"Hey, you are who you are. Don't go changing for some dick, okay?"

Charlie nodded. "Your name is Rebecca?"

Mrs. Jackson nodded.

"I like that name."

"Me too. Look, school ends in 45 minutes. We have to put you somewhere."

"Not with any foster parents."

"Where else?"

Charlie shrugged.

"Do you have Grandparents?"

"Yeah."

"Where are they?"

"One lives on Addams."

"Would you like me to take you there?"

"No, she hates me."

"Why?"

"I don't know, she hated my mother too."

Rebecca nodded. "You have to go somewhere."

"Look, I'll stay at Jake's."

"But you said this morning Jake doesn't want you."

"He doesn't, but his roommate Will is desperate for sex."

"We're going back to this, hm?"

"It gets me a roof over my head."

"Fine, destroy your body. It's your's. I don't care." Rebecca said angrily.

"Are you mad?"

"No. Just fed up."

"With what?"

"You thinking that giving men sex is going to solve your problems, how many has it actually fixed?"

Charlie looked at the floor.

"Exactly. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but you have eighteen years plus, of problems growing in your stomach. Why is giving Will sex going to fix things this time?"

"I don't know where else to go."

"To the house Mrs. Layne found you."

"NO." Charlie said running out of the room, out of the lounge, and out of the school.

"Rebecca?" Robert asked. "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure yet."

"Why are you taking an interest in her?"

"Because I see something no one else can."

"All I see is a kid who's going to end up pregnant, and on the side of a milk carton."

"Well, you've got the first half right." Rebecca said.

"She's pregnant?"

"That's what I said."

"Does Michael know? I mean, considering her past, and since he's the Principal, he needs to know."

"I think Lindsay told him."

"Hm, Maybe she'll drop out sooner and I can focus on the kids that matter." Other teachers nodded in agreement.

Rebecca left the room and violently shut the door.

Charlie had made it to Will's house, and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Jake wants nothing to do with you or the baby."

"I'm not here for him."

"Who are you here for?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you let me sleep here awhile. I'll give you sex, anywhere, anytime, any style, any toys, any amount of violence, you want."

Will cleared his throat. "Show me your tits."

Charlie lifted up her shirt, Will cleared his throat again. "What about rent?"

"I was kind of hoping my chest and my vagina could take care of that for you."

"We'll see. So, I can smack you around if I want?"

"If you want."

"Hm, and all I have to give you is a bed?"

"Or a couch, whatever."

"Come on in." Will said.

Charlie stood inside.

"Angela!" Will called.

A girl with only a bra and lacy underwear on walked into the room. "Yes?"

"Charlie promised me things you didn't. Get your clothes on, get out."

"Wait." Charlie said. "Aren't four breasts better than two?"

"Yes, except I don't have four hands to touch them. Angela, get out."

Angela nodded.

Will looked at Charlie. "There a reason your not naked?"

"You hadn't told me to be."

"It should be an automatic. You said I can do anything, I want you naked at all times, something Angela refused."

Charlie nodded and removed her clothes. "Can I go to school?"

"I don't care what you do, but if I call you, you had better answer."

Charlie nodded. "Now what?"

"Hold on." Will said going into the other room. "ANGELA! I SAID GET YOUR CLOTHES ON AND GET THE FUCK OUT! - I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO! - GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE! CHARLIE OFFERED, AND IS WILLING TO DO THINGS YOU'RE NOT!" BANG. Charlie could tell he had slammed her head against a wall, he was now beating her with his cat of nine tails. She had one of those on her back once. She didn't want that to happen again, she quickly put on her clothes, ran out of the house and to the next door neighbor, to try and get them to call the police. They already had.

By the time the police got there, Angela was dead. Charlie was forced to stay and give a statement. Of course, because Rebecca was Charlie's emergency contact at school, and Charlie wasn't able to give any other phone numbers, Rebecca was called to pick her up.

"Are you her mother?" A cop said.

"Not exactly."

"Than what exactly?"

"I'm her social worker. She's a runner. I was trying to find her."

"Okay, we have William in custody, and her statement. You're good to go."

"Thanks." Rebecca said driving off with Charlie softly crying in the passenger seat as they wheeled Angela's body out of the house.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Rebecca asked, but moreso demanded.

"No."

"Please? I can help."

"No."

"Charlie. It's just us. Nothing you say is going to leave this car."

"Will killed Angela because she was taking too long to get dressed and leave, because he wanted me. Another fucking thing that's my fault. But this time, it cost a life."

"So, you went to him for sex?"

"That's all you got out of that?"

"No, I'm just putting it all together for the file. Look, it's not your fault. It's not Angela's fault either. It's Will's. All this is Will's fault."

"She had a baby."

"How old is she?"

"I think last time we talked she had said she was thirteen. The baby was a few months old then, but that was awhile back."

"How long back?"

Charlie shrugged.

"Were you friends?"

"Not really. But we'd talk occasionally."

"I'm not going to pretend to know how you feel. Because I can't fathom it. But, there are people out there who do know, and who can help."

"Like who?"

Rebecca pulled into a driveway, there was a young woman on a bench outside.

"I said no." Charlie said.

"After tonight's events, you no longer have a choice, come on."

Charlie folded her arms in the seat. "I'm not going into a foster home."

Rebecca motioned for the woman sitting on the bench to come to the car, she looked to be early-mid twenties.

"What's the problem?" The woman asked, as Charlie glared at her.

"Charlie here thinks I've put her in another abusive household."

"Another?" The woman asked.

"I'll let you see the file later."

The woman nodded. "Charlie, what are you most afraid of?"

Charlie thought for a moment, began to respond, but didn't.

