Hey guys! Sorry for not posting last week. I've been busy with school work. Lame excuse, I know xP. But anyways, here's the next chapter! A little bit of warning: I don't really know how to put this without spoiling it, but... If you're sensitive to abuse, be warned.

After about an hour, Ms. Kennedy called Nathanial, Josephine's father, to come pick her up. Josephine couldn't understand much of what Ms. Kennedy and her father were saying on the phone, but by the look on the lady's face, it was something sad. It confused the little girl. Why would Ms. Kennedy be sad to talk on the phone with her dad?

Her teacher talked on the phone for a couple more minutes before she stopped. She looked over at Josephine. "Josephine, honey… I'm going to take you home, ok?"

Josephine smiled and nodded. "Ok!"

Ms. Kennedy grabbed her keys off the desk and started walking towards the door, and Josephine jumped up from her seat in her cubby. She sprinted over to the door, holding her secret book to her chest, and tried pushing open the door. Ms. Kennedy had to help her, but she eventually got it and ran outside. She ran towards where her aunt Rachel usually parked her car, but there was no car there. She heard her name called and looked back, seeing Ms. Kennedy walking over to a different, shinier car. Josephine ran over to her and opened the back door to her car, climbing in.

Josephine felt the seats; they were some kind of weird, black texture thing. She didn't see a car seat for her either, which confused her. "Ms. Kennedy?"

Her teacher started her car before looking back. "Yes, Josephine?"

"No car seat."

"Oh. Yes, I don't have a car seat for you, but you'll be alright." She pulled out of the driveway and started driving down the road.

The redheaded toddler nodded and kept still in her seat. It was a little weird not sitting in her car seat. It was the first time it had ever happened. She didn't have anything across her either, but she liked that part. She could move around more. So Josephine sat on her knees and peered out the window, watching the buildings and cars go by. The sky was really grey, but it wasn't raining. Josephine thought that was a little strange. As Ms. Kennedy drove along, the building's started to deteriorate. They became smaller and less shiny. Josephine smiled when she saw all of the little houses; they were close to home, where she'd get to see her aunt Rachel and show her her new book.

When Ms. Kennedy pulled into the driveway of her house, Josephine opened the door and scampered out, holding onto the book under her jacket. She hadn't realized it had finally started raining until she went outside, and she reached back and pulled her hood over her thick, curly hair. She heard Ms. Kennedy get out of her car with her umbrella when Josephine's father came out of the house. He walked over to her teacher and they started talking, but Josephine ran inside.

"Auntie!" she called out, looking around and smiling. She pulled the book out of her shirt and wandered around in the small house, looking for her aunt. She went into her father's room, but didn't see her in there. She walked back to the bathroom and didn't see her in their either. She walked back to the room her and her aunt shared, but she wasn't in there either. She saw something by her pillow in the bed and went over to it. It was a purple bunny stuffed animal with the yarn she knew her aunt Rachel had. The little girl smiled widely and climbed onto the bed, grabbing the bunny.

Josephine heard the door open and close, but then didn't hear anything after that. She thought maybe her father was going to look for her aunt. She opened her book and set it on her lap next to her bunny. She looked at the little words on the page and tried to figure out what they said, but she couldn't. She only recognized a couple of letters, but not enough to figure out what it said. She sighed softly, looking at the pictures instead.

A thought popped into her mind and she turned the pages to the beginning of the book. She looked at the pages with the big red dog and started to tell her own story about it to her new bunny, basing it off of what she saw in the pictures. After telling her first story, she told another one, and another one, and another one, each time different than the last.

Later that night, while Josephine was eating her homemade cheese sandwich, she heard the front door fly open. She was still in her shared room with her bunny and new book, so she couldn't see who it was. She heard the door slam shut, and something shattered along with a long string of profanities. Realizing it was her father, she grabbed her plate with the crust left and her book and went out to see him.

Once she left the room, she scrunched her nose at the smell; it smelt like the liquid in the weird brown, glass bottles she would see her aunt pick up around the house and throw away. She said it was some kind of drink, but Josephine was never allowed to try it. It smelt like something else, too, but she didn't know what. It didn't smell very good, though.

Josephine walked into the kitchen and set her plate on the counter. She peered over it and saw her father with one of the brown glass bottles in his hand. She went around the counter and cautiously walked up to him.

"Um… I got new book today."

Her father's head whipped around and he glared menacingly down at the little girl. His eyes were bloodshot, his teeth bared, and his breath smelt strongly like the liquid in the bottle. "What the fuck did you just say?"

Josephine was frozen to the spot, her eyes wide. "I… I-I got new bo-" She squeaked and ducked her head when he suddenly threw the bottle. It hit a wall behind her and shattered upon impact. Nathanial reached for her, but the toddler turned and tried running away.

"Come back here, you little shit!" he growled. He grabbed her plate off the counter and threw it at her. It shattered on the ground and pieces flew up to catch in her legs. She stumbled and fell, but before she could get up, she felt herself being pulled up by her hair. She screamed in pain and tried escaping, but her attempts were met with a harsh slap to the cheek. She froze before she started to cry, which caused her to be hit again.

"You," he spat, tugging roughly on her hair and making her scream again. "You're the reason she's gone. You just had to whine your little ass about going to that stupid fucking school of yours, even though she was sick. It's all your fault, you little bitch." He hit her twice more before letting go of her hair, making her fall to the ground. She sobbed loudly on the floor and Nathanial kicked her in the side before stomping off.

Josephine screamed and cried in anguish and pain after her father left her on the floor. She feebly reached for her book and clutched it to her aching chest, trying to calm herself down. She eventually was able to get up from the ground and limp into her room, closing the door behind her and pulling herself onto the bed. She buried her face in her pillow and continued to cry, ignoring the feeling of something trickling down her leg and cheek. She grabbed her new bunny and looked down at it before clutching it to her chest. She hurt. So, so bad. Why did he do this to her? She heard him shouting more outside of her door before slamming the front door again. All was silent once more, safe for the pain filled sobbing from the little girl who couldn't think of anything she did to deserve such torment.