Sweet and Innocent (Demi Lovato)

Chapter 3

We get to a building after driving a while. The lady takes off the belts and helps us out of the car before leading Uncle Mark and us into the building. A big, scary man comes up and takes Uncle Mark into a room before the lady takes us into another. We are told to sit down in 2 chairs that are on one side of a table. And the lady sits on the other side.

"What are your names?" she asks.

My voice seems lost as I try to tell her. Nevvy starts to cry again.

"That's Nevvy," I whisper.

"And what's your name?"

"Lillian," I reply, still quiet.

"Did the man you were staying with ever hurt you?"

Nevvy nods, still in tears and I nod as well.

The lady sighs and picks up some weird object and talks into it. It sounds like she's talking to another person.

"Would you like to stay with some other kids somewhere else?" the lady asks us.

Other kids? Where would there be other kids?

Nevvy nods.

"Come with me, girls."

We follow her back into the car. She straps us back in and drives us to another building. It is bigger and there someone like Nevvy only with shorter hair and darker skin running around outside. A different lady walks out.

"Hello girls," she says, "my name is Miss. Carrie, okay?"

Nevvy nods; I don't.

"You will be staying here with her," the nice lady explains.

Miss. Carrie takes our hands. She leads us inside the building, up a set of stairs, and into a room. There are many beds in the room and she points to two that are beside each other.

"You'll be sleeping there," she says. "Lillian, right?"

I look up at her and nod slightly.

"And this is Neveah." She seems to know us before we even told her anything. I don't think that is a good sign.

I hear a sharp knock on the door and jump, scared.

"It's suppertime, girls," Miss. Carrie says.

We walk with her back downstairs and sit at a large table where a bunch of other kids are sitting. There is a little space at the end of the bench where Nevvy sits and I climb in beside her. We have a bowl with some sort of weird-looking drink in it. Sort of like what Uncle Mark has when he gets mean. I don't want to have it.

Nevvy looks at me and sees that I don't even touch the bowl. She backs her hands away from it. I'm so glad that she's learning from me.

"Aren't you going to eat?" a little man asks us. He has a higher voice and looks dumb.

I try to ignore him and soon grab Nevvy's hand, leading her up to the room with the beds. Miss. Carrie tries to stop us, but we push past.

Inside the room, Nevvy speaks. "It's different."

"I know," I reply, "hopefully we can leave soon."

"Yeah, but I'm tired. Can we sleep?"

"Sure."

Nevvy lays down in one of the beds that had been pointed out to us earlier. I lay down in the bed next to hers. 

"Goodnight, Nevvy," I say.

"Goodnight, Lilly."

Nevvy falls asleep right away; I can hear her heavy breathing as she pulls the blanket closer into her chest. I grab the blanket and cover my entire body with it, including my head. I close my eyes and try to let myself sleep. I hear a creek and jump up. The shadows in the dark become monsters and men, haunting the room.

I blink a few times to try to hinder my tears and breathe deeply. I lie back down, but nothing soothes me. 

The door opens and I scream as loud as possible. I look carefully and see that it is one of the girls who was at the table during supper. She looks scared, of me. 

"I'm going to tell Miss. Carrie," she says in a defiant, superior voice.

I'm still shaking. I want to tell her 'no', but it's as if the scream took my voice and gave it to the darkness.

The girl leaves the room and I hear her walk down the stairs. Nevvy is still sound asleep; I don't know how the scream didn't wake her, but she is as peaceful as she was before.

A few minutes later the same girl comes up with Miss. Carrie.

"You can go now, Emily," Miss. Carrie says. The young girl leaves.

"What's wrong, Lillian?" she asks me, sitting beside me on the bed.

I don't reply.

"Well, the other girls are getting ready to go to bed, so once they're ready, then you're safe to sleep as well, okay?"

I nod.

"Goodnight then, Lillian."

Once all the other girls in this room and boys in the room beside this one are in bed and almost all asleep, I still don't feel safe. There is no possible way that I can sleep here. I lay in bed, not moving until loud beeping sounds wake the rest of the girls. It's morning.