"Well, now I do."

Polly stood in the threshold of her bedroom, staring at her uncle and aunt. Both looked weary and confused, but most of all, firm. And if Polly knew one thing, firm meant no.

"Polly, we just discussed this." Her uncle rubbed his head. "I thought you needed time off from school. And your aunt and I, we agree. It's okay to spend some time alone."

After seeing that girl, Polly was determined to find her. It was a strange urge. One she didn't agree with, or condone, but one she was stuck with. One she wanted to explore to see where it would take her. And it was, right now, taking her to public school.

Polly had never been in public school. When she wasn't at church, Polly attended a Christian school, dedicated to teaching the word of God through every study. Polly hated going there, but it was all she knew. Public school was terrifying and daunting, but it had to be better than what she once had.

"Shouldn't I be the one who decides that?" Polly crossed her arms, adding in attitude that wasn't necessary. She, however, needed to get her way. She needed to go to school.

Her aunt and uncle shared a look. "Honey, we want what's best for you. You know that. We just think-"

"Do you?" Polly looked at her aunt and uncle with hard eyes. She hated this - she hated feeling angry at them. But she couldn't help it; she was angry at the world. Angry at the hand of cards she was dealt. "My parents also said those same words. They also wanted the best for me. And Doctor Higgins said he wanted the best for me. So I'm finding it hard to believe those words right now. And I'm having a hard time understanding why you won't let me go to school."

She hadn't talked to her aunt and uncle about her parents. Not since she'd moved in. It was an unspoken rule that it was her choice to talk about them, and when the topic was appropriate. So far, she hadn't even mentioned a thing she suffered through. It was personal. It was horrifying. And worst of all, it would bring pity upon her, pity she certainly did not need.

"Your parents are very stubborn in their ways." Her aunt said softly. "My brother was certainly not the most open child growing up. And I realize now he has not changed as a father. And I apologize for the situation he has put you in, but Polly, we love you. We've loved you since the day we got the phone call that you were born. But, we understand. We understand that trust comes first and it is something that must be earned. So we'll let you go to school with the trust that you will tell us if it's too much for you."

Polly's uncle said nothing, just nodded in confirmation. But still, Polly felt on edge. She couldn't help remembering just what she went through before she got there. How many beatings she suffered through, how many times she was called devil child.

It tore her up inside.

Polly wasn't sure love even existed. She couldn't even love herself, and that was what mattered most. She hated how she looked. She hated that she was attracted to girls. And most of all, she hated that she was different.

Her parents hated that about her too. She'd always known this.

"Thanks. And I'm sorry for how I just acted. That was horrid of me, especially after all you've done. I'm sorry." Polly ducked back into her room, feeling just as horrible as she felt when she found out about Jenny telling everyone about her nightmares.

"You're fine, darling. We're parents, we can take it." Her uncle ruffled her hair, smiling down at his niece. He loved her a lot, and he knew she'd gone through Hell and back. But, she was anything but a devil child.

"I just think moving on would be better. Sitting here, doing nothing, is driving me crazy. I feel like I'm going insane. I just need to move on." And it was true, for the most part. Polly felt trapped, like she was going nowhere. She'd escaped the clutches of evil, but she still felt unmoving, like at any moment her past would catch up to her and simply destroy her. And when she closed her eyes, she felt even more anxiety breathing down her neck, like her own person demon was there, reminding her of her fate.

When she closed her eyes, she could almost visualize said demon. Standing behind her, hunched over with a wicked gleam in its eyes, sharp teeth proudly on display in what could be perceived as a grin. Always there, and most certainly always mocking her. You're gay. You're a devil child. You belong with me in the pits of Hell.

She felt like her demon was just waiting to drag her to Hell. Like her own, personal demon was just waiting for the perfect moment to wrap its arms around her and drag her down, down, down.

It was the waiting game that scared her. It was the waiting game that made her anxiety flare up and her heart begin to beat faster and faster. She needed to get moving, and if that meant going to school, so be it.

Something told her that the mysterious girl with pinkish, purplish hair could help fight the demons. That she was tough enough to carry her to safety.

There was just one problem: the girl probably wasn't gay. And even if she was, Polly didn't even know her yet. And like with everyone else, Polly knew the girl with the pinkish, purplish hair probably wouldn't want anything to do with her.

"If this is what you think will help, then yeah. We'll get you enrolled in school. But Polly, please don't hesitate to talk to us. We understand a little of what has happened in your life, and we're here to help. Just, please don't run from us."

Her aunt had seen the fleeing look in Polly's eyes. The kind of look that screamed I'm running and never coming back. It was a look she knew well, because she too had once looked that way. And she did run, and she never returned. It was the look of a trapped child, needing to breathe and be free.

