Bette gazed down at Angelica. She smoothed her little girl’s forehead and turned off the light. She turned around
to go but stopped, Bette reached down again and touched angie’s cheek. It was soft and cool and pale. It was terrifying. The
extent of her love was terrifying. The room had become terrifying with her daughter in it, because she had changed. Angie had
changed and had probably lost a little bit of herself. But she was here, she was home, she was safe from the world. At least Bette
thought that in a physical sense, Angie would most likely never look at things in quite the same way. Already Bette had seen her look
around with the look of someone expecting the worst, and upon not seeing it the feeling getting worse. Bette walked across the room
and closed the door. Kit was sleeping in the guest room and Shane in the living room. Tina was at the hospital and Bette left to go
there. Looking at the house before getting in her car she thought about angelica’s hand and how it reached for her when Bette
had come close. Angelica was sleeping, but her hand moved and reached for her, Bette had taken it and felt it’s weight. The
weight of which brought wetness to Bette’s eyes, she was here her baby had come through and Bette would never let Angie go
the way she did ever again.

 It was a young spanish cop who found Angelica. She was lying in a pool of her own blood. After
recovering in the hospital  Angelica had finally spoken quietly. When she was brought in she refused to speak. The
nurses didnt like to be around her, angie’s silence disturbed them. However when Bette, pale and scared, came she turned her
head and smiled. Bette had softly brought a chair over and sat down. Taking Angelica’ s hand she kissed it. Over the gauze covering
angie’s self-inflicted cuts she kissed. Angelica had a look of being so intensely relieved and whispered she wanted to come home. Bette
kissed angie again, this time on her temple and smoothed that frizzy hair. It had all gone out the window. Every angry word every action infused
with resent and God knows what. Angelica nodded very lightly and whispered in a too-dry throat that she was sorry. Bette shook her
head, she shook and brought her face close to Angie’s. In a voice that scared her for it’s truth Bette managed to say…”no Angie, no…im sorry
im so so sorry”

 Bette knew it would take a few days before Angelica would tell what happened. All anybody knew was that Angelica had slit her wrists in
a public washroom and when someone came in they called the ambulance and cops, the cop came first. She had been missing for two days. Two
days that were qualified to be Bette’s worst ***** days on the planet, in her whole life. It truley was every parent’s nightmare. A being whom on saw
born, a person who Bette saw grow and develop and feel. It did Tina’s health good when she found out because she improved, T wanted to get better to find her
little girl. .The world had stopped at that minute and forgot to revolve. Bette had exhausted every cell in her body worrying. Nothing mattered but her
girl, nothing…not world hunger, not AIDS, not rights, not Nature, not beggars on the ***** street…if she could choose between anyone and Angie to live Bette would
choose Angie. When she was found and was going to be ok, Bette had resolved to make changes for the better, for her little girl.

 A few days later Angelica was bathing, Bette knocked on the door to give her clean towels. Making sure not to look Bette set them down on the toilet seat
and turned to go. Angelica suprised her by asking Bette to come sit down. Averting her gaze Bette sat down, a little nervous and aprehensive….it wasn’t like
Angelica not to usher Bette out.   “mommy……………..can i-…i think im ready to tell you what happened?”  Bette’s heart skipped a beat, she couldn’t stop herself
from asking if Angie was raped or assaulted…”no mummy no nothing like that……nothing happened to me…..i just need to tell you what i saw”  What had
made Angie hurt herslef Bette thought, what had angie saw that would prompt her to do that? Bette swallowed and nodded. Fighting the urge to hold
Angelica right then and there.