“It's okay, love. Nothing is gonna change unless you want it to.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. Mark…” She looks me in the eye. “I promise.”
“Okay.”
My shoulders ease slightly.
“You're welcome here as long as you like. You have my word on that.”
She gives my arm a gentle squeeze.
“What I was gonna say is... Amanda has contacts with people who can help sort a new birth certificate for you. And your own bank account.”
“For real?”
“It’ll open up so many doors, love. You could get a driver's license or do a TAFE course in the city. If you want to, that is. Earn some proper cash one day, create a wonderful life for yourself. Maybe even choose a new name, like you said.”
It’s a lot to take in.
I grip the edge of my seat to hold myself steady.
“You don't have to decide anything until you're ready,” she continues softly. “But the option is there if you want it.”
“Options are good.”
“Just to keep things fully transparent, it would involve a confidential meeting with me, you, Amanda, and one other lady. Nobody else. You'd be very well looked after.”
She leans closer, holding my hand in hers.
“Mark, you'd nevereverhave to speak to your dad, or go anywhere near him at any time. Amanda would handle all of that on your behalf. He won’t find out where you are, okay?Your parents won’t even be told that I’m your legal guardian. We won't let that happen.”
The relief washes over me as she speaks.
But I feel a wave of guilt about my mum.
I really hope she understands.
Getting a visit from a social worker will scare her.
Maybe I’ll explain it to her in a letter.
The ‘I’m okay, but can’t tell you much in case he reads this’ version.
Not with a postal stamp from Longreach, though.
Not until I’m further away.
“Love, I saw those injuries with my own eyes. And the burns you showed me on your back. You said the nurse in Jundah had seen them too. That's all they need to know. You were well within your legal rights to leave. There's no doubt in my mind that you're better off staying away from that piece of....” she catches herself. “From that house. From him.”
I inhale slowly.
I’m torn between my dream of the city and my safe haven with Beth.
“And if I did a TAFE course, could we still...? Would you visit me?”
I don’t mean to sound needy.