It was the look of an abused child.

Not that Polly's aunt was abused - she wasn't - but she knew the look well. And knew of Polly's past.

She knew it was only time before Polly exploded, and her aunt wanted to make sure Polly knew she was loved. Even if was for a small time in her life.

Polly retreated into her room. "Thank you. Seriously. I don't know what I would do without you guys taking me in like this. I would probably be living on the streets, or worse, still in the clutches of Doctor Higgins. So, thank you very much. You have done wonders for me."

And it was the truth. She felt indebted to her aunt and uncle.

"It's nothing. We just want to make sure you know that you're loved. And you are, so very much Polly. Now, we're going to start dinner and make some phone calls. Holler if you need anything."

She nodded numbly, moving to her bed. She flopped down, throwing her face into her pillow, letting the sobs take over. She hadn't cried in a long time, but she couldn't seem to forget her past. She couldn't forget the way Doctor Higgins touched her. She couldn't forget the hate in her parents' eyes.

She couldn't forget how much she hated herself.

"Devil Child, Devil Child, what do I see? A poor, pitiful girl looking right at me. She's gay, she's wrong, she belongs in Hell. She worships the devil and it's her soul she sells!"

Polly covered her ears and shut her eyes. "Stop! Stop! Don't say that about me!"

Her father gripped her wrists and pulled them from her ears. "You listen here, you devil child. Your mother has written a fantastic song for you and you will listen. Don't make me get out my belt, you understand?"

Polly shivered and looked up at her mother. She was smiling gleefully. She was delighted, happy, trying not to screech in excitement. "Doctor Higgins will be here any moment. Isn't this great? We're finally going to get you fixed!"

Polly felt the tears running down her cheeks. "I don't want to be fixed!" She wailed. She felt like a perfectly normal human as it was, but her parents didn't agree.

"You are a member of the church, are you not? It is a wicked sin to be in love with another girl. You will have to deal with your own sins, Pauline. And it's time you did so. It's wrong and filthy, to see you like this. I want my daughter back!"

And Polly wanted her mother back. This was foreign to her. Sure, her parents were a little strange and completely devoted to the word of God. But never before had they hated her. Never before had they shown her such hatred. She'd never been whipped before. She'd also never been called Devil Child.

Her parents were different people ever since she'd told them about her strange fascination with girls. She wanted it to go away, disappear. She wanted her parents to love her again.

But how could they when she was so messed up? How could they when she was looking at other girls like they were the answer to happiness, and she was uncontrollably attracted to them like a moth to light?
And how would they ever forgive her for sinning? These were questions she had to ask herself as Doctor Higgins showed up in her own living room, looking at her like she was the root of all evil. Like she didn't belong on this Earth. Like it was her own choice to like girls, which it wasn't. It was just something that happened, that her mind liked. She couldn't control the emotions she felt.

And as Polly looked up at Doctor Higgins, and then to her parents, she wasn't even sure she could fight this, whatever it was. There was no hope for forgiveness. There was no hope of love again, and she didn't understand why. Couldn't understand why.

She was the same child her mother gave birth to. She was the same child in those home videos that she used to catch her parents watching late at night when they thought she was asleep. She was the same child her parents watched over and protected, yet now they couldn't stand the sight of her.

Before she was even born, Polly's parents told her the doctor thought she was a boy. And when it came time to set up the nursery, they had painted the room green and had bought clothes that were catered towards boys. But when she was born a girl, they loved her all the same. And Polly couldn't understand why they could still love her even though she was different than they thought, but they couldn't love her now. She couldn't fathom why her sexual orientation could make such a difference.

But it did.

And Doctor Higgins hated her the most. He pressed a cross into her forehead, hard enough to bite into her skin and leave a mark, and her parents did nothing to stop him. They did nothing to stop him as he chanted words at her, calling her a devil child.

They did nothing to stop him as he pushed her to the ground, literally sitting atop of her, and holding her wrists to the ground, as if she were possessed and needed to be restrained. And her parents just watched.

She had never felt more violated in her life as Doctor Higgins sat on her, pressing into her as he chanted strange words. He frightened her - the whole situation did. And the entire time, all she could think was that there was nothing wrong with her. She wasn't possessed. She wasn't a devil child.

She was Polly. The same girl her parents once loved. The same girl she'd always been.

It wasn't enough, though. She wasn't enough. Her parents wanted a different child now. They didn't want her.

And at this time, she had no idea they would send her off. She had no idea that she would live with her aunt and uncle because they didn't want her anymore. But at that moment, she knew there would be no going back to the life she once lived.

She was a devil child. And that was all she'd ever be.

* * *

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