the shower curtain back. Steam rises from the tub. Good, it’s hot enough. The time ticks away before Lucy comes back, but I just need to savor the peace and quiet. I need to feel the warm water on my face. I finish up as quickly as I can, and as I open the curtain to step out of the tub, the bathroom door slowly opens.
    “Lucy, I’ll be out in one minute!” I yell and reach for the towel hanging on the wall.
    The door opens fully and Richie stands there with his sweatpants down to his knees and a disgusting smirk on his face. I freeze where I am when I realize what he’s doing. He’s got his dick in his hand, stroking himself. Oh my fucking God!
    “What the – “ I just can’t get the words out. I quickly wrap the towel around my naked body and pull the curtain back in front of me. His eyes are barely open, but he still stares at me with that sickening grin on his face. “Get out!” I scream. “Get the fuck out of here, you sick fuck!”
    “Mom had to run out to the pharmacy. We’re all alone, and I thought you’d want to see what you do to me.”
    I’m terrified now. Richie is a huge guy, and he can seriously hurt me if he wanted. My chest tightens and my body tenses. I try to take a deep breath, but I can’t. I back into the corner of the tub, trying to get as far away from him as possible. My eyes scan the room for something I can use to defend myself. I see a razor sitting next to the bar of soap. I’m not sure how much damage it can do to him, but I reach out and grab it anyway.
    He moans and his hand jerks faster and faster over his erection. All of a sudden, he tenses up and groans. “Uhhh.” His body twitches, and then he reaches for the tissues on the vanity to clean himself off. I can’t believe what I just saw.
    He turns to leave the room and says over his shoulder, “Next time you’ll get to feel that inside of you.” Then he shuts the door.
    The room starts to spin around me and I think, “The fuck I will, you sick …”
    I gasp and grab onto the sides of