10| Aversion

She heard a sharp intake of breath. She did not look up from the porcelain bowl. The white countertop made her feel dizzy before she resumed, “I don’t know much about my time at the orphanage but I can say one thing that I could live and breathe freely there. One day, I was adopted by the Whites, a childless couple who seemed to be lovable and cheerful in the beginning.” Her lips twisted slightly at the words ‘cheerful’ and ‘loveable’.  

She pushed back the bowl slightly and glanced at Barbara who was staring back at her. Her face was an open book, painted with a plethora of emotions. “I was taken care of initially,” she said, furrowing her eyebrows and remembering the days when they actually cared for her like parents would for a child. “But then...things started getting worse,” she continued. Summer gripped the spoon tighter. “Financially they weren’t stable and bringing me into their li