How Can Anyone Love Her

chapter 3

Sarah continued to avoid her sister for a few more weeks so didn't get into any trouble or receive the odd slap or disrespectful comment from her.

Life felt good until one evening when her dad was at work and her mam had been called in to do an extra shift.

Sarah's mam phoned around to see if anyone could watch her children for a few hours until she finished work. No one was available or had other plans until one of her friends phoned and said her daughter who was 15 wouldn't mind babysitting them.

They quickly had some food and put on their pajamas and the babysitter Clara arrived. Sarah didn't know she was so wouldn't talk or interact with her very much but her brother and sister loved her.

Clara had become the regular babysitter for the family since their parents were working more shifts and felt like part of the family.

On a wet, cold Wednesday night Clara was babysitting and she has invited a few friends around to keep her company.

Claire was pretending to be a teenager like them even though she was only 8 and shouted at Sarah to come and see them. She slowly walked over to them in her favorite nightgown that had a picture of a princess on.

"Do you seriously think you will ever be a princess? Or better still ever have a boyfriend like I do" snarled Claire. Sarah just stared at her, not saying a word, whilst Clara and her friends laughed.

"Get to bed you little b***h" snapped Clara " And don't you dare go under the covers because there will be serious consequences if you do"

Sarah walked to her bedroom trying to think of what she could have done wrong apart from playing quietly with her toys. Then something popped into her head, Claire was behind this. She must have told them some lies about her and what she could have said.

In what felt like forever sitting in the cold Sarah began to get tired, so she curled up into a ball and fell asleep. Her mam came home from work around 10pm and paid Clara then went to check on the children.

Craig was fast asleep in his bed, Claire was watching a film in her bed. Sarah was still curled up in a ball on top of her blankets freezing. Her mam woke her up and asked why she asleep like that. Sarah told her the story of what had happened and her mam said "Oh darling. I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll leave my work number under the phone in my bedroom. If anything happens like this again please phone me"

Sarah give her mam a hug and told her she loves her and asked if their grandad would watch them next time. She finally got under her blankets and got warmed up and went back to sleep.

Barbara her mam wasn't very happy about Sarah had told her so she phoned their grandad to see if he could watch the children on Saturday night. He agreed and said that he misses the children especially Sarah as she was always good when he was there.