Prologue-

It's tough being a care kid. Moving from care homes to care homes. Then to foster homes back to care homes, and then to foster homes again. Only to end up back where you started.

But the thing that makes it less hard is having friends that will stick with you through it all, that stay by your side no matter what happens, that ensure you always have a little light left in you, when all you want is to shrink into the darkness and let the bad stuff take over. The person that always helped me,

Liam O'Donovan.

My name, is Rose Kettle-Smith. Smith was my mum's maiden name, and Kettle is my dad's last name. I have 3 younger sisters. Lily, Poppy and Rosie. My dad left me in care when I was 12, Lily was 8 and the twins, Poppy and Rosie were only 4. The care home we live at is a place that I will remember for a long time. Elm Tree House. It helped me and my sisters through the worst of it, and to this day it helps through the bad stuff.

My mum died when I was 10. It was a sickness no doctors could cure. My dad took care of us for a couple of years, but he was sick as well, the demon of alcohol consumed him and turned into someone that I could never trust or love again. He dumped us in the care home and we lost contact for a while. Mike Milligan was the best father figure I would ever have. He still is. Gina Conway was the strict mum type of adult that yelled and lost her temper at the smallest of practical jokes, pulled by the cheekiest, most forgivable care kids. But to this day I will always love her like my own mother.

Liam O'Donovan. The best friend that I ever had. The first time that I walked into Elm Tree House, all the kids ran up to us asking why we were in care, what we liked to watch on telly, and whether we liked haggis. But one thick cockney accent stood out over all the other voices,

"Aright', aright' give 'em some space, yeah!" A twelve year old Liam walked out to the front of the group of care kids and stuck his hand out.

"Liam O'Donovan, nice to meet you," he shot me a lopsided grin, and his chocolate brown eyes sparkled full of mischief and light. "Don't worry about them, their just excited thas' all."

"Rose Smith," I started.

"Rose," Mike's warning shot out over confused faces. They all thought the new girls were called Kettle.

Sadness flashed across my eyes, before I composed myself and pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. I placed my hand in his and shook it firmly.

"As I was saying, Rose Kettle-Smith, nice to meet you as well."

Liam smiled.

"Welcome to the Dumping Ground."

And so it began.

Chapter One-

"Now our next guest today is a young local author who spent her childhood in care, bouncing between foster families and care homes," The news reporter said. "But she survived to tell the tale and it's all in her autobiography."

I didn't hear the rest because Harry turned off the telly again.

"Ugh, Harry I was watching that" Carmen whined. She jumps off the couch to find Mike. I stand up and follow her.

"Mike, Mike, He keeps doing it Mike!" She found him then.

"Alright, Alright Carmen I'll tell him not to." Mike replies tiredly.

"No talking, I'm practising." Gus exclaims frustrated.

I shake my head and stifle a laugh. Mike shoots me a look an exasperated look.

"Sorry, Sorry," I say, trying to keep my face serious. I fail miserably. Gus rolls his eyes and goes to the piano to practice. Carmen walks to the games room saying something like, I have to talk and Harry's broken the telly again. Gus starts to play and once again he outshines even Mozart.

"That's my Gus," I say quietly.

"Rose!" Gus says without breaking a beat in his playing. I laugh at his amazing ability to scold kids older than him without being scared.

"She creeps up behind him, goes in for the point," I kiss his right cheek.

"And yes it's a goal," He furiously rubs his at his cheek and reaches into his pocket for his sanitizer. I turn to return to the games room with a proud expression on my face.

"And the crowd goes wild" I laugh into the room. But everyone is staring intently at the screen of the telly. So Mike fixed it.

"Is she an actress?" Tee asks. Is who an actress, what is going on?

"No, No, she's written a book!" Mike replies excitedly.

"Oooh, Mike knows someone famous!" Carmen says. I can see the telly now. There's a girl with raven black hair, she's holding a book and talking to the news reporter about it. Gina walks in looking confused at all the excited faces.

"What's all the excitement about?" She asks the group. Everyone starts talking at once.

"Okay, okay tell me at dinner, yeah?" She says chuckling. We file out of the room and head downstairs.

I was sitting in the Games room the next day reading, when Mike came in on the phon

"Frank, have you seen Liam today?" He asks him curiously. I sit straight up at the mention of my best friend. Toby, who was sitting next to Frank at the computer, looked worried.

"Nothing's happened to him Toby," Mike says. All three of us let out a held breath. We all know Liam.

"I've just got his foster parents on the phone, that's all." Mike reassures him. Why would Liam's foster parents need to call anyway?

"Shall I go and call him then?" Frank asks.

"No, no, no," Mike says.

"He's just a bit late home for his tea." Honestly Liam. Have you any time management at all. I go back to my book with a twinkle of sadness in my eyes. I missed him so much.

"He's probably running home right now." Mike tells Frank and Toby. But knowing Liam, he's probably nicked someone's… laundry or something. That wouldn't surprise me.

I was woken up late that same day, when I heard a commotion downstairs. I slipped my tattered blue dressing gown over my baggy blue top and red and white polka dotted pyjama short-shorts. I put on my ugboots over my stripy socks and went downstairs.

"But we 'aven't 'eard about bein' on TV yet!" Lily yelled. What was happening down there?

"Right, first person back to bed gets to hear about me being on the telly," Everyone rushed to get to their rooms and I nearly fell off the stairs.

