Page 2 of All for her Forgiveness

"Kennedy,you little devil, where are you?" I hear my Aunt Riny shout from afar.

She's not really my aunt. She's a friend of my mother's. My parents passed away, and now she's the one taking care of me.

"Kennedy, you're the devil on Earth, girl! Cursed be the day I agreed to take care of you!"

I take one last look at the sunset and then at the notebook I was drawing in.

There's nothing in the world I love more than a sunset. Maybe drawing.

The sky is turning pink, like a strawberry ice cream. It also has some orange lines, but the pink dominates everything, and I love it.

There's no prettier color. I have a single pink dress, and it's already getting too small for me, but every time I wear it, I feel so beautiful!

I lie down and look up at the sky, even knowing that it might cost me a beating. I can't leave yet.

The clouds are spread out, looking like fluffy cotton candy. The sun, almost hidden, bids me farewell. It rained today, and I love the smell of wet grass.

"What are you still doing there, you pest? Daydreaming?"

Yes."No, Auntie, I was drawing."

I try to show her the notebook, but instead of looking, she smiles at me, and I feel a chill run down my spine.

My aunt never laughs or smiles unless she's about to do something cruel, like the day she threw the only photo I had of my parents into the fire.

She grabs the sheet of paper and, looking at me, tears it in half. She's not done yet. She also takes my three colored pencils and then stares at me. "Now let's see how you continue daydreaming instead of doing your chores."

I feel like crying but pretend not to. I did it only once, when she tore that photo. As I felt tears running down my cheeks, she said,"There's no use throwing a fit, because I'm not moved."

I don't cry anymore. I've lived with her for a year now, and even when she's very mean to me, I smile because I don't want her to see that she made me sad by destroying my stuff.

I got the things from my teacher, and the day I brought it home—a drawing pad, three pencils, and some colored crayons—Aunt Riny said I had stolen them. My teacher had to come here the next day and swear up and down that I didn't steal anything, that it was a gift.

Even knowing the truth, my aunt told all the neighbors that I steal things. She also told her mother, a lady I've only seen once in my life and who lives in New York, up north, that I'm a thief and give her a lot of trouble.

Trouble is what I am every day. I know how to cook, clean, and sweep the whole house, and only after everything is ready do I come...I mean,usedto come to draw, because now the pencils are gone.

"What, you're not gonna cry?" she mocks me.

No, because she’ll like it if I shed tears. My aunt is mean, and I'm almost sure she hates me. "Cry? Why?"

She squints, and I almost expect a slap. I'm in a cold sweat from fear, but I don't shrink back.

I lift my chin.

Someone calls her name at the gate, and it’s probably the only reason I get away with it this time.

She turns as if leaving but then looks at me again. "You're not a good girl, Kennedy, and you never will be. Your fate is in the gutter, begging for a meal. Alone, with no friends or family."

Kennedy

CHAPTER ONE

Present

BARNSTABLE COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY MASSACHUSETTS

"What doyou remember about that night?" the doctor asks me, and once again, I look at him without knowing what to say.

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