Her first mistake was not telling her uncle that she was leaving. Her second mistake was going alone.

She stood at the bus stop, the chilled wind blowing her hair into her face. The bus rumbled away from behind her, and she watched it leave, all thoughts of talking to her parents suddenly daunting.

She hadn't been thinking, and now she was in her old hometown, standing at a quiet bus stop. There were no people walking about, no people mulling around, and certainly no sign of life as she entered the bus station.

Her body was sore from the long bus ride, and she did not want to think about the money she just spent on the ticket to get there. She wished she had stayed in Vermont, and in a few hours, her uncle and aunt would know she was missing. Skipping school had never been a strong suit of hers, and leaving without telling anyway was really not her thing. She was not the kind of girl who was spontaneous. She was not Kenzie.

She was Polly. And Polly was never so rebellious in her entire life. Polly was never so daring. Polly was not the kind of girl to jump on a bus to head back home where her parents were living.

She had not parted with them on good terms. They had called her a devil child and locked her away. They had abused her. They had hated her.

But Polly wanted closure. She needed closure, so here she was, her heart pounding her chest. The walk home from the bus station would be a good chunk of time, but she wasn't sure she wanted to pay for a cab right either. The man sitting behind the counter in the bus station eyed her wearily, but she paid him no attention.

She saw a pay phone hanging on the wall, and she was tempted to dial her home phone number. If she closed her eyes, she could picture the digits. She imagined her mother or father picking up the phone, and she imagined them angry at her.

Hiding behind a phone was not why she traveled so many hours. Polly knew she had to see them in person.

She grabbed a map from the table, and opened it. A large cartoon bus with eyes and a smile proclaimed YOU ARE HERE! on the map, and she followed the road names, looking for her own street. There, only a few blocks down, was her street, and seeing the name gave her a wave of anxiety she was not expecting.

"Miss? Are you buying a bus ticket?" the man behind the counter said loudly. He was chewing gum, and he looked unimpressed with Polly. She straightened up, clutching the map tightly in her hand, crinkling it.

"No. I just got off the bus."

The ticket man blew out a sigh. "No loiterin'," he said as he pointed a chubby finger at a large sign on the wall. The sign was all black, and in white lettering it read the same thing he had said: No loitering.

Polly didn't think grabbing a map meant she was loitering, but she didn't want him to call the police on her. She nodded and left the station in a haste, remembering why she had never liked this town. The people that lived there were rude.

She looked down at the map in her hands, and sighed. She had made it this far alone, and she knew she could talk to her parents. It was the closure she needed, and even Polly knew staying away from them wasn't doing her any good.

The walk to her house was not that long, but she felt sick to her stomach. The last time she was home, her parents had tied her down to her bed. They had yelled at her, told her to behave, told her to be on her best behavior for Doctor Higgins. Just thinking about it made her remember the raw skin of her wrists as she had tried to escape the binds.

This is stupid. Incredibly stupid, Polly couldn't help but think. She had no business back there, in her hometown. She had no business seeing her parents again. The same people who abandoned her.

The chill of the air reminded her of the time of year it was. The trees around her were shedding the last of their leaves, and the world seemed gloomy and grey. It reminded her of Doctor Higgins, and his camp. Dull. Colorless. Gloomy.

Her house stood proud against the forest backdrop. It was nestled in the woods, covered by the protection of the tall pines that had stood strong since she was a child. Her house looked just as she remembered it from her childhood, and yet she felt a sense of nostalgia in the pit of her stomach. Despite the bad memories made in that house, she felt all at once like she was back where she belonged. Amidst the horrific memories she had, there were the memories she did enjoy. Before she came out to her parents.

Both cars sat quiet in the driveway, and so she knew they were home. There was no avoiding them now, as she stood on the dirt of the long driveway. The paint on the house was a chipping white, and the porch looked as though it was sagging in the way that it would look on an abandoned house. The kitchen window was home to a broken shutter, and even the front door looked uninviting and not taken care of.

The house looked abandoned, like no one lived there. Or, the family behind the walls just didn't care. Like how they didn't care about you.

She took in a deep breath. She was here, standing at the entrance of the lions den, and there was no turning back.

Polly climbed the porch steps, and felt the creaking of the old wood under her weight. The front door had a knocking only policy. Never in her life did her parents own a doorbell, and she was comforted by the fact that they still didn't own one.

She raised her hand to knock, but her heart was beating violently in her chest. She felt sick, like she was going to vomit all over the weathered porch, but she held it all in. She closed her eyes, and knocked on the door.

There was no sound from behind the door for a moment. Nothing, and then the door swung open harshly, and she was staring into the eyes of her father.

He was just as she remembered. His hair was greying, but he still looked the same. The shirt he wore was a worn tee, one that Polly often remembered him wearing on laundry days. His face was scruffy, his hair was wild, and he looked slightly crazed as he stared at his daughter from the doorway.

