BrookLyn's Journey by Coffey Brown

the day. Her parents were not good parents. They fed and clothed her but that was about it. They beat their children just because they were there. Why didn’t anyone keep us safe from them? People had to know what they were doing to them in that house. Ms. Cora seemed to know.
    “I’ll keep you safe from them,” Gabby said .
    Another thought violation. BrookLyn hated that she could read her mind. Maybe she can’t help it. Maybe she sometimes did it on purpose .
    “No, I don’t. I try not to do it. Sometimes I can’t. I have to be really focused for it to happen.”
    “Do you read everyone’s thoughts?”
    “Only people that I’m close to , and it has to be very close . ” She leaned in playfully .
    “ D id you know that I would be your girlfriend when you asked?”
    “Why do you ask that ?”
    “Because I am not stupid.”
    She busted out laughing so BrookLyn knew the answer. She was a little annoyed and embarrassed , but laughed too.
    “ Since I was a little kid , I was sometimes able to read what people were thinking. Like I said, I don’t do it often but I can.”
    “Are you psychic?”
    “Not really. Sometimes I just have a way of figuring things out before they’ve even been said.”
    “Well, that my friend is psychic.”
    Gabby shrugged her shoulders. “Let’s watch TV . ”
    BrookLyn was happy that she could watch videos. At home she usually got stuck watching the news with her parents . They said it was because they thought she ’d learn something. She did. She learned that she absolutely hated the news.
    “So, how are you planning on keeping me safe from the monsters that I live with? I have to go back home to their reality eventually, don’t I?”
    “You could stay here with me—I mean, if you want.”
    Tha t ’s a good thought, but what if we don’t like each other anymore , or if she stops loving me? That would mean hiding out. BrookLyn was fine not seeing her parents ever again, but she want ed to see Peyton, Jayde , and Ebonee again. They d idn’t see each other now , but they were the only people who kn ew the pain she’s been through. They’ d lived the same pain. The thought of not see ing her brother and sisters ever again was too much. They had kept her laughing and had given her hope that things would get better. Their relationships existed only by telephone, but at least it existed.
    Her father stopped hitting Peyton because he got as big as him. He stopped hitting Jayde and Ebonee because they left. BrookLyn was the smallest in the bunch, the one left alone. He hit her mother sometimes, but as long as one of the children was there , he focused on them.
    “I love and treasure you...okay?” She turned her mesmerizing eyes toward BrookLyn again . “And I will do my very best to protect you .”
    It was like getting hypnotized staring at the dancing flame on a candle , and as expected, she melted in Gabby’s loving arms.
    “We won’t just be hanging around the house all day. Let’s go out and have some fun.” Gabby kissed BrookLyn on the forehead.
    She was excited that they had no adults watching them , and she felt truly free for the first time in her eighteen years of life. Her brother and sisters probably lived and breathed this feeling. It felt good and BrookLyn planned on holding onto it while she could. “Where are we going?”
    “I have some friends that I want you to meet , so we’re gonna go and do that. I’ve been talking about you for about a year and they’re tired of hearing about you. They want to meet you.”
    “I’m never around anyone new really , so I’m a little nervous.”
    “There ain’t anything to be nervous about. You ’ re with me . ” Gabby turned around and checked herself out in the mirror. “My friends are quite interesting. We’ll have a lot of fun.”
    “So you say . ” BrookLyn shrugg ed her shoulders , not convinced. “ Are they... different ...like you?”
    “ Not everyone is psychic, but i sn’t everyone a little