"So you *do* care about him," he said with a smirk. Papa Gary stubbed his cigarette out on her arm. Rachel suppressed a cry of pain as he motioned to someone that she couldn't see, and the person who hurt the little boy in the park came in and smiled at Rachel.

"What have you got there?" the person asked.

Rachel hid Jamie behind her and shook her head, refusing to answer. Papa Gary grabbed her arms and threw her towards the wall. His new friend came up to the bed and smiled. "A little boy... just what I was looking for."

Rachel tugged her nightgown back into place and sighed. "Peoples are *mean*," she said. "They'll hurt us if we let them, but we can't act like we know that. If they know that we know, the hurting will get worse."

"I know," she whispered, "because Papa Gary got meaner when I cried. Other peoples will, too, because they're like *him*."