Leanne sprang up from her seat and ran to the bottom of the stairs. She saw Sarah making her way down quickly with her giant bag on her shoulders. She was about half way at the bottom when Leanne stopped her physically.
"Where do you think you are going?" Leanne asked. Sarah tried to walk around her but the older woman stepped in the way again. She had to look up because she was two steps below Sarah. "Nuh, uh. Turn around, we are going to have that talk now"
"Move, I have to go" Sarah said while drumming her fingers on her thigh. "Take care of Sunny for me"
"No, you will go nowhere" Leanne repeated, "we are going to have a decent conversation, as adults and we are going to come to an understanding. Turn around"
Sarah sighed and looked at the ceiling in despair. This was too overwhelming for her. Her eyes caught sight of Sunny by the railing. She was watching the scene overhead, looking concern. She knew what was going through Sarah's mind and was not surprised of her wanting to leave.
With a another sigh, Sarah turned around and made her way back to her room with Leanne on her heels. They past Sunny on the way there but didn't stop to chat. Sarah dropped her bag on the floor and turned around with her arms crossed. Leanne stepped in after her and close the door behind.
"I am sorry about the way I behaved, but we are going to have to come to terms on a certain things" Leanne said. Sarah started pacing the room. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking and her eyes kept looking at the closed door. Her paranoia was acting up again and her mind began to overthink about what was going to happen next.
"Sarah, I need you to take a deep breath" Leanne started slowly, only now noticing Sarah's behavior. "You are not in trouble, you were only trying to help"
Sarah laugh "I'm not in trouble? Really? Trust me you don't want me here."
"I am sorry I yelled at you. I was not thinking clearly" Leanne stepped forward but Sarah took a step back. "You have the right to make mistakes, Sarah. Everyone makes them."
"Well not me. Not without consequence" Sarah argued angrily. She was on edge now.
"It will be okay, please take deep breath"
"No!" Sarah shouted "No. Just get on with the punishment or let me go."
"I don't want to punish you Sarah and I do not want you to leave" Leanne tried, getting nervous. This was getting out of hand.
"You don't want my kind here"
"What kind is that?"
"A murderer" Sarah yelled and Leanne froze in shock. "I killed someone. There, happy now? Let me go"
Leanne took a deep breath and pinched the brink of her nose. "Whatever happened in your past, I can help you if you just let me -"
"What do you want from me?" Sarah yelled as she cut her off. "And don't say to help me. Everyone wants something"
"I just want you to talk to me."
"Liar!"
Sarah's pacing was getting quicker and her entire body started shaking . She was no longer in her right mind. Memories kept flowing in her head like tsunami waves. She was getting a migraine and kept flinching from the intensity of the images going through her mind. It seem as if she forgot where she was.
Leanne noticed that she was alone in a room with an unstable girl and that she was not calming down. The door was behind her but a soon as she looked at it Sarah pounced. The young teenager grabbed Leanne's collar with both hands and slammed Leanne's back on the only exit route of the room. Her head was so close that Leanne could feel her hot breath on her cheek and Sarah placed a leg between hers.
"Is it sex you want?" Sarah whispered "Is your husband not satisfying enough?"
Leanne was panicking right now. She could see that Sarah's eyes were unfocused and sweat bedded her forehead and neck. Tears were now pouring down Sarah's eyes and her lips were quivering.
"Sarah calm down please" Leanne stuttered. Sarah's hands were getting tighter by the second "I mean you no harm"
A hard knock on the door made Sarah flinch. Her hand loosed enough for Leanne to be able to breathe a little.
"What's going on?" Dean screamed from the other side of the door. They had all heard the commotion and a cry from Sunny, who understood what was happening, had Dean worried.
"What's it going to be lady?" Sarah whispered dangerously. She chuckled darkly to an unspoken joke. "You want him to watch?"
Leanne, who was now frightened managed to free her hand with struggle and slapped Sarah's cheek as hard as she could. Shock ran through the teenager's face but it was enough time for Leanne to push Sarah away from her and move away from the door which was slammed opened by Dean. He took a look at the situation and dragged Leanne behind him but never took his eyes from Sarah who hadn't moved from her spot.
"It's fine Dean. I'm fine" Leanne told him as she took a shaky breath. She placed her hand on his arm. "Please give us a minute"
Dean looked at her as if she was crazy but she pleaded again and he walked out defeated leaving both ladies alone again although this time, the door stayed opened.
