Chapter 1

Jenna sat on the steps of the old stone church. She leaned up against the cold cement and traced her finger along the lines of the stairs. She looked towards the street in front of her; cars drove by, and people walked on the sidewalk. It was a perfect day; only it wasn't. 

The town she lived in was called Pleasantville, but it wasn’t very pleasant for her. She waited on the steps of her current foster family's church, the Morgs, for them to come out from the service. 

Today was Jenna’s 17th Birthday, but it didn’t matter. Jenna had been in foster care since she was three, but not all her foster parents were bad. The Morgs were nice enough people, but they weren’t her family. 

The Morgs doted on their biological children but not her. When it came to birthdays, holidays, and vacations? She was rarely included. They weren’t mean or vile like some of her previous foster parents. She had clean clothes and food; she even went to an excellent school- They didn’t treat her like family.

Jenna’s mother was an alcoholic, and Jenna had been placed in foster care one fateful night when her mother had taken a ride with her drunk. Unfortunately, there had been a car accident; thankfully, no one was seriously injured. However, when the police entered the apartment and saw their living conditions, Jenna was taken away and placed in foster care.

Since that night, Jenna had often pleaded with her mother to get sober and help, but it never worked. She had been to multiple rehabilitation centers and therapy, but nothing stuck.

She looked away from the traffic and at the big tree, she sat under next to the steps. The wind blew, and she remembered all her previous foster parents.

Jenna was in a group home from three to five. At five, she was placed with the Millers until she was ten. The Millers were wonderful. Mrs. Miller couldn’t have children of her own, and they wanted to adopt Jenna, but her mother wouldn’t sign off. That made Jenna so incredibly mad. The Millers had no other children; she was like their biological child. She was included in everything, vacations, holidays, and anything family related. She even had her own room that was decorated just how she wanted. The Millers tried for four years to get Jenna’s mother to change her mind, but after so many failed attempts, they had another child placed with them. They ended up adopting him, and Jenna was placed with the Canters. It had broken her heart that they didn’t want to keep her. Living with the Millers felt like home, but they wanted to build a relationship with their son without interference, which meant Jenna had to go. 

She was with the Canters from ten to fourteen. They were also nice people, but after what happened with the Millers, Jenna could not allow herself to get close to them. She had built a wall so she wouldn’t get hurt again. Then, when Jenna was fourteen, Mrs. Canter had gotten sick. She had stage 4 breast cancer and soon passed away. So after the Canters, Jenna was placed with the Morgs.

The church doors opened and out walked The Morgs. Evelyn (Mrs. Morg) was talking to the pastor. “Oh yes, of course. I'd love to help organize the bake sale for the fundraiser. We can make it so much fun.” She smiled as she spoke and touched the pastor’s arm. Jenna rolled her eyes. They looked like the perfect family in public, but they were anything but at home. Mr. Morg (Mark) smiled and nodded in agreement as he followed with their two children. Max and Melanie were ten years old and twins. They were annoying, but they weren’t terrible. 

Mrs. Morg looked down at Jenna “Come along, dear. Let's go home and celebrate your birthday.” Jenna smiled at her and got up, playing the picture of the perfect family. They got to their dodge journey SUV, and everyone climbed in. 

Mr. Morgs hands were on the steering wheel; his knuckles were white with anger. Jenna knew it was coming, and she passed the twins their tablets and headphones, “How about you guys watch something on Youtube while we drive home?” she said, smiling. The twins took the tablets and headphones and zoned out as Jenna braced herself.

Mr. Morg looked at his wife. She was sitting in the passenger seat, playing on her phone. “WHY, Evelyn! Why would you even agree to help right now? You know everything is wrong right now. In our marriage, in our relationship? Why are you trying to ruin my life further!”

Mrs. Morg had an affair.

On the outside, they were the perfect family, pillars of the community. They helped with local charities, helped the homeless, and even fostered children. They had an excellent reputation. Mr. Morg was running for city council, and his wife’s adultery could never be known. There couldn't be a scandal now! It would cost him the election and ruin his reputation.

Evelyn looked at him with disdain, “Well, maybe if you would put your family first! ME FIRST! I wouldn’t have been lonely! I would have stayed within our marriage! You don’t even try Mark! All you care about is your career! I can't take it anymore! When the election is over, I want a divorce!” She screamed.

The car pulled into the driveway, and Evelyn got out, slamming the door. Mr. Morg sighed as he turned and looked at Jenna, who was looking out the window pretending she hadn’t heard any of that. Finally, Mark spoke, “Remember, your life is good here. Do not tell anyone any of this. It would suck if we suddenly had to tell your social worker you couldn’t live here anymore.” Jenna nodded; She already knew about all of it. He was right; her life wasn’t bad here. They weren’t her family, but she was content. They lived in a huge house, almost a mansion. She had her own room, and there was a pool. She had one more year until she aged out of the system. She could make it. 

Jenna tapped the twins and motioned for them to go inside. They all climbed out of the car and walked inside the house. Jenna walked up to her room and closed the door. She could keep the Morg's secrets. It's not like she had ever been in control of her life anyway. She had been moved from foster family to foster family so many times; all she wanted was to control her destiny.