Too Hurt to Stay: The True Story of a Troubled Boy’s Desperate Search for a Loving Home

Too Hurt to Stay: The True Story of a Troubled Boy’s Desperate Search for a Loving Home
Casey Watson

The fourth title from Sunday Times bestselling author Casey Watson.Eight-year-old Spencer takes himself to social services and demands to be taken into care. It’s a desperate act, a cry for help, but his parent’s reaction – good riddance – speaks volumes. Casey’s hackles are immediately up for this poor child.Spencer is the middle child of four siblings. His parents claim all their other kids are ‘normal’ and that Spencer was born ‘vicious and evil’. Casey and her family are disgusted – kids aren’t born evil, they get damaged. Although when vigilante neighbours start to take action and their landlord threatens eviction, Casey is stretched to the limits, trying desperately to hold on to this boy who causes so much pain and destruction.Casey is determined to try and understand what Spencer is going through and help him find the loving home he is so desperately searching for. But it’s only when Spencer’s mother gets in touch with social services for the first time that gradually everything starts to make sense.

Copyright (#uc607c84b-48cb-547b-851d-0adaddac6dea)

This book is a work of non-fiction based on the author’s experiences. In order to protect privacy, names, identifying characteristics, dialogue and details have been changed or reconstructed.

HarperElement

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

and HarperElement are trademarks of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

First published by HarperElement 2012

FIRST EDITION

© Casey Watson 2012

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Casey Watson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007436620

Ebook edition © OCTOBER 2012 ISBN: 9780007436637

Version: 2016-10-19

To my wonderful and supportive family

Contents

Cover (#u0e9442ec-f23c-5b72-95ef-5c46fcb60601)

Title Page (#u6fbc90de-cacc-53e9-953a-0e9aa3b5ebbb)

Copyright

Dedication (#u58a48dda-9c23-5a2e-8b23-ff7c04db153c)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Epilogue

Exclusive sample chapter