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She was glad she hadn’t involved KnightGuard Security. A part of her believed it was nothing—just coincidence. Another part of her wondered if something was going on. Was she imagining something that wasn’t there? Usually, she wasn’t a “cry wolf” kind of woman, but it was her responsibility to make sure the kids were safe.
Clapping her hands twice, Anne finally had the kids’ attention. “Okay, kiddos, today we’ll draw a picture of our family. I’ll pass out sheets of paper and crayons.”
The kids were eager to participate. Coloring was their next favorite activity after recess. Anne walked around the room, passing out crayons and paper and helping when necessary. Most of the kids drew a combination of a loving mom and dad or grandma with the family. She paused when she saw Silas’s work. He drew an angry woman with two girls who were hitting him. Anne’s heart ached. She knew Silas was unhappy, but this wasn’t unhappy. This was abuse, plain and simple.
“Silas.” Anne knelt beside him. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?” she whispered.
Tears welled up in his eyes, and he wiped a tear from his cheek, then shook his head. He wouldn’t look at her.
Darn. Anne collected the drawings. On the bulletin board, she pinned a few and put Silas’s drawing on her desk. She had to talk with social services. The abuse was uncalled for. Once the school day was over, she would call.
But then, where would Silas go? Uprooting kids from their houses and school wasn’t the answer. Kids needed to feel safe and have stability in their lives. But they also needed to trust the adults who were supposed to keep them safe. Who was in Silas’s corner, and who did he trust?
Anne didn’t know much about Silas’s background—just that his mother died a year ago. The father wasn’t in the picture, and there were no other relatives to take him in. What a shame. He was the sweetest little boy, and when he smiled, it was heartwarming. He was a child any parent would be proud of.
School would be out in an hour. As soon as she could, she’d get in her car and talk to social services and find out what was going on and how she could help.
* * *
Miss Cheryl usually drove them home when it was nasty outside. But the weather was no longer bad. It had rained and stopped, so Silas followed behind Miss Cheryl’s two girls.
At home, they ignored him. In the morning, they were too tired to annoy him. It was the walk home from school where they were mean—poking him if he didn’t keep up with them and making fun of the fact his clothes didn’t fit and calling him names.
Silas was unhappy and scared, but what could he do about it? He loved going to school and his teacher, Miss Anne. He worried where Miss Lily would put him if he got into trouble and Miss Cheryl didn’t want him. Silas thought that wouldn’t happen since the girls told him Miss Cheryl needed the money to buy them things. Money that she got from being a foster parent.
While his last foster home was awful, and this one wasn’t great, the next one could be even worse.
Silas wanted what the other kids had—a mommy and daddy or grandma who would love and take care of him. One who would never leave him—someone he trusted to keep him safe. It had been so long since he felt safe.
“Nah, nana, nana, nah.” The older girl was holding Teddy over her head and swinging him around. Silas tried to jump up and get him, but he was too short. His stomach lurched. If he threw up, the girls would never let it go. They’d have something else to tease him about.
How did she get Teddy?
Silas always put him in his backpack. The nifty one with the PAW Patrol on it that Miss Anne gave him when he started school. It was blue, and Ryder was in front of the pups. He’d never had such a neat backpack. Silas dreamed of being Ryder, the hero, going on adventures and saving people with his friends, the pups. He also dreamt that someone would save and love him, too.
“Hey, that’s mine,” he shouted.
“Not anymore, loser. We don’t want you, and even your mommy didn’t want you.” The younger girl grabbed Teddy from her sister, threw the bear in a puddle, and ran ahead.
Silas yelled and then broke into tears as he picked the sodden bear up from the puddle. He hugged Teddy tightly as water was squeezed from the bear’s body, soaking Silas’s pants.
“Ha ha.” The bigger girl pointed at his pants and laughed. “You peed in your pants.”
Silas’s face grew red with shame. He couldn’t take it anymore. Later this afternoon, or even tonight, he had to leave Miss Cheryl’s house. He didn’t know where he’d go, but anywhere had to be better than there.
When they finally arrived home, the girls went to their rooms but not before telling their mother that Silas peed his pants. His face got hot, and he wanted to hide. Miss Cheryl was watching TV. She watched it a lot. She tsked, shook her head and told him to change his pants and to play in his room until dinner.
Silas hated his room. He only had a couple of toys, and the room was boring.
He played with some blocks for a while and came to a decision. While it was still light out, he was leaving. It was too scary to leave at night. Silas packed his belongings, including Teddy, into his backpack. He didn’t have much, so everything fit. He had what he came with and the pants and shirts Miss Cheryl bought him, but that was all.
Silas’s heart pounded in his chest. Could he do it? Just leave? He had before, but then he’d been caught, and that was why he was here.
The TV was still on in the living room. Miss Cheryl was laughing at something. Silas quietly shut the bedroom door and then opened a window. Thankfully, the house was on one floor.
He pushed out the screen and looked down at the ground. It wasn’t far, but he’d still need something to stand on. He pulled a chair over, tossed his backpack to the ground, and climbed out the window. There was no way he could close it. He wasn’t tall enough. Silas landed in a mud puddle. Tears formed in his eyes when he realized his new backpack was ruined. There was no time to worry about that now.
He had to get away.
