Chapter Two

A month following my mother's funeral, I was placed into a foster home with a couple who often locked themselves in their bedroom, leaving me and the other two foster children to do as we pleased. Often times, the two girls would spend their time playing on the game systems available. They didn't want a boy to play with them and so I was shunned.

The day that I learned of my great-aunt was my ninth birthday. Since no one else was inclined to celebrate with me, I chose to have a birthday feast in the woods. Taking a couple of candles from the shelves and a bowl of fruit from the counter, I went out into the woods just behind my foster parents' house and laid out the items on a thick log. Even though I couldn't light the candles and ants began crawling on the fruit, it was still the best party I'd thrown myself. Especially since it was the only one I'd ever thrown for myself.

It was as I was celebrating my birthday all by myself that the dark car pulled into the driveway. While I was just finishing off the juicy mackintosh apple, they were knocking on the front door. And right when I was wiping my mouth off on the dark cloak that had been party of my last Halloween costume, the two girls were tattling on me for taking the candles and fruit. Only minutes later, a man and a woman followed my foster parents out the back door and found me at the edge of the woods.

     "Oliver Hart?" The woman asked as she approached.

Turning towards them, my eyes widened as I saw my foster father examine my birthday feast. I knew that he was not happy with me. But before I could apologize, the woman had stepped right up to me and knelt down in front of me. She had wide brown eyes and really dark hair, making me wish my hair wasn't such a light brown.

"Are you Oliver Hart?" She repeated in a gentler tone.

Hesitantly, I nodded.

"Well, my name is Hadley Moore. I'm with social services."

"What do you want with him?" My foster-mother demanded. She was standing to the side with her arms crossed tightly over her chest with a twisted scowl on her face.

Straightening, Hadley moor turned to her and said, "we've found a relative and she has agreed to take him in."

I didn't know, then, just how that one announcement would change my life.