Billy: Survivor Still Surviving

By Kaya Forman

Billy is a young girl who finds herself in a world of hardship. Through loss, love, and pain, Billy learns how to survive and overcome the deep need for acceptance and belonging. Tragic events lead to Billy discovering that everything she has known about herself may have been a lie and that she might not know herself at all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524538866

Kaya Forman

Kaya Forman is a fictional novelist who embarks on a new novel, Something About Andrea. She enjoys writing all genres in a unique way, making the reader feel like they are watching a movie instead of reading a book. In her novel, Billy: Survivor Still Surviving, Kaya brought the reality of sexual abuse and homelessness to the forefront. Kaya is not afraid to be bold and holds nothing back from her books. Her mission in life has always been to bring awareness to human trafficking and to offer compassion to the less fortunate. Kaya resides in Florida where she is always working on a novel, a song, or a poem.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Kaya Forman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 08/27/2016

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

748114

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

About The Author

For all the people of the streets:

Washington Square kids and squatters all over the world!

The struggle is real!

CHAPTER 1

You can’t take the heat out of the sun. You can’t take the battle out of war. You can’t take the scent of a rose from its petals. But you can take hatred out of a cold heart, although it seems impossible. I am a living witness; just try. I sit here in this hollow cell, clinging to memories. How have I gotten to this place?

Lights out, Billy! Enough for today, yelled the guard. Come on, turn it off.

I may be in my body, but I’m sure not in my mind and soul. You see, I use this pen and pad to escape. It all began when I was five years old. I was sitting in the living room with Marie.

Victoria, come on! Get your butt on that bus now, or you will be late for school. You’re just like your mother. You should be happy I took you in, or you would have no hope. Your mother was slow and always dragging her feet. Maybe that’s why she got hit by a car. She wasn’t paying attention. Do you hear me, Victoria? You better pay attention. You don’t want to end up like that, do you? I swear it seemed like Marie spit all that out in one breath.

No, Marie, I don’t, but I have to walk to school. Don’t you remember that the bus driver told me that you have to drop me off? They said I live too close to the school to ride the bus, Victoria said as she stood at the door.

Yeah, yeah, well, I can’t drive you! I’m sure you know the way by now. Hurry along before you miss breakfast. What’s wrong with people? Telling a kindergartener she can’t ride the bus. Please! I’m telling you, Victoria, you got to be smart to survive in this world.

Billy! The guard’s voice shook me out of my trance.

Yeah, I heard you! I yelled back as I cut off the light and lay down on the painful mattress. My mind seemed to drift back to thoughts of my family, or lack thereof. You see, I never had a family. Okay, let me take that back—I did have a family once. I wouldn’t say it was a typical family though. It wasn’t one with a mom and dad or brothers and sisters. Marie was not family, not even close enough to call mom. But on the streets is where I found my true family. We loved one another. We looked out for one another. Like Marie always told me, You have to survive. And with her, that’s exactly what I did.

*   *   *

How about I come to play at your house, Victoria? Do you have Barbie dolls? I always wanted to see your room. Can I? Suzy asked.

I don’t think that’s a good idea. My mom is not very nice. She doesn’t let friends come over to my house, ever.

But I’m nice, Victoria. Plus, I can be very quiet and you can sneak me in the back door. I would ask you to come over to my house, but I don’t have any Barbie dolls.

Okay! I don’t think Marie is home anyway, so I guess we can play for a little while before she comes home. But you can’t stay for dinner, okay?

Yay! squealed Suzy. We are going to have so much fun! Let’s race!

Suzy and I ran the rest of the way to my house. When we reached it, we were out of breath and laughing. I sneaked her in the back door, and we went to my room.

Sorry, but these are all the toys I have. Here is a Barbie. I handed her the Barbie. I can play with the other doll, I said as sat down to play.

It’s okay! She looks like she can dance, she said while she shook my Barbie from side to side. It wasn’t long into our play time when I heard the front door shut loudly. I looked at Suzy scared.

Oh no, Suzy! You gotta hide! Get in the closet, quick! I tried to push her into the closet, but it was too late. Marie had already opened the door. She looked so angry.

What’s going on here, Victoria Marie Smith? Why is that chink in your room? Get her out of here now before you have no place to sleep tonight. That’s just like bringing a nigger in my home. Get her out of here right now! Marie yelled. I took Suzy’s hand and ran through the front door.

Stop running, Suzy claimed. I can’t run anymore. We both stopped running and tried to catch our breaths. Suzy looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"What is a chink, Victoria? Why is she so mean to me?" I hung