Chapter 10 - A Real Safe Haven
Six months later.
The spring sun was bright and warm as I stood in the backyard of our house, watching Mom plant purple hydrangeas along the flowerbed.
My life was completely different now. I went to a small neighborhood school where nobody knew about the gala, Brenda, or the news headlines. I had a dog—a golden retriever mix named Barnaby that we had adopted from a real local animal shelter—who was currently chasing a yellow tennis ball across the green grass.
There were no formal dresses in my closet that hurt my shoulders, no thick plastic bracelets hiding bruised skin, and no rehearsed speeches to recite for rich strangers.
Mom wiped her brow with the back of her dirt-stained garden glove and looked up at me, smiling. "Hey, Chloe! Want to help me plant the last two bushes?"
"Coming!" I called out, running over with a small plastic trowel.
I knelt down in the rich, cool earth beside her, digging a shallow hole for the roots. Barnaby trotted over, nudging his wet nose against my shoulder before flopping down in the grass beside us.
As we worked together in the warm afternoon air, I looked down at my left wrist. The skin was completely clear, brightened only by a few tiny brown freckles from the spring sun.
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I didn't need a costume bracelet to hide who I was anymore. I didn't need glitter to look like a rescued child.
I was just Chloe. I was home, I was safe, and for the first time in my life, every word I spoke belonged entirely to me.
