Shattered

Chapter 10

As he said that, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, but I ignored it, and nodded again.

He glanced at my hands then back to my eyes a few times before continuing.

"I would like to go over the rules with you now," He said, "No drinking and no drugs, don't do anything illegal; I would like you to wait until you are 15 or 16 to start dating, but if there is someone you like, we want to meet them first. Before you go somewhere, you need to tell someone where you're going, how long you will be gone, and who you are going with. We don't have a lot of rules, but I expect you to follow the ones that we do have and use common sense for the rest."

"I can tell you are a very smart and talented kid, and I have very high expectations for you," He said firmly, "Your grades are very impressive, and I want you to keep that up. If you are struggling with a subject, we can find a tutor who will be able to help you, but I believe you will be just fine on your own."

"Now I would like to ask you some questions." He said, making me want to melt into a puddle.

Dude, what's with all the questions?

I nodded a little, shifting nervously.

"Do you have anxiety?"

That was the first thing he asked.

I nodded lightly, hoping he would accept it and not do the whole 'verbal answers only' thing that Scott would demand.

Thankfully, he accepted the nod, and wrote something on a piece of paper.

"I have heard parts of what happened to you in the past," He said, "Why did you run away?"

I tensed even more, feeling tears in my eyes just at the thought of what happened to Jack.

I quickly blinked the tears away, hoping he didn't see.

"They told me to leave," I said, referring to Scott and Martha, "They said if I ever told anyone, they would kill me, so we-"

I froze, realizing what I just said.

If I ever told anyone, they would kill me.

Now, basically everyone in the state knew.

I was dead, without a doubt.

"Adeline," Mr. Thompson said, pulling me out of my thoughts, "You can continue."

"Yeah," I whispered to myself, "I'm sorry, what was I saying?"

"Why you ran away." He said slowly, a hint of concern in his eyes.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," I said, trying to remember what I was going to say, "Um, so I left."

"And you had someone with you?" He questioned.

"Yeah, one of my friends from school." I tried to dismiss the topic, but he continued to ask about it.

"Why did they leave their home?"

"His parents weren't nice either." I said, keeping my eyes on the desk.

"Where is he now?"

"He doesn't live with them anymore." I said quietly, not wanting to talk about this anymore.

"But do you know where he is?" Mr. Thompson pushed, almost making tears come into my eyes again.

I nodded lightly, not trusting my voice.

"Where is he?" He asked.

And that's what almost made a tear fall.

I stayed quiet for a minute, staring at the wooden desk, trying not to let any tears fall.

"Adeline-" "He's dead." I mumbled, finally looking up at him.

There was a slight hint of sympathy in his eyes, but he kept a straight face.

He nodded, writing something else on the paper before looking at me.

"I'm sorry for your loss," He said, glancing to the clock on the wall behind me, "It's getting late, and I'm sure you are tired. Have a good night."

"Thank you, si- father...?" I said, hesitating at the end.

I swear I saw the smallest smile form on his lips.

"Thank you for letting me live here and everything. I appreciate it very much." I said, standing up from the chair.

"You don't need to thank me." He said.

I nodded lightly heading for the door before I remembered something.

"Um, quick question," I said, getting his attention again, "Do you know what happened to the other kids in the orphanage?"

"They were all sent to very nice homes across the country." He informed me.

"Ok, thank you; have a good night." I said, leaving quickly.