From inside the house, there was a baby crying. Polly felt like she couldn't breathe as she made eye contact with a young girl standing behind her father's legs.

Her father squinted at her. "Polly? Is that really you?"

From inside the house, her mother was yelling. "Who is it? Who is at the door?"

Polly didn't breathe. She was watching the little girl with wide, terrified eyes. A girl. A little girl was in her house, and there was a baby crying in her house, and Polly realized all at once that she didn't belong there anymore. That she had not belonged the moment she was sent away.

"It's Polly!" Her father yelled back. And then, he opened the door wider. "Please, come in."

She felt like a guest in her own home. She took a step inside, but didn't venture any deeper. She was looking at her house, but it didn't look the same. It looked like a new family lived there, with new toys and new clutter everywhere.

She stared at the living room. The couch was covered in toys. The floor was covered in toys. The television was on, blaring some sort of cartoon show. Polly felt her mind go out of focus, and she felt dizzy. She felt sick.

Her family had abandoned her and started over. They didn't want her anymore, so they decided to try all over again. They had new children to fix the hole their old child had left. And Polly felt so sick.

Her mother entered the room, a baby on her hip. Her parents were too old to even have children that young, but it didn't seem to bother her mother. Her mother, with her mousey hair tied back into a bun, and a tired face. Her mother, with her long thin body and her mean eyes. Only now, her eyes didn't look so mean. They looked soft. They looked tired.

"Polly? My god, what is going on?"

Polly couldn't answer. She felt numb, and she kept staring at the little girl with her hair, standing there. The girl was clutching a stuffed bear to her chest. She was clutching Polly's stuffed bear to her chest.

"I should be asking you that!" Polly staggered back. "You abandon me at a torture camp, and decide to have more kids? Because I wasn't enough?"

Her father reached for her, but Polly dodged his arms. "I can't believe this. I've been living with my uncle and aunt for this whole time while you've been galavanting around with all these children! Giving them my toys, my room, and the love that I deserved."

Her mother stiffened. "Your uncle and aunt?"

Polly backed towards the door, shaking. "How could you? I loved you so much. So much. Why didn't you love me? Why didn't you miss me?"

The little girl latched onto her father's leg tightly, frightened by Polly. The baby was crying. Her parents were surprised by her presence. But the thing Polly noticed the most was how much they didn't miss her. They had dumped her and started over again. Ignored their child and tried for a new family.

While her life had been traumatizing and horrific, no one had missed her. No one had cared.

The tears came, fast and hot. She hated that she was crying. She hated that she'd even come there, because it was clear to her now that closure was not what she needed. Moving on and forgetting was what she needed.

"Honey, we do love you," her mother tried to say, but Polly didn't believe her for a moment.

"No! You realized I was gay and tossed me aside. You abused me. You tortured me! You aren't fit to be parents!"

She was yelling hysterically now. She couldn't stop, now that the words were flowing. She had so much to say to her parents, and not enough time to say it all. She wanted them to feel the pain she had felt. She wanted them to suffer, just as she had.

The front door opened without a knock, and hands grabbed her shoulders. The delighted looks on the faces of her parents made the bile rise in her throat, and without even turning, she knew just who was standing there.

"Tanner! What a delight!" Her mother's voice sounded fake, but it was cheery. It sounded pleased, as if perhaps she thought Tanner would wisk Polly away, back to his camp for gay teens. Polly felt her stomach lurch at the thought.

"I'm here for dear Polly. Would you mind if I speak with her?" The smile in his voice made the hairs on Polly's neck stand on end. She didn't want to speak with him, and she didn't want to leave. Not before she could really yell at her parents. Not before she could get them to apologize.

Her parents didn't care. "Of course!" her father offered, as if she were an animal.

And then she was out the door, and she yanked out of Tanner's arms the moment the front door was shut. The fear was evident in the beating of her heart, but she tried not to show him. She was desperate.

"What do you want?" she yelled at him.

Tanner held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Nothing. I'm just here to rescue you." And it was then that Polly recognized the car sitting in the driveway. Tom was leaning his head out the window, a grin on his lips. Standing beside the car was Kenzie, her purple dress matching her hair, and beside her was Minny, tucked neatly in his uniform.

Polly's questioning gaze rested back on Tanner, the words evaporated in her throat. She didn't know what to say, what to do, or what to think.

"Let's go!" Kenzie yelled, and then she disappeared into the car. Minny followed her. And for a moment, Polly debated whether or not to follow them into Tom's car, but then she realized that a car ride with them was better than being with her parents.

She settled between Kenzie and Minny in the backseat, her hands knotted together. When Tanner folded himself into the passenger seat, he turned to grin at her. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering why we're here."

And she was. She sure as hell was.

* * *

I'm sure you're all wondering, WHAT IS GOING ON???

Tell me in the comments how you feel about Tanner being there.

How do you feel about her parents and their new fam?

And do you think Polly should have yelled at them more?

Happy Friday, my skeleton children.

i love you all. XOXO