The New Life; Chapter Three

The Sun was beginning to set.

Natalie had finally left after completely breaking down on Veronica's front steps, which she didn't handle to well.

But after thirty minutes of her sobbing, Veronica took the kid's inside, claiming she'd 'Give us a moment.'

This was when Natalie pulled me into a tight hug; her body still shaking from the uncontrollable tears as she looked me dead into the eye's.

"Promise me Aileen." She whispered, clutching my shoulder's tight.

"Promise what?" Was all I could muster.

The women practically just had a breakdown and suddenly want's me to make a promise?

"Promise me you'll try to be liked by this family. You won't act up. Promise me this." Her eye's were bloodshot and puffy.

Social Service Worker's were not supposed to care this much.

But, how could I tell her I didn't make promises without the Voices consent? I couldn't. I'd just sound crazy.

I did the only thing logical and forced a smile. "I-I promise."

Her expression softened as the waterwork's began to flow again.

Natalie held me once more, then slipped into her car and drove off.

I waited until it had disappeared from sight before I twisted the knob and stepped into my new residence.

I don't know what I was expecting.

Toy's littered on the floor? Crayon smeared on the walls, maybe?

The Orphanage's and Foster homes, I had lived in before, were always scratched up or had colors splashed onto the walls, somehow. Veronica's home looked like it had been picked clean by a group of neat freak's.

It was different, yet inviting.

Veronica appeared a second later, smiling like always. Pearson held her left hand, clutching a toy train in his own.

She pulled the small child into her arm's as if he was nothing but air. "Aileen, dinner's ready if your hungry?"

"Oh. No thank you. I ate on the way here. I'm just really tired"

Half of what I said was true, the six hour trip had tired me out quickly.

I wasn't hungry. How could I eat at a time like this? The Voices were not talking to me.

What if they never came back?

Panic swelled in my chest and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed.

"Where do I sleep?"

Veronica smiled, rubbing her thumb against Pearson's cheek. "It's the last door on the right, upstairs."

I thanked her, stepping up the wooden stairs that creaked beneath my feet.

The room was plain and pretty wide. The walls were painted a light blue color, indicating that this had probably been Pearson's nursery at one time or another. A medium sized bed was made with pure white sheet's, a simple lavender comforter and a bland pillow. Other than that, there was only a dresser and a Mirror.

It wasn't perfect, but it was peaceful.

Instinctively, I flipped the switch and crawled under the blankets.

Snuggling into the warmth, I drifted off quickly.

......

"Mommy! Can Aileen and I go down to the lake?" Lucas, my bubbly half-brother, bounced around.

Angela, my seventh foster care mother, flickered her eye's between the two of us.

Angela hated me.

I knew it, she knew it.

In four more week's I would be transferred to a new home. Or that's what was scheduled.

"No, Lucas. You don't know how to swim yet and I'm not feeling good enough to watch you two, today." She sighed, watching the downcast look on her son's face.

Lucas whined, "But mommy..!"

"No, honey. You two go play outside or something. No lake today." She murmured.

The women glared at me, before disappearing into the house.

"That women is a menace." Chester rasped, disapprovingly.

"Yeah.." I breathed out.

Lucas glanced my way. "Wanna play in the sandbox? Surely mommy won't care!"

"Yes..." Bennie hissed.

"Yeah." I repeated.

His smile grew wide as he sprinted to the backdoor. Before I was even to it, he was outside.

Lucas was sitting, knee deep in the sand, trying to build a castle.

Inside my head, Chasity laughed. "Aileen, honey." She sang out.

I plopped a small leaf on top of my castle. "Yeah?"

"Angela isn't smart enough to see how badly her son wants to go swimming. We'll make sure you both are okay. Just tell Lucas that his mother said you two can go swimming. Okay?"

"Okay!" I yipped. "Lucas! Your mommy said we can go to the lake, by ourselves!"

His green eye's brightened. "Really?!"

"Yeah! Come on!" I exclaimed, shooting to the woods.

If you took the right path, you could walk down to the lake from Angela's backyard in minutes.

I could hear Lucas's little footstep's pounding after me, as we weaved between tree's and bushes.

Before long, the two of us stood at a wooden dock, settled on the dark blue waters.

It swayed lightly.

Lucas was standing on the railing, peering at some fish below. You could only see them if they swam up to the surface.

I let my fingertip's trace over the words "Sixteen Feet" on the wood. That was how deep the water was.

"How old are you going to be this year?" Lucas called over to me.

I sighed. "Ten, Lucas. I've told you that a hundred times! I'm turning Ten on October eleventh."

"Oh yeah!" He announced, stretching his arm to reach the water. "I'm turning six in a few months! April seventh!"

I smiled at that, but sat on one of the benches.

Lucas was really enjoying himself, trying to touch the short waves, through the peaks in the boards.

I wasn't having that much fun.

"Want to have fun, Aileen? Like Lucas is?" Ollie cooed

I only nodded. Of course I did.

"But, there's a problem."

"What problem?" I asked, aloud.

"The little boy. Lucas. He's being a troublesome child. He's not obeying us... Do you remember what happens to those who don't obey us?" I flinched at the thought of Kelsey.

"Yes.." I mumbled.

"Good. But we still have a problem.. Lucas is to young to punish himself. You must do it, Aileen."

I froze. "Me?"

"Yes, Aileen. You. Push him into the water. Or disobey us yourself." Jasper's voice rasped.

My eye's watched the backside of the younger boy. Could I really do this?

Yes, I told myself. It's the right thing to do.

I stood, slowly walking behind Lucas.

"One." I held my hands out in front of me.

"Two." I took a deep breath.

"Three. I'm sorry Lucas.." My hands twisted into the back of his shirt.

Lucas let out a straddled gasp, quickly trying to fumbled out of my grasp, when I shoved him over the rail.

"Ailie!" He screamed.

The water splashed under him.

I listened to the water lapping, as he struggled.

I sank to my knee's.

"Good girl, Aileen. You've done well..."

I could hear Angela screaming, as she was probably rushing through the forest like we had.

She busted out of the clearing.

Her eye's rested on me, before she jumped into the water, screaming for Lucas.

Minutes ticked away, when she finally surfaced with the boy in her arms.

His eye's were closed, his mouth ajar. That fluffy black hair was now matted over his forehead.

"Oh, Lucas. My baby!" She sobbed, pulling him to shore. "Wake up. Oh my God, please!" She screamed. Her hands began to push on his chest.

After a while of this procedure, she stopped and just cried.

Her red eye's locked on me and narrowed. "You did this! I'm going to f*****g kill you!"

"Aileen, honey. I want you to get up and run. Get back to the house and lock yourself in the room. Understand?" Mercy advised.

I didn't get to respond, as I felt my leg's weakly stand.

Angela lunged at me.

It was to late, though.

I was already running for my life.

.....

I woke up to a sharp pain slice through my head.

The sun bleeding through the window's didn't help much.

"Good morning, Aileen. Did you miss us?" The voices asked

Author's Note

Ignore Grammar Problems!