Hi, I’m Riley’s mother, but I’m really her aunt Sara. Confusing it it? Ill try to explain. Rewind thirteen years. My sister and her husband went to jail. They sold drugs, used drugs, and they were selling to minors. Yes this is my sister were talking about. The one who was the little angel when we were kids? She had a little girls, named riley, and a little boy named mark. Ill tell you about the two adorable little kids they decided to abandon. Every day riley comes into her room, throws own her backpack. Not sure what to think of the day she had. At every corner she would hear,
“Did you hear the Riley’s parents are in jail?”

Riley doesn’t understand this. She had parents, they were right downstairs. She plops down on her bed; her pink fluffy blanket wrapped around her she was just a normal thirteen-year-old girl, trying to survive middle school. She looks around her room, books on the floor, clothes thrown into her closet, totally normal right? Except for her parents, were not her real parents, and she didn’t know. She tries so hard to find out what everyone is talking about. She wonders what is happening to her. She has no idea what will happen next, shell have to wait and find out. This is going to be her life. Although my sister didn’t want her kids to think that they were unsafe, or that they were going to have a bad life. She wanted them to be raised well. She only wanted the best for them. She didn’t want riley or mark knowing about them being in jail, so she thought it would be the best for us to pretend we were their parents! This is how it went, one night my sister Susie called me and said,
“Hi Sara, this is a very big favor I am about to ask you.”
I responded, “okay, I would do anything for you!”
Susie sighed, “I want you to take my kids, and be their parents.”
There was a long silence.
I said, “if you think that would be the best for the kids, I would love to.”
I hadn’t discussed this with my husband, so hopefully this would be okay.
This sounded crazy, but we wanted kids, and I couldn’t have them so it was our only choice. Riley is now thirteen years old, and she still thinks that we are her real parents. There are many times that I would love to tell her! She is such a great girl. I have heard people talking about this situation down at church, obviously people know. I am very nervous that it will get around to riley. Now that I think about it, she will come home sometimes and say t=she feels like people are talking about her. I never thought this night would come; I was on the phone with my mother, and we were talking about Susie. She overheard me talking, and kept listening, because who wouldn’t? I was asking my mother about what I should do about riley. I had no idea she had been listening. After I hung up the phone, I plopped down on the chair in my office, and rubbed my head. Riley walking in and I jumped up.
She said, “I know your hiding something, and you have to tell me now.’
I took a deep breath and I said, “okay honey, I will tell you, it will be very hard for you to hear, but you need to just listen.”
She said quietly, “okay.”
I could tell she was incredibly nervous.
I said,” Well right before you were born, your parents got in a lot trouble they didn’t want to raise you like that: they knew you wouldn’t have a good life. They turned themselves into the police for you. They thought that it would be the best for you.”

All of the sudden, Riley stood up and stormed up the stairs! She slammed her door shut, and searched for her parents on the computer. They sold drugs to minors, and used? What kind of people are my parents, she thought. About twenty minutes later I hear riley stomping down the stairs. She ran out of the door saying,
“IM GOING TO FIND MY PARENTS!”
Did I mention we have 4 horses, and we live on a farm in the middle of nowhere? She jumped on her horse, and galloped all the way to her parent’s prison. She jumped off, and ran into the big scary building. Out of breath she said,
“Is there a David and Susie parker here?”
The man said, “Yes ma’am, but its not visiting hours.”
This crushed riley, this was her parents he was talking about, I don't need visiting hours she thought, their my parents!
He said, “visiting hours start in one hour, you can wait here if you would like.”
She decided to wait, because she couldn’t go back. They would never let her leave again, she thought she couldn’t ever trust them again anyway she sate there for a full hour, and is seemed like over a year finally over the loud speaker it said,
“Visiting hours are staring now for 30 minutes.”
Riley stood up, feeling anxious and nervous. They lead her into the visiting room, and she saw all of the scary looking criminals. The officer led her over to her parents, they didn’t know who she was at first, but when they figured it out they both started to weep.
Riley sat down with a straight face, at the farthest point from crying. She was staring to get really mad actually not sad. Her parents tried to calm her down, and they were acting like annoying grandparents.
“Your so pretty, you’ve grown up so much!”
In Riley’s head, she was thinking, how would you know? You haven’t seen me grown up.
So then riley said
“When are you going to be out of prison?”
They responded, “We have five more years.”
That’s when riley couldn’t keep a hold of herself any longer.
“How could you do this to me, why did you even have me? You are the worst parents ever!”
It felt like only five minutes to riley and then they all heard the loudspeaker again, “visitors please exit out of the north door immediately.”
She left without saying good-bye, and at that point she wants planning on coming back. Riley never ended up talking to her parents again after that day, until they were released. It was June 25th, five years later. It was a nice sunny, summer day. Until her parents showed up at their doorstep.
Susie stated, “we want our kids back, thank you for taking care of them in our time of need, but we don’t need you anymore.”
Then I said, “well I believe that riley and mark would like to stay with us, wee are the ones that have taken the responsibility of taking care of them all their life.”
Susie ran back to her car, and they were going to try to get custody of the children. They thought it would be so easy. Riley and mark have no idea what to do. They think about what they really want, but also what is fair. Who as worked hard to raise them? Then who as sold drugs, and abandoned them? Two weeks later Susie came back and bangs on the door. She had black circles under her eyes, and her eyes were blood shot. I answered the door, at first I couldn’t tell who they were, and then I shrieked.
“Susie?”
Susie piled into the house, went upstairs and grabbed mark by the arm.
Susie yelled, “I want my kids back!”
Then riley ran into the room.
“MOTHER? I don’t want to live with you, mark and I are staying here with aunt Sara whether you like it or not. I don’t want to live with you, especially when I know you will always be scary like this!”
By now mark was hiding under the covers crying. I picked dup the kids, and got into the car. We drove to the police station to report David and Susie. Finally, they were in prison again. Obviously, they didn’t earn custody of the children. My husband and I now have custody of riley and mark. That’s not all; wait until David and Susie get back out of jail. When we reported them, after we left the house, they left a note on our kitchen table saying,
“When we get out, we are going to come and find you, mark, and riley. After that day, you and your little happy family will never be happy again.”