Leanne had a hand to her mouth as to hold a cry. She had no idea how to assist this situation. She looked at the poor girl with pity and as soon as she stepped forward again, Sarah flinched. The younger girl wrapped her arms around herself and sped to the bed. She kneeled until her belly was almost touching the ground and rolled underneath.
Leanne sighed and sat down beside the bed so she cloud look underneath and watch Sarah's back. She watched as Sarah was lying down in a fatal position.
"Tell me about it" Leanne asked quietly, hoping she would be able to help her. Sarah was quiet for a couple of minutes before finally having the courage to speak.
"It was two- three years ago" Sarah started. "Sunny and I were placed in this home where a man and his son lived. They were drug addicts but the system didn't seemed to care. They literally just dropped us there and left until they could find another place for us. He was the only guy that agreed to take both of us in but demanded more income which was accepted. One day I got into a fight with his son because he tried to hit on me and broke his arm. They put the blame on me and shipped me to Juvie for two months but I got an extra month for misbehaving. By the time I came back, Sunny was afraid of her own shadow. She was bruised all over, her face was swollen to the point where she couldn't see through an eye. He never hit us before I left because he was afraid of me and he didn't like that. I had hurt his pride"
2 and half years ago
Sarah closed the car door seconds before the cop car left in a hurry. Sarah's social worker was working on another case and wasn't able to come with her but she was glad; he was good for nothing. When she entered the house, it was unusually silent. Gordon, the owner of the house didn't look as if he was home so Sarah looked around to see any changes. His son, Frank, was dosing in the bathroom while taking a bath. Sarah rolled her eyes and continued her search for her sister.
"Sunny?" Sarah said aloud but received no answer. She arrived to her so called room only to see it locked with a metal padlock. Fear struck her and Sarah immediately took her multi-tool out of her pocket. Within seconds the lock was opened and Sarah gently opened the door, afraid of what she might find. She found Sunny in a corner of the room with her head between her knees and her arms wrapped over her head. She was rocking back and forth and refused to answer Sarah' calling.
When Sarah touched her shoulder the little ten years old flinched and looked up. Sarah gasped as she saw the extent of her injuries. Half of Sunny's face was purple and her left eye was completely shut. Her bottom lip was swollen and her wrist looked broken. She looked as if she had lost ten pounds and she was already scrawny. Sarah was afraid of what was under her shirt but refrained from looking.
Anger bubbled through her body as Sarah lifted Sunny to her feet. She looked right in the young Asian's eyes.
"Did they touch you?" Sarah asked. Sunny knew what she meant and shook her head. She was too scared to talk.
Sarah nodded her head and started gathering her and her sister's things from the room. She told Sunny to help her pack as they were leaving the house and go somewhere else, anywhere. As the Japanese girl continued to pack, Sarah went to Gordon's room where the man kept his money and raided everything that looked expensive. She found his stash of cocaine along with a roll of money to which she put them all in her pockets. From the hallway, she heard a door slam open and Sunny let out a painful cry.
Dropping everything, Sarah ran outside the room to see the man himself holding Sunny's arm in a death grip. He was yelling something at her and hadn't seen the older girl yet. Before he could do anything, Sarah ran and tackled him to the ground. Sarah's mind went blurry from then on as she was blinded by anger.
She kept throwing punch after punch at Gordon until he managed to get her off him. Sarah tried to get up from the ground but the man kicked her in the ribs. Sarah lost her breath as pain soared through body but she had learned a long time ago how to push the pain down. The second time Gordon's foot came in contact, Sarah caught it and threw it upward. It wasn't hard enough to drop him but only to keep him off balanced until she could get up. Sarah had been training physically and was learning how to box when she could, so she was not totally weak, but Gordon was a big man. He was stronger , bigger and thicker than her.
Sarah kept punching him as fast and hard as she could but Gordon managed to protect himself. He grabbed her arm and threw her to the opposite wall. He tried to punch her but she ducked at the last second and got out of his way.
Their fight ended up in the kitchen. Both were bloody and tired but hate drove them both against each other. Gordon had the upper hand and Sarah was throwing anything she could get her hands on at him. Gordon grabbed her with one hand and punched square in the face. Even though Sarah was dizzy, she grabbed a pan and thrust it upward. The pot slammed in his head which gave her enough energy to remove his hand from her throat but Gordon recovered quickly and grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter. He lashed at at Sarah but she was quicker and desperate to get out of the way.
Gordon was not giving up and managed to use his height to hit her on her upper arm as she limped around the small kitchen table. The young teenager hissed and lost the little distance she had of him. He managed to grab her arm with his free hand brought the sharp edged knife down and connected it with Sarah's right shoulder.