"You can speak freely here." The woman said. "and I don't report what you said to anyone."

"Not amounting to anything. Only being used for sex the rest of my life, my baby being taken from me."

"Well," the woman said. "What can I do to make it a little bit better?"

"Not stick me in there."

"Charlie." Rebecca said. "Casey is the best foster parent I know. There are four other girls living with her. Don't you think if she was going to treat you like Victor, they'd have figured out by now?"

"Took you 3 years to figure it out. I'm not going to any house Mrs. Layne found."

"Why not?" Casey asked.

"Lindsay put her with Victor, knowing his record. I'm working on that." Rebecca said.

"I see. You know, I have an idea." Casey said, "Hold on a moment." Casey walked back into the house, and brought back out with her a teenage girl, about Charlie's age, who was carrying a toddler.

"Is that her baby?" Charlie asked Rebecca.

"No. Orphaned baby." Rebecca responded. "I forgot about her. But it's still all girls."

The teenager knelt down beside Charlie, the toddler began drawing in the dirt, until Casey picked her up, and tried to brush her off.

"You know what?" She asked Charlie.

"What?"

"My Dad never liked me much either."

"Really, why not?"

"I don't know. But; I figure, it's his loss. Because I have an awesome family here with Casey. We'd love for you to join the family."

"I've never been part of a family, can my baby join too?"

"Of course." The girl said. "My name is Alex, what's your's?"

"Charlie. Your Dad wanted a boy too?"

"Something like that."

"I can't go in." Charlie said.

"That's okay. I'll tell ya what, why don't the two of us go sit on that bench right there so that Rebecca can go home, and we just wait until you can go in?" Alex offered.

"Okay." Charlie said, still unsure.

"I'll be around for a bit." Rebecca said. "I need to talk to Casey."

Casey and Rebecca walked inside the house, as Charlie and Alex sat on the porch.

"She's been to more than one crappy household I take it?" Casey asked once she was sure the girls were out of earshot.

"Several. All picked by Lindsay. I think her issue here isn't you, it's that Lindsay picked this house."

"I see. What are you doing about it?"

"I have a meeting with my boss and Lindsay tomorrow regarding it."

Casey nodded. "Can I see her file?"

"Sure." Rebecca gave Casey a small folder, but it was crammed with papers.

"2nd grade reading and writing level, better than I expected, actually. Does her back really look like this?"

"Yes."

"I'm surprised she isn't dead."

"So is everyone else."

"So, is she a runner?"

"I think she might be at first, but I think once she realizes you're different, she'll stay."

"Fair enough, I had that problem with Alex. So, she's pregnant?"

Rebecca nodded. "The father's name is Jake, but he wants nothing to do with her, according to Charlie, so I don't think he'll be coming around."

"Any other…..men….I should know about?"

"I know of two others, but they're both in prison."

"Do you think she'll go find someone?"

"At first, probably. However, I'm going to give her my phone number and address, hopefully…if she gets scared or whatever, she'll come to me. She won't admit it, but I think she trusts me."

"That's a long way for a pregnant person to walk."

"She made it from the school to Lincoln on foot before I drove there. The kid can run."

Casey nodded, slightly impressed. "That it?"

"I think so. "When Charlie asked Alex if her father wanted a boy, she responded 'something like that' what did she mean?"

"Alex is in the system because her father decided that girls were unclean, according to whatever religion he believes in, so if Alex wasn't going to have…ya know….male parts….she wasn't going to have female parts either."

"I don't understand?"

"Alex's dad stabbed her in the crotch trying to 'get rid' of her…ya know….female parts." Casey said. "The only reason we found out is because she stapled the wounds herself, and they broke loose in school. No girl gets a period in first grade."

"Yikes, is she okay, down there?"

"She had some major reconstructive surgery, but yeah. The idea of never being able to carry children bothers her, that's why she's always holding onto Christine."

"She stapled herself?"

"Apparently." Casey said sighing. A girl walked by holding a blankie, the girl began to cry. "Hold on. Erica, what's wrong?"

"You're making me move houses because I broke that lamp!" She said now bawling.

Casey couldn't help but smile. "No, Rebecca is just a friend of mine. She's bringing another friend for you to play with."

"Really?" Erica said wiping her eyes. "Your not mad about the lamp?"

"Well, I didn't know you broke a lamp. Which one?"

"Ummm…never mind, I got confused. I didn't break a lamp." The four year old said running away.

"Why is she here?"

"Orphaned. Her parents died in a fire about a year ago. She was with a neighbor when it happened, but it was an elderly lady, and both sets of grandparents are deceased."

"Sorry. I take it she's moved around a lot?"

"She has autism. As sad as it is, a lot of foster parents don't want to deal with special needs. I'm her fourth house in six months."

"And that is why I prefer to teach."

"What are you going to do about Lindsay?"

"I don't know. She'll play dumb, for sure."

"Do you need help?"

"Not yet." Rebecca said. "But I do need to get going." She wrote down her number and address on a blank sheet of paper sitting nearby and walked out the door, she found Charlie and Alex sitting quietly.

"Alex, I think Casey needs help putting Christine to bed."

"It's six thirty." Alex said.

"Okay, that was too subtle, go inside for a bit?"

"Sure."

Rebecca sat down next to Charlie who stared at her. "You're leaving aren't you?"

Rebecca nodded. "I'll be around." She handed Charlie the slip of paper. "Here, if you get scared, or whatever, call me, I've already told Casey, she says it's fine."

"But I can't stay with you?"

"No, but we'll work something out if you need me. Okay?"

Charlie nodded, and glanced at the open door.

"You can go in."

"No."