Chapter 3

3.

I opened the closet and started packing.

I thought, after all I’d done, she might at least try to keep me.

Instead, she just let out a cold laugh.

“Go then, River! Where will you even go? No one in this world will ever love you but me. You’re useless and have a shit temper. You’re just a loser. No wonder your parents dumped you!”

“Mistake!”

“Street rat!”

“Trash!”

The memories I had locked away were ripped open by her words.

The trauma rushed back like a tidal wave, suffocating me.

I forced a bitter smile, fighting back the tears.

“So, Valerie. You finally said it. To you, I was just a stray dog, wasn’t I? Don’t worry. Even a dog knows when it’s not wanted. I’m never coming back.”

“I hope you and Pierce have a long, happy life. I hope you get everything you ever wanted.”

I zipped my suitcase and walked out without looking back.

She screamed behind me, “Get out! Don’t you dare ever come back!”

I walked the streets aimlessly, pulling my suitcase.

It was blocks later that I realized I was still wearing slippers.

Memories of being nine years old flooded back.

My parents told me they were going to get me ice cream.

Then, they left me at a deserted carnival and never returned.

The neighbors were right.

Once they had my younger brother, they didn’t need me anymore.

I became an orphan.

I slept under bridges, fighting homeless men for a spot.

Back then, being a pretty kid was a curse. I almost got molested more times than I can count.

I ate from dumpsters.

I picked mushrooms out of damp wood.

I didn’t shower for weeks, smelling of rot with dirt under my nails.

Local kids used me as a punching bag whenever they were bored.

They threw rocks, spat on me, and dropped food in the mud to watch me eat...

I fought back like a cornered wolf.

But that only brought more brutal beatings.

Until I was bleeding out in an alley and Valerie found me.

She and her mother became my family.

My phone buzzed, snapping me back to reality.

I answered it.

A middle-aged man’s voice, thick with tears, came through.

“Son! I finally found you!”