Sarah screamed in pain as the knife cut through almost an inch of her flesh. Her screams continue to pierce through the house as Gordon dragged the knife towards him until the object was free to use again. Gordon used this time to throw Sarah on the table where he held the knife at her throat but he couldn't do anything because Sunny came from behind him with a large pot and slammed it behind his head. Gordon fell on Sarah until she pushed him to the ground. The knife had flown to the other side of the table. Sarah jumped on the older man's stomach as he tried to get up again and punched him until he was unable to move. Sarah picked his head and bashed it on the ground over and over again until blood covered the floor.
When Gordon stopped moving, Sarah dropped his head and fell beside him. She started to cry at the sight of the body. Sunny stayed on the other side of the kitchen, shaking like a leaf, her eyes trailed on the old man.
Sarah found her breath again and managed to get up but soon emptied her stomach on the floor by Gordon's feet. Her body hurt everywhere but her shoulder was on fire. Blood was pouring out of both knife wounds wounds but there was nothing she could do about it now. They had to get as far away from the house as they possibly could.
Sarah gently grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her back to their room. They continued packing without a word. Sarah managed to bandage her shoulder at best she could but it was not enough; she needed stitches. Both girls put their coats on and Sarah stole leather gloves from Gordon to hide her bloody hands.
-
"I'm sorry" Leanne whispered. There was nothing else she could say but sympathize. Sarah didn't relpy.
"Rob got me out of the charges. Said it was self defense and because I was fifteen at the time, hey didn't charge me for anything"
"Fifteen? Dear God" Leanne repeated shocked. "What happened to the young boy, his son? Did he try to hurt you too?"
-
As both girls made their way to the front door, they passed the partly opened bathroom door. Sarah could see Frank in the bathtub, high as a kite and unaware of anything that just happened. Sunny grabbed her sister's hand with white knuckles.
"Sunny wait for me by the door" Sarah said as she looked at Frank. Sunny reluctantly did as she was told and walked away.
Sarah stepped in the bathroom until she hovered over the mid-twenty dirt-bag lying in water. He looked at her with glazed eyes but didn't say anything. It was as if he knew exactly what she was about to do. With a blank mind, Sarah grabbed his head with her good arm and pushed it underwater with strength. Nothing happened at first but soon the man's body started to struggle. Frank trashed around in the tub, throwing water everywhere but Sarah's grip was too strong. She grabbed his shoulders with both of her hands and kept him underwater until the body became stiff and still. Sarah was panting hard at that point and let go. The body floated up and Frank's dead eyes were staring at the ceiling.
Sarah whipped the sweat off her forehead and turned to walk out but froze on her feet. Sunny was standing by the bathroom door, having witnessed everything. Both girls were speechless, not really understanding what had happened yet. Sarah was sure that Sunny would be afraid of her now and hate her but the young Japanese girl raised her hand and offered it to Sarah who took it gently. Sunny dragged her foster sister outside the house. She led the way down the road to a city bus that went towards Rob's office. People looked at both of them weirdly but they didn't care. They were safe for now and they were finally together after three months of being separated.
This was the day that Sarah swore never to let Sunny out of her sight again. She swore that no matter what the circumstances were, they would always stick together and that she would ensure Sunny's future. Sunny was going make it through life, no matter the cost.
-
"We left before he woke up" Sarah lied. "They said he drowned himself in his bathtub because he was high"
"You didn't know he was in the bathroom when you left?" Leanne asked skeptical.
"No. No I didn't"
There was a knock on the door and Leanne looked up to see Sunny standing by the door. She looked distraught and kept her eyes on the ground.
"Come in Sunny" Leanne invited her with a smile. "We were done"
"Do we have to leave" Sunny asked in a dreaded whisper.
"I really wish you wouldn't" Leanne said. Sunny looked up with a mixture of confusion and happiness. "The both of you can stay as long as you want. Sarah is not in trouble, she understood her error and it won't happen again. That is all that matters"
Sunny gave Leanne a melting smile as gratitude. Without another word she made her way to the bed and rolled under. Sarah turned around and both started to talk in Japanese, completely forgetting that Leanne was there.
"Do you want a pillow" asked surprising both girls.
"Yes please" Sunny giggled. Leanne picked two pillows and a duvet from the bed and handed them underneath before making her way to the door. By their request, she kept the light opened and made her way to her husband. They would have to be careful about how to approach Sarah next time she blows up. It had frightened Leanne to no end but she couldn't but feel pity that horrible things had to happen to a child to make her that way. Things were looking up, and all of them really hoped that it would work out in the end.