Chapter 10-P1

When a child grows up, they learn how to share. To say please and thank you. To chew with their mouths closed, keep their hands in their pockets around breakable things. They learn how to emphasize, to understand body language, not to throw rocks. They learn to tie their shoes into bunny ears and say 'cheese' for the camera. Marley learned all of those things, at some point or another. Most of them from her daycare and her school. She learned other, more unorthodox lessons from home. One of them was: you're safest in a closet. Jacobi Hoover, pale-faced, shaking her awake with brown eyes constantly darting around the room. Come on, Marebear. Come on, wake up! The fabric of her favourite blankie and her stuffed giraffe clenched between her tiny balled fists. Trembling. The biting pain of stepping on toys in the dark but not being allowed to make a sound. Curling up. Careful. Doors closed, the light making lines on her skin. Little flashes then. Most