"Hello Richard!" richie eyed the woman suspiciously. 

"hi?" how did she know his name?

"I'm linda! nice to meet you." she held out her hand but Richie didn't take it. 

"ummm okay..."

"Richard, i'm here to-"

"call me Richie." he hated it when people called him his full name. that was what his dad's girlfriend called him, and she wasn't a very... pleasant person to be around. he figured that was why her and his dad went so well together.

"okay, Richie... i'm here to discuss some very important things with you." richie ndded.

"i'm going to ask you a few very personal questions. please answer truthfully. this is very important."

richie really hoped this wasn't what he thought it may be.

"richar- sorry- Richie... how are things going at home?" richie closed his eyes and sighed. 

"take as long as you need."

"i... its um- its okay?" the woman pursed her lips. she knew he was lying. he'd really screwed up now. what if they took him away from his friends? what if he had to go into Foster care? but..... there was a chance they would take him to his mother. his brother. 

his father forbade him from ever contacting the other half of his family. he had no way of knowing where they were, or even if  they were okay. could he risk it and tell them? the woman... janet or whatever already knew he was lying...

"i mean.... its not amazing but..."

"thank you for being honest. i really appriciate it."

richie swiped at his eyes. he could not cry right now.

"do they feed you well?"

he shook his head, looking into his lap.

"alright..." she scribbled something onto a peice of paper and flipped through a few pages on her clipboard.

"do they treat you well?" he shook his head again. 

"do they ever hurt you?" 

"i- i mean.... yeah?"

she nodded and scribbled more onto the paper and stood. 

"i know this is hard for you. to admit things like this.... especially to a total stranger. but, trust me. it gets better." 

she turned to walk away.

"wait. i answered your questions. can you answer mine?" she hesitated. 

"ask away... i can't gareentee..."

"how did you um... know?" 

"well... the nurses here suspected it based on the kind of injuries you had.... so they did a little investigating and when they tried to contact your parents... and they contacted your school. they told them all that they knew and they contacted us."

"okay.... um... one more. what do you think will... happen to me?"

"oh, sweetie. you can't stay where your at... i know that mutch. you might not want to leave your friends, but your safety is more important." 

the woman left. 

richie lied down and sighed. he hoped that his parents would get locked up forever.