AVERY
My hands were shaking as I began
unfolding the pages. I knew what I
was doing was a gross invasion of Cole’s privacy. If he’d wanted me to see these papers, he would have shown
them to me. Just the fact that
he’d stolen them from Gordon’s office deemed them important and secretive.
I hesitated. He was my stepbrother. He’d been taking care of me. If he didn’t want me to see these
papers, it was probably because he was trying to protect me.
But I was sick of being protected. I wasn’t a child.
Still.
To betray Cole’s trust like that…
Then I thought about that note.
The one I’d found in the bathroom.
Thanks
for letting me come over this afternoon. It was amazing. ~L
Lucy had been here. Lucy, Cole’s ex-fiancé who he’d never
even thought to mention to me. Lucy, who apparently still felt close enough to him to sign letters with
just her initial.
What was it she’d said to me at the photo
shoot? I’m going to get him back, no matter what . She was flawless, perfect. It was hard to imagine any world, any
situation where Cole would choose me over her.
But
he’s with you. He could have been
with Lucy if he’d wanted to. She
was here, he could have been with her.
Maybe he had been. Maybe he’d done all the same things
with Lucy that he’d done with me. I remembered his cock in my face, the way he’d come all over my lips, my
cheeks, how he’d snapped a picture of me covered with his cum. I loved the way it had made me feel, to
be taken that way, for him to do such dirty things to me.
Thinking about him doing those same
things with Lucy made my stomach turn.
I opened the papers.
On top was a typed letter.
It was dated seven years ago, and it was
addressed to Cole.
Dear
Cole Buchanan,
Thank
you for your inquiry to The Department of Children and Families. Unfortunately, all records kept by our
agency are sealed at the time cases are closed. We are unable to honor your request for copies of the
documents regarding Case Number NY4555226.
If
you require further assistance, please call the eight hundred number provided
at the bottom of this letter or visit our website.
Sincerely,
Hattie
Winters, LCSW
I frowned. Why would Cole have written to the Department of
Children and Families? And why
would this response letter be in Gordon’s office? Had something happened to us when we were younger that
involved DCF?
I racked my brain, trying to remember. But
all I could come up with was the usual – social workers might show up
once and a while, but as long as we didn’t have any visible bruisers and there
was food in the refrigerator, they didn’t bother with us too much. I didn’t blame the system for letting me
and Cole slip through the cracks – I knew there were kids in far worse
situations than us. And as horrible
as things had been at home, the thought of being placed in a foster home had
filled me with fear. It would have
meant leaving my mom. It would
have meant Cole and I being split up. I hated Gordon, but I loved the rest of
my family.
I took a deep breath and flipped to the
next page in the stack.
This, too, was a letter, written on the
letterhead of the Department of Children and Families. But while the first letter had read almost
like a form letter, this one was much more intimate, more direct.
Dear
Cole Buchanan,
I
have been alerted to a situation involving you and The Department of Children
and Families by my employee, Hattie Winters. I must insist that you cease all communications with the
Department of Children and Families. If you continue your assault on both my agency and Ms. Winters, I will
be forced to take further action. Please consider this your final warning. Do not reply to this letter. If my office or Ms. Winters receive any more correspondence
from you, I will not hesitate to involve the authorities.
Sincerely,
Arthur
Hannigan, Director, Department of Children and Families
My heart rate accelerated. But it wasn’t from panic
My hands were shaking as I began
unfolding the pages. I knew what I
was doing was a gross invasion of Cole’s privacy. If he’d wanted me to see these papers, he would have shown
them to me. Just the fact that
he’d stolen them from Gordon’s office deemed them important and secretive.
I hesitated. He was my stepbrother. He’d been taking care of me. If he didn’t want me to see these
papers, it was probably because he was trying to protect me.
But I was sick of being protected. I wasn’t a child.
Still.
To betray Cole’s trust like that…
Then I thought about that note.
The one I’d found in the bathroom.
Thanks
for letting me come over this afternoon. It was amazing. ~L
Lucy had been here. Lucy, Cole’s ex-fiancé who he’d never
even thought to mention to me. Lucy, who apparently still felt close enough to him to sign letters with
just her initial.
What was it she’d said to me at the photo
shoot? I’m going to get him back, no matter what . She was flawless, perfect. It was hard to imagine any world, any
situation where Cole would choose me over her.
But
he’s with you. He could have been
with Lucy if he’d wanted to. She
was here, he could have been with her.
Maybe he had been. Maybe he’d done all the same things
with Lucy that he’d done with me. I remembered his cock in my face, the way he’d come all over my lips, my
cheeks, how he’d snapped a picture of me covered with his cum. I loved the way it had made me feel, to
be taken that way, for him to do such dirty things to me.
Thinking about him doing those same
things with Lucy made my stomach turn.
I opened the papers.
On top was a typed letter.
It was dated seven years ago, and it was
addressed to Cole.
Dear
Cole Buchanan,
Thank
you for your inquiry to The Department of Children and Families. Unfortunately, all records kept by our
agency are sealed at the time cases are closed. We are unable to honor your request for copies of the
documents regarding Case Number NY4555226.
If
you require further assistance, please call the eight hundred number provided
at the bottom of this letter or visit our website.
Sincerely,
Hattie
Winters, LCSW
I frowned. Why would Cole have written to the Department of
Children and Families? And why
would this response letter be in Gordon’s office? Had something happened to us when we were younger that
involved DCF?
I racked my brain, trying to remember. But
all I could come up with was the usual – social workers might show up
once and a while, but as long as we didn’t have any visible bruisers and there
was food in the refrigerator, they didn’t bother with us too much. I didn’t blame the system for letting me
and Cole slip through the cracks – I knew there were kids in far worse
situations than us. And as horrible
as things had been at home, the thought of being placed in a foster home had
filled me with fear. It would have
meant leaving my mom. It would
have meant Cole and I being split up. I hated Gordon, but I loved the rest of
my family.
I took a deep breath and flipped to the
next page in the stack.
This, too, was a letter, written on the
letterhead of the Department of Children and Families. But while the first letter had read almost
like a form letter, this one was much more intimate, more direct.
Dear
Cole Buchanan,
I
have been alerted to a situation involving you and The Department of Children
and Families by my employee, Hattie Winters. I must insist that you cease all communications with the
Department of Children and Families. If you continue your assault on both my agency and Ms. Winters, I will
be forced to take further action. Please consider this your final warning. Do not reply to this letter. If my office or Ms. Winters receive any more correspondence
from you, I will not hesitate to involve the authorities.
Sincerely,
Arthur
Hannigan, Director, Department of Children and Families
My heart rate accelerated. But it wasn’t from panic
Similar Books
