Chapter 1
Chapter One
“I’m sorry I failed to place you with someone better.”
Those words still haunt me the day everything changed.
I was sitting in history class, fighting to keep my eyes open while Mrs. Ashton droned on about the Revolutionary War. My head rested against my hand as the projector flickered across the whiteboard. A soft knock and the classroom door opened.
All eye went straight on him.
Mr. Jackson, the principal, stepped inside with an expression that instantly made my stomach twist. Mrs. Ashton walked over to meet him, their voices dropping into hushed whispers.
I quickly turned back toward the screen, pretending I’d been paying attention the entire time.
Then Mrs. Ashton looked at me.
“Hope,” she said gently, “grab your things and go with Mr. Jackson.”
Every pair of eyes in the room landed on me.
Heat rushed to my face.
Great.
I shoved my notebook into my backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and practically sprinted out of the classroom before anyone could ask questions.
The hallway was blissfully quiet.
No staring.
No whispers.
Just the echo of our footsteps as Mr. Jackson led me downstairs, around a corner, and into one of the conference rooms.
The moment I walked through the door, my heart stopped.
Mrs. Bennet.
The social worker.
I knew exactly who she was.
I just didn’t know why she was here.
Then she say it. “I’m sorry I failed to place you with someone better.”
No. Please, no.
I already knew what was about to happen.
Someone had reported us.
They were taking me.
Moving me into another house with strangers.
But why?
We were doing fine.
I got myself to school every morning.
I made sure Iris and Cale were dressed, fed, and on time for school too.
Sure, our clothes had seen better days, but they were clean.
Our trailer wasn’t much, but it was ours.
We never went to bed hungry.
How did they find out?
How did they know our guardian had disappeared weeks ago?
Mrs. Bennet folded her hands on the table.
“Hope,” she began softly, “I’ve found you a foster home. You’ll leave directly from school. A car is waiting outside to take you home so you can pack your belongings.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
Then the words finally registered.
“What about my siblings?”
She hesitated.
“They’ve already been placed together in another home.”
My chair scraped loudly across the floor as I stood.
“No.”
The word came out sharper than I intended.
“I’m not going anywhere without them.”
“I know this is difficult—”
“No!” I yelled. “They’re kids! I’m all they have!”
“They’ll be together,” she assured me. “The family taking you only has room for one child, but you’ll be able to visit them every weekend.”
Every weekend?
That wasn’t enough.
What if they thought I’d abandoned them too?
Just like she had.
For one reckless moment, I considered grabbing Iris and Cale and running.
We could disappear.
Sleep in abandoned buildings.
Keep moving.
Anything was better than losing them.
But another thought crushed that fantasy. They deserved beds. Warm meals. A chance to be children. Not fugitives because of me. I swallowed hard.
“I need to see them before we leave.”
Mrs. Bennet nodded.
“They deserve to know I’m not abandoning them.”
“Of course.”
The drive back to the trailer park felt longer than it ever had before.
Every mile made my chest tighter.
What was I supposed to say?
How do you tell two little kids that everything they’ve ever known is ending?
As soon as we pulled into the gravel lot, I spotted them waiting outside.
Iris stood clutching her favorite stuffed rabbit.
Her dark curls were still tied into the high ponytail I’d done that morning, complete with the pink bow she’d insisted matched her strawberry-print dress.
Beside her stood Cale, his curly brown hair sticking up in every direction. He wore an oversized white T-shirt and faded jeans with holes in both knees.
The second I stepped out of the car, I noticed their eyes.
Red.
Swollen.
They’d already been crying.
My heart shattered.
They knew.
Before I could take another step, they were running.
“H!”
They slammed into me so hard I nearly lost my balance.
I wrapped my arms around both of them as tightly as I could.
If I held them long enough...
Maybe nobody could take them away.
Eventually, I forced myself to let go. I knelt so I was eye level with them.
“Listen to me,” I whispered.
I pointed toward the adults standing nearby.
“These people are here to help us.”
Neither of them spoke.
“We’re going to live in different places for a little while.” I could barely force the words out.
“But it won’t be forever.”
Their faces fell.
“They’re taking you somewhere safe,” I continued. “I need you to be polite, use your manners, and listen to your new family. Just like I taught you.”
Cale shook his head so hard his curls bounced.
“What about you, H?” he cried. “Why can’t you come with us? I want you.”
Iris nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“I want you too.”
That almost broke me.
Almost.
I smiled anyway.
The kind of smile older sisters learn to fake.
“I know.”
I brushed tears from Iris’s cheeks.
“But I’m going somewhere too and we will still see each other.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
“You promise we can still so you?”
I held out my pinky.
“I pinky promise.”
Their tiny fingers wrapped around mine.
“I will find my way back to you.”
Even if it takes years.
Even if it kills me.
“I love you both more than anything.”
“We need to get moving,” one of the men beside Mrs. Bennet interrupted.
I shot him a glare sharp enough to cut glass. To my annoyance, he smiled.
Creep.
Mrs. Bennet quietly explained they were only there in case I tried to run.
So they’d thought of that too.
Of course they had.
Inside the trailer, I grabbed three black garbage bags from beneath the kitchen sink.
One for me.
One for Iris.
One for Cale.
It didn’t take long to pack.
A few outfits.
Some worn-out shoes.
Iris’s stuffed rabbit.
Cale’s toy cars.
Everything we owned fit into three trash bags.
That somehow hurt more than anything else.
When we stepped back outside, reality hit all over again.
I hugged the twins one last time before helping them into the backseat of a car that wasn’t mine.
“Stick together,” I whispered as I buckled them in.
“Listen to your new family, be good.”
“And don’t ever forget...”
My voice cracked.
“I love you... so much.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
The door closed with a soft click. I stood there in the middle of the dusty trailer park, watching until it disappeared around the corner.
For the first time in my life...
I was completely alone.
