quaint [h.s.]

thirteen

The very next day I stood in the hallway on the second floor of the orphanage. I haven't slept last night; I forced myself not to. Joan talks on the telephone, Nancy is with the smaller girls, and I'm just standing there knowing that I'll have to go upstairs in room two.

I walk up the stairs slowly and glance at my feet. I twist the door knob and walk into the room where the girls chat. The youngest girls in here are twelve but they act and look so much older. They just got through putting away their laundry.

I don't even need to watch over them, they could practically live on their own. I sit in a chair and sigh, putting my face in my hands wearily. All that replays through my mind is last night.

The way Casey announced and made clear that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Does that mean that they had quit? What will happen to me? I remember the way I almost instantly passed out. How I cried so hard during the entire night and how Harry constantly tried to help even through he knew that he couldn't even in the slightest.

I'm positive that I look like a wreck. How did I ever deserve something like this? That made me question my entire life. I can't be Harry's fiancé forever and we can't pretend to be married. His life can't plummet because of me.

He'll need to find himself a girl and I need to leave. I said this before but when I had said it I had no idea that I would be trapped.

Joan suddenly came through the door, "Caroline is on her way, girls tidy up now!"

They scurried off of their beds and cleaned anything that was the least bit dirty.

Joan turned to me, "I need a word with you, Baker."

I cleared my throat and nodded. I straitened out my skirt and left the room and stepped into the hall with Joan and Nancy.

"So Caroline is coming. She's the owner. She visits every two weeks. And you've heard of her Baker so you know what to do," Joan says.

"Oh, and smile. You're acting as if you've had the worst day," Joan says before heading downstairs.

I go back into the room and Helen looked excited, "Did you hear that Miss Doris? Caroline is on her way!"

I force a smile as she grinned, "I get to call Father! I miss him so much!"

"Your father?" I asked.

"Yes. Mother died of some virus and Father is in prison for something he did not do," Helen said.

"Mind if I ask?" I look up at her.

"They charged him with attempted murder. So he got eighteen years. I was only a year old when that occurred so Father gets out next year!" Helen beamed.

"That's so great. I'm glad you get to talk to your father," I choked out, kind of envying that her father is even alive and cares for her.

"I'm here girls!" Yells a feminine voice from downstairs.

"Caroline!" The girls chorus and run down the stairs. I walked slowly after them. I need to put on a good act today for this Caroline person even though I feel like crying all day. However, crying will take me no where.

Once I get to the bottom of the staircase, Joan takes me by the arm, "Caroline, this is the new worker I was talking about-say hello Doris."

"Hello, my name is Doris Baker, I'm currently engaged and I'm eighteen years old," I stick a hand out.

Caroline has ash blonde colored hair and wears a floral dress. Her hair is neatly in a bun with a Chinese styled bang in the front.

"Engaged? Joan didn't tell me that?" Caroline shakes my hand.