My mom took Eden to her house every night to check if her mom's car was there. I'd spend the ten minutes they were gone praying, with my fingers crossed. If nobody was home, Eden would come back and sleep over in our guest room. I could tell Mom worried about letting Eden sleepover without her mother's permission. She didn't like the thought of a mother coming home and not knowing where her daughter was. If it was any of us, Mom would probably not sleep a wink until she knew we were perfectly safe. I don't think Eden's mom cared as much as mine did.

Eden had become an honorary member of our family. Nights in our house were boring without her. I especially hated the closed lip, obviously faked smiles, and ginger movements my best friend adopted the mornings following. Eden always thought she was hiding her pain well, keeping her deepest secret from me, but she sometimes forgets how well I knew her.

My mom also thought she was hiding her pain and worry over Eden, but I saw that, too. We all did. Mom was like a ticking time bomb. Everything seemed to set her off when Eden was missing from our house. I wasn't stupid. I knew that my mom was worried about Eden. Nobody left for the day and came back with a spattering of new bruises without a reason.

Mom came home from her nightly visits to the Morrison household without Eden, but with a rare grin on her face. She grabbed Dad and pulled him into their room, closing the door behind her. I snuck to the door and listened closely to hear what she had to say.

"She gave me permission! Shanie was there for once and I was able to talk to her! Oh, Aaron, she's just as awful as ever and she had a man with her that couldn't be Eden's father. He looked like he wanted to eat her," I could imagine the look on Mom's face from the tone of her voice. The picture I painted in my head wasn't pretty. "But she agreed to talk to me! I asked her if-when she was gone, of course- Eden could spend the night with us and she said yes! I also asked if she could go on vacation with us for winter break and she said sure! Sure, Aaron! We're one step closer to getting her out of there!" If I hadn't been standing on the outside of the door trying to keep quiet, I would have screamed with happiness.

I could hear a silence in the bedroom. Dad sighed, "That really is great, Angel. But we can't keep ignoring the fact that this little girl is living in an awful home! There isn't a week that goes by that I don't see the darling child limping into my house. That's not normal, baby...She's over every day and spends the night half of the week. I'm not saying I don't love having her here, but we can't keep putting this off. We could get in trouble for keeping this from the authorities."

It was Mom's turn to sigh, "I know we need to tell the authorities. Don't you know it would kill me if she was injured because we didn't tell anyone? But I don't have proof. Eden won't tell me, I've asked. She won't show me her bruises, she won't let me in. I've seen what that lady does when I come over. She acts like a decent mother and is compliant when I ask for Eden to come over. What makes you think she won't act just like that with police officers on her tail? What if they don't take her away from that home? I'd die if I was the reason that little girl was beaten because I called CPS and there wasn't enough proof to get her away."

I knew that Eden wasn't treated right at her home. I saw it when she jumped away from any contact but my own. I saw it when she limped when she walked or sat on one side of her bottom in a chair, trying not to brush her bruised body on hard surfaces. I could see it when she covered her entire body with clothes, even in the hot days of summer. I couldn't understand why the police officers wouldn't see that and have enough evidence to take her away from that awful place she called home.

"We'll figure it out. Ang baby, don't cry. At least we are doing all we can for her. Eden's comfortable around all of us now. She trusts us and even loves us. She's growing, she's even smiling these days. We were watching TV together the other day and she giggled! All we can do for now is love her and show her that not all people are bad. I hate to say it, but we'll wait for a definite sign to get her out of that horrible place. If only to ensure that she will have no reason to return to that horrible place."

I could hear them walking towards the door and I ran into the bathroom down the hall. Their bedroom door opened and they walked past the bathroom without a clue I was in there. Or so I hoped. I waited a few minutes to leave and I followed them into the kitchen.

Ezekiel sat at the kitchen table writing graduation invitations to various family members. He would be graduating in June, almost five months away, and would be going off to New York. When our parents walked into the kitchen, Zeke looked to them with a hopeful expression, apparently hoping Eden would return with Mom. Whenever Eden would leave, he'd always find something to occupy himself, like me with my praying. His back was rigid and he tried to hide his worry. That's what all of us seemed to do.

There wasn't a lot to do after Eden went home, we had already done our homework, eaten dinner, and even showered. But things were different on the nights Eden didn't stay over. We did the same stuff- watched movies and sat around until my bedtime at ten- but we worried a lot more. We were tense. Mom and Dad would sit close on the couch with their hands clasped in each other's, craters of worry etched on their foreheads. My brothers tried to hide it, but I could see their hands shook and they fidgeted while trying to preoccupy themselves.

We had become accustomed to, but not comfortable with, Eden's careful movements the morning after she didn't stay the night. Often times, when Mom would come home without Eden, I'd see tear tracks on her face, showing she hated leaving Eden at her house.

We all loved Eden and would do anything for her. I hated that I couldn't do more for her. I pledged to do all that I could to make her happy despite her home life. Dad always said Eden needed people that would love her unconditionally and care for her in every way possible. I pledged to be that person and I was sure the rest of my family did too.