Chapter Two

I can hear the rain hitting my window and it helped me relax. I have had a few nightmares this week. I keep waking jup crying. I keep thinking about what that old woman, Mrs. D was her name. Well it was what e were told to call her. The last dream I had was of her hitting me with the attitude adjuster. Yup, she had this four -foot-long wooden spoon and she would use it to hit me and Jacob. When she wasn't using the attitude adjuster it was a long switch from a tree in the back yard she made Jacob get himself.

I could just be sitting their being quiet and playing with toys and she would accuse me of giving her a dirty look. As if a small child could do this. She would say I was evil because I never talked. She said God must have been angry with me and took my voice. She was very religious. I dont even know what religion could be this cruel. In that dream while she was spanking me with the attitude adjuster Jacob was trying to get her to stop. He told her whatever I did to make her mad , That I was sorry for it. Problem was we were not always sure what we did wrong. Because he intervened, she used dish soap to wash out his mouth. This time it was Lemon Joy. Did you know that Lemon Joy taste just like lemons. To this day we cant stand lemon flavored foods. She would drip globs of the dish soap on our pointer finger and make us spread it all over our teath and tongue then sit there drooling untill she let us rince it out. This was the dream that had just woke me up. As I opened my eyes and adjusted to the dark room, which was being lit up by lightning strikes shining through my windows, It was then I noticed Jacob. He was sitting on my bed, he knew I was having a nightmare and woke up scared and crying.

"I could hear you crying, was it another dream Penny" Jacob said with sadness in his voice.

" yea, this one was the time Mrs.D used lemon Joy to wash out your mouth when you tried to protect me, oh it was awfal it was like I was floating above everyone watching her hurt both of us"

I was still crying but to an outsider you would not hear anything, you would just see a young girl with tears flowing down he face.

"anytime I taste any lemon flavoring. it brings up bad memories' I said while feeling better with him near me.

I love the fact that we can talk to each other; it really helps especially on nights like this.

" Jacob can you stay with me tonightf, just like when we were little, remember how you would hold me so I could sleep, Please just untill I fall asleep then you can leave." I was begging him.

"Yea I remember holding you, it did always help. I will stay but we need to make sure that the Carters don't find out, I mean we are fifteen now and they might freak out if they found you sleeping with your brotherf, they think we are wierd as it is." Jacob replied with sarcasm.

"Dont worry, I wont tell on you, it will be our secret." I said as he laid down next to me, he stayed on top of the blankets just in case Mrs. Carter came in and seen us. We are not freaky or anything, he just comforts me. Its a twin thin, I guess. I hated when we had to have separate rooms.

We have been living with the Carters since we were thirteen. When Mrs.D died, we were eight and moved from one home to the next, so many in fact I have lost count. At one point when we were ten the state had decided to send me to a doctor to find out why I never talked. I cant believe it took ten yers for someone to notice it was not because I didnt want to talk, or because Jacob did all the talking for me. They did eventyally find out that I was born without vocal cords, just some kind of freak birth defect. I guess, I really dont care, the only person who I wasnt to talk to is Jacob.

It never bothered me that I did not talk out loud. The carters were looking for kids to adopt and they found us at the group home we were in at the time. The state told the Carters we were to stay a year, if we adjusted well and if the carters still wanted us, then they could adopt us. So, we habe been with the carters for two years , almost three. the adoption still as not been finalized yet, but wee were pretty sure we were not oung to be moving homes again. We loved it here and the Carters were a good couple.

WIth Jacob next to me I could feel the warmth he was giving off and since he was always make me feel comfortable. I was asleep in no time at all. It helped that it was still raining, the sound on the roof of the house helped lull me to sleep. I did not dream for the rest of the night.