Angelica butted out her cigarette with the heel of her new shoes. Vanessa butted out hers a few minutes later, enjoying the sweet smoothness of the smoke.
revently Angelica had taken up smoking as a way to socialize with her new friend and was suprised how much it calmed her nerves before every therapy session. The
sessions had become increasingly intenisve as they went on and Angie outwardly hated the scrutiny the woman often put on her. However inwardly Angie was delighted
at the attention, the intense attention. She also was drawn to Vanessa, two years older and hardened Vanessa tolerated Angie’s doe eyes but refused to sit by her
in the group sessions. The only person who greeted angie often was the brown-haired girl  Ophelia who also sat beside her. Angelica, like Vanessa, tolerated her but refused to
say that stupid name aloud. The ice breakers were long over so after each person told about their days leading up to the session Julia, the woman, told Angelica and her
group the topic for the day. When she said it, Angelica groaned inwardly, it was the worst topic for her. They had to talk about their story and how they
ended up to where they were today. Vanessa was first as usual. After her Angelica tuned out, still thinking about what Vanessa had said…..she said she was born to a battered
mom and a strict father. From when she was 4 till she was 14 Vanessa was molested by her father five times a week for ten years. He was gone on weekends for his job. Now Vanessa
can’t even let her dog sleep with her she despises physical contact so much. This always occured late at night, during the day he imposed strict rules and religious duties, he
pounded into their heads that they better not sleep around and that ***** was bad especially for girls. Then her father disppeared on one fo the weekends and never came back. Her
mom was forced to go back to work as a janitor and a waitress. Free fromt he ***** abuse Vanessa had felt weird and strangely unsure, she had never been witohut those regular
late-night molestations. So she started smoking pot to fill time and her mind…then it turned to heroin and soon Vanessa was hooked by the age of 15. She went on
binges and lived on chocolate and pop, losing pound after pound. Her mompicked up where her dad left off, often catching her coming home after school and molesting her in the bathroom.
Then her mom went mad. One day after coming home from school, Vanessa hardly went, she came into the
kitchen and found her mom drowning her little sister in the sink. Looking up Vanessa’s mom came after her with a knife but VAnessa got away. Bumped from
foster home to foster hom Vanessa experienced every possible abuse and every possible drug. She was put in this program by her recent foster parents, a nice family who
hadnt tried anything funny. The entire time Vanessa spoke quietly, almost shyly in a  girly face…not once getting emotional but speaking in amonotone devoid of anything but the facts.