A soft high-pitched whisper roused Kat from sleep. She didn't understand the words at first, she waited so long to hear them.
“Kathryn, wake up, you’re going home.”
Kat rubbed her eyes, shaking the muddled blanket of sleep from her consciousness. Was she really being told she was going home or was it a dream?
All at once, she processed it. She was really going home. Her eyes shot open. She blasted out of bed, and raced around the room, tearing open drawers and ripping shirts from their hangers in the closet. One more moment in this foster home was too long.
“Here is your suitcase, Kathryn,” Mrs. Sanders said. Mrs. Sanders lifted the large black cloth bag and placed it across Kat’s bed.
“Okay, thanks,” Kat mumbled, continuing to tear through the room like a tornado. One thing she definitely wasn't going to miss was being called 'Kathryn.' She detested that more than almost anything. Back at home, she was just plain Kat. Exactly as it should be.
She finished tossing her belongings into the suitcase and forced it shut. Then she scurried down the hall to the bathroom and sped through her morning routine. Her hair looked like a bird’s nest and she didn't even bother with makeup. Her only goal was to get out of this house.
She wanted to get back in her own bedroom. She wanted to be back in her own life. She didn’t care if she brought anything home, she just wanted to dart for the door and never look back.
Less than ten minutes later, she was standing downstairs, ready to say her goodbyes. Her roommate a look of sadness in her eyes, one that Kat could tell she was trying earnestly to hide.
They both knew the truth. Jen's stay was going to be long. There was even a chance that Jen would never leave.
Kat’s heart ached as she pulled Jen into a tight embrace, and they stood there together like that for several lingering moments. When Kat pulled away, her eyes welled with tears.
“Congratulations.” Jen whispered, forcing a smile. She blinked in an obvious attempt to hold back her tears.
“I'll miss you,” Kat said. She swallowed hard and clenched her eyes shut. She wasn’t going to cry, she promised herself. She was going to miss Jen.
Jen had been in the system since she was young and took Kat under her wing. They started high school together and shared what few personal things each had. They became as close as sisters.
“Kat, it’s time to go.” Mrs. Sanders put her hand on Kat’s shoulder. Kat stepped back and waved.
“Bye.” Jen said as she hid her face, wiping away a tear.
Kat hugged the three younger children of the house. Kat had spent the past three months protecting them from the bullying teenage boys in the house. She now sported a jagged scar on her forearm; an unwanted trophy, for her troubles. They were absent from her send off, and she didn’t care. But took comfort knowing Jen would shield them.
She truly was in disbelief that this day would come. For good or bad, these three months had changed her. She was a different person now; a person who had seen just one of the many shadowed corners of society, the abandoned and damaged children of abusers, drug addicts, and criminals. A place she never wanted to see again.
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