"Wait for me!" That same voice exclaimed.

"I'll come and say goodnight to all of you!" As the woman exited the kitchen with Harry in hand, I saw it was the girl on the TV the other night.

"Hey, you're that girl from the news yesterday!" I said politely. She nods with a massive grin on her face.

"Congratulations on being able to write your book, I know 'ow hard it is to write about stuff like that." I said solemnly. She looked surprised.

"You write?" She asks curiously. I think about my words carefully and realise what I said.

"Um… Well… I… No, Um, No I don't write. Night then!" I rush upstairs to get back to my room. As I run past Poppy and Rosie's room, I hear that familiar voice telling a story of an old troll with the warty, wobbly nose. I cross my arms, lean against the door frame and rest my head on the cool wood. I remember when Lily was younger that I made up stories when she couldn't sleep when Mum had a night shift at the hospital. She would cry and ask me to make up another fairy story for her. I always based the fairy queen on my Mum. It helped to ease up the many times she was at work and dad would drink with his mates and watch the football.

But when mum passed, I used to make up stories out of anger at my dad for hurting us and not caring for us properly. I remember the night that dad went too far and knocked Lily and Rosie unconscious, I sat and cuddled Poppy with all my might and rocked her to sleep. I cleaned the sleeping girl's wounds and tucked them in Poppy and Rosie's room. I had to drag Lily's bed into their room so that Poppy could get some rest. I locked the door and slept on the floor. I woke up suddenly at the sound of crying. I rubbed my eyes with my small, frail and skinny 10 year old hands and looked over to where I saw a small girl curled up into the foetal position, shaking on the small bed. I tip-toed over so as not to wake the drunken figure slumped in defeat against the bedroom door after hours of banging and slurred, hurtful words directed at the young girls on the other side of that protective barrier. I wrapped my arms around Lily and pulled her into my lap. I started to rock her while I sang her our mother's favourite lullaby.

"On a wagon, bound for market," As I sang silent tears slipped onto her small frame. I quickly apologised and wiped away the reminders of days long gone.

"There's a calf with a mournful eye. High above him there's a swallow drifting swiftly through the sky. How the winds are laughing they laugh with all their might. Laugh and laugh the whole day through. And… Half the… Summer's… Night." I shook with tears threatening to escape and quickly wiped away a rogue leak and continued.

"Donna, Donna, Donna…"

"Rose," Lily tried to interrupt.

"Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna, Don,'' My voice was becoming shaky now. I tried to hide the trembling in the sound of my singing.

"Rose, it's okay, you can tell a story instead." Lily interrupted completely now, and I was so thankful. That was when I told the story of a mean old troll that hid behind an oak tree and jumped out to scare four girls. She jumped in my arms and then laughed and asked me to continue. As I kept on telling the story she fell limp in my embrace and remained soundly asleep. I tucked her back in and got comfortable at the foot of her bed, close to the door in case the sleeping troll woke up. I jolted from my day dream and shivered at the flashback. I straightened and quickly walked back to my room at the sound of Gina and the woman walking up the stairs. I reached the end of the corridor and entered my room.

I turned on the light and looked around the space that I had occupied in the last year. My pale sea-green walls shone with bright light and my deep blue carpet that was the colour of the night outside was soft under my feet. I went to rest on my bed and pulled the heavy with warmth duna over my cold body. I sang myself to sleep and soon drifted away to a land where nothing bad happened to kids like me. Hah, if only that were true.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of Johnny and Carmen fighting over something. I put on my grey skinny jeans and baggy blue sweater. I tie my blonde hair into a ponytail and wash my face. I put in diamond earrings and place my mom's St. Petersburg Pocket watch necklace around my neck. I walk downstairs and am brought to stop short in the threshold at the sight before me.

"It was my idea!" Carmen insists.

"You'll spill it, I'll take it." Johnny yells.

"What's goin' on?" Mike asks confused. I yawn loudly to introduce my presence. Tee giggles, her cat ears headband flopping about on her head.

"Yeah, wha' he said." I added.

"They can't decide whose taking Tracy's tea up" Toby chimed in walking out of the kitchen. I ruffled his hair as he passed me. Laughing as he shook my hand off his head. I turned and pretended I was going to chase him. He began to run but stopped at the stairs when he realised I was still at the kitchen door.

"Rose." He grumbled. I smiled cheekily and ducked into the kitchen as he threw one of his rolls at me. I stuck my head out the door, ringlets of my blonde curls flowing to the side. I poke my tongue at him while I hang from the door frame. I run into the kitchen as the next piece of bread flies towards me. Johnny, Tee and Carmen walk past me and up the stairs to give Tracy her tea.

I go outside after grabbing a piece of toast to kick the footy around for a bit. I decide to go and sit at the old car seats. The place where everyone goes to think.

"When does Cam get back?" I hear Mike's voice ring out in the cold, thin air.

"Dunno," Tracy replies. "Now I guess." She sighs heavily.

"I need something to prove that I'm gonna pay 'er back!"

"Well," Mike sighs dejectedly. "You've always got that 6 quid you took off Gina for the book." He smiles.

"She's really happy about that by the way." He adds. Tracy laughs. I smile. Classic, Gina.

"Mike…" And even if I hadn't listened to the rest of that sentence, I could have told, that this will be an exciting new year for the Dumping Ground. And the truth…

I couldn't wait.