I Won't Let Them Hurt You
By Linda Barr
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
Linda Barr
Linda Barr, a freelance writer, has written eight novels that deal with the serious problems that young people face today. She wrote Family Secrets to help young people realize that when they are afraid that someone will find out what is happening in their home, something is very wrong.
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Reviews for I Won't Let Them Hurt You
2 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I read this many times when I was a teenager. I still remember some parts of it vividly. I think I'll try to track down a copy for my sister's daughter.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5*spoilers*Um.... I guess for a swift crash-course in child abuse, this book is okay. It's only 108 pages, not really long enough to establish much... The reader is thrown into the character's lives without much backstory, or explanations for things (like why Katie is always so hesitant to talk to her mother about problems). Everything happens fast because the book is so short... You don't really get to see the attachment grow between Katie and the little boy, Justin, it's just suddenly there. The abuse is suddenly obvious (although Katie tries to deny it and explain it away, not wanting to believe)....However, the ending of the book did surprise me, because it was assumed all along that the father was the one hurting Justin. The mother's confession, and explanation, and turn-around, while rushed and crammed into one small chapter, was a surprise.
Book preview
I Won't Let Them Hurt You - Linda Barr
I Won’t Let Them
Hurt You
by Linda Barr
1004.jpgtoExcel
San Jose New York Lincoln Shanghai
To the League Against Child Abuse, Ohio Chapter,
National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse.
I Won’t Let Them Hurt You
All Rights Reserved © 1988, 2000 by Linda Barr
No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic,
electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system,
without the permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by toExcel an imprint of iUniverse.com, Inc.
For information address:
iUniverse.com, Inc.
620 North 48th Street
Suite 201
Lincoln, NE 68504-3467
www. iuniverse .com
ISBN: 0-595-00186-6
ISBN: 978-1-4620-9909-2 (eBook)
Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
One
JUSTIN Stuart! I can’t believe it. You’ve even got spaghetti sauce in your hair!
Katie said.
Two-year-old Justin stopped splashing water out of the bathtub for a second and grinned up at Katie with a crooked smile. His big brown eyes sparkled. Water dripped off his straight blond hair, which was spotted with spaghetti sauce.
Katie shook her head at Justin and laughed. You’re so cute. How can I get mad at you? she thought. Justin hit the water with his chubby little hands, and some of it splashed on Katie.
Come on, Justin! We have to get you cleaned up before your mom gets home.
And I still have to clean spaghetti off the high chair and the kitchen floor, Katie thought to herself. It’s probably on the walls, too.
Maybe it was because Katie was an only child that she had grown so attached to Justin in such a short time. This was her second week of baby-sitting for the Stuarts, and Katie really looked forward to watching their little boy every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. He was so sweet. Baby-sitting him was much better than going home to an empty house, since her mother wouldn’t be home from work yet anyway.
I sure don’t want Mrs. Stuart to come home and find this mess, Katie thought. She wanted Mrs. Stuart to think that she was the very best baby-sitter around. This job was great. She not only adored Justin, but Katie needed the money. The Spring Dance was only two months away, and she really wanted to buy a special dress to wear.
Katie had been so excited when Scott Dennis had asked her to the dance. She and Scott had been studying together a couple times a week since last fall. He lived just two blocks away on Walnut Street, and was in three of Katie’s classes at Northview High School.
Katie—and a lot of her friends—thought Scott was one of the nicest guys in their ninth-grade class. Not only did Katie think he was the best-looking, but he was quiet and kind of serious. That, Katie thought, made him special. He was different from the other boys in her class—more grown up somehow. Ever since the first time they studied together, Katie had hoped that someday Scott would ask her to go out with him. And now that he had, she wanted to look her best.
Katie tried to get Justin to lean back in the tub so she could rinse the spaghetti sauce out of his hair. She had barely accomplished that when Justin started splashing with his hands again. Justin! You aren’t making this very easy!
she groaned. Just then the phone rang.
Carefully she pulled the slippery little boy out of the tub. Then she threw a towel over him and carried the wet, wriggling child into the bedroom.
Hello?
she said breathlessly into the phone.
Katie!
It was Katie’s best friend, Liz Humphrey. I saw some great dresses at the mall just now!
Great for you or great for me?
Katie asked. Even though they had been best friends since fourth grade, Katie and Liz had totally different tastes in clothes. Katie thought Liz looked great in her wild color combinations, but they just weren’t right for Katie.
Katie sat down on the edge of the Stuarts’ bed and tried to keep Justin from grabbing the phone. Me talk! Me talk!
Justin yelled.
Dusty talk!
Justin couldn’t quite say his name right yet. Hi, Gamma!
he yelled at the phone.
No, Justin!
Katie laughed. It’s not your grandma!
Oh, Katie, there was one dress that was just perfect for you!
Liz was saying. "It’s long and white, kind of lacy. The skirt has a slit partway up the side with pink ruffles showing through. It’s you, Katie!"
Katie smiled. It sounded wonderful. How much is it?
she asked.
Whoops—I forgot to look at the price,
said Liz.
Just then, Katie felt a peculiar warmth spread down her chest. Justin!
she groaned. He had wet all over her shirt!
I’ll call you later, Liz!
Katie blurted into the receiver.
Hurriedly Katie slammed down the phone and ran into the bathroom with Justin. She sat him on the toilet, but he looked up at her sweetly and said, Dusty all done!
Nice work, Dusty, Katie thought to herself. The front of her shirt was soaked. She gingerly unbuttoned it. Then she dropped it into the bathwater. Justin grinned at her from his perch on the toilet. Please sit still a second,
she begged.
Katie noticed one of Mrs. Stuart’s shirts hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She put it on while she swished her own shirt around in the bathtub. How does Mrs. Stuart keep up with Justin? Katie wondered.
The Stuarts moved in a couple houses down from Katie and her mom only two months ago. Katie and Liz had seen Mr. Stuart drive by in his red sports car. They thought he looked like a movie star or something. And Mrs. Stuart seemed like a good match for him. She was small and pretty with thick, curly blondish brown