Cutler 01 - Dawn

said from somewhere behind me. "That my guests should see this."
    "You'd better get inside," my father advised.
    My body shook with sobs as the police car pulled away, taking Jimmy back into the night.

 
    15
SECRETS REVEALED
     
    I felt my father's fingers grip my shoulders softly as the lights from the police patrol car disappeared on the street below. My grandmother stepped forward to face me. Her lips were tight and thin, and her eyes were wide and maddening with rage. Under the lanterns and the bright porch lights, her skin was ghostly white. With her shoulders raised and her neck lowered between them, she looked like a hawk about to pounce on a mouse, and right now I felt like some sort of trapped creature.
    "How could you do such a thing?" she hissed. She turned sharply to my father. "I told you she was no better than a wild animal brought in from the streets. She's sure to bring them all here if we don't put an immediate stop to it. She has to be sent away to some private school that specializes in this sort of person."
    "I'm not a wild animal! You're a wild animal!" I screamed.
    "Eugenia," my father snapped. I spun out of his hands.
    "I'm not Eugenia! I'm not! I'm Dawn, Dawn!" I insisted, pounding my sides with my own small fists. I looked up and saw the guests who had gathered at the front entrance and on the porch gawking, some of the elderly women shaking their heads and the men nodding their agreement as Philip pushed his way through and gazed at confusion.
    "What's happening?" he cried. He turned to Clara Sue, who was off to the side looking very content with herself. She flashes a smile of satisfaction up at him.
    "You'd better get yourself inside," my father advised in a strong, loud whisper. "We'll talk about all this when everyone's a bit calmer."
    "No," I said. "You shouldn't have let them take him," I added and began to sob. "You shouldn't have."
    "Eugenia," he said softly, stepping toward me.
    "Get her inside," my grandmother commanded through her teeth. "Now!" She turned away and smiled up at her guests. "It's all right, everyone . . . just a misunderstanding. Nothing to alarm anyone."
    "Please, Eugenia," my father said, reaching out to take my hand. "Let's go inside," he pleaded.
    "No!" I backed farther away. "I'm not going inside. I hate it; l hate it!" I screamed and turned and ran down the driveway.
    "Honestly, Daddy, you're always treating Dawn with kid gloves," I heard Clara Sue say. "She's a big girl. She's made her bed! Now let her lie in it!"
    Her words put more force into my stride. Clara was such a liar. As I ran, the tears streamed down and blew off my cheeks. I felt as though my chest would explode, but I didn't stop running. I reached the street and turned right, running down the sidewalk, half the time with my eyes closed, sobbing.
    I ran and ran until the pain in my side became a sharp knife cutting deeper and deeper, forcing me to slow down to a trot and then a walk, my hand on my ribs, my head down, gasping for breath. I had no idea where I was headed or where I was. The street had turned to the left, bringing me closer to the ocean, and the pounding surf seemed right beside me. Finally I stopped by some large rocks and leaned against them to rest and catch my breath.
    I gazed out at the moonlit sea. The sky was dark, deep, even cold, and the moon looked sickly yellow. Occasionally the spray from the surf reached me and sprinkled my face.
    Poor Jimmy, I thought, spirited off into the night like some common criminal. Would they force him to return to that mean farmer? What had we done to deserve this? I bit down on my lower lip to prevent myself from sobbing any more. My throat and chest ached so much from crying.
    Suddenly I heard someone calling. It was Sissy wandering through the streets looking for me.
    "Your daddy sent me after you," she said.
    "He's not my daddy," I spat out hatefully. "He's my father, and I'm not going back. I'm not."
    "Well, what'cha going to do?" she asked, looking around. "You can't stay out here all night. You gotta come back."
    "They dragged Jimmy away like some hunted animal. You should have seen."
    "I did see. I seen it all from the side of the porch. Who was he?"
    "He was my . . . the boy I thought was my brother. He had run off from a cruel foster parent."
    "Oh."
    "And there was nothing I could do to help him," I wailed helplessly, standing back and wiping my cheeks, "Nothing." I sighed deeply and lowered my head. How frustrated and defeated I