章 202: 202

Ellie parted her hair taking her hand out of Henry's.  He kept his hand where it was as he watched her move her hair.  When she stopped there were parallel places where her hair was missing.  She touched the deep groves where she had no hair with clinical precision.  "You seeing these spaces where I have no hair? Anastasia pulled it out when I was a kid.  She used chemical hair removal on my head until I had permanent chemical burns. She wanted me to say that I wasn't her real sister because my parents weren't married.  I don't even think I'd started kindergarten."

Henry touched the spaces in her head before grasping her face and pushing her head into his chest.  Lopez made a similar sound. Henry pulled her forwards so he could look at her eyes. "Who allowed something like this to happen?  You must have had someone around who cared for you other than your mother. I have a feeling she wasn't even disciplined."