Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Brian doesn’t comment on the state of things. When he releases my hand, I hurry into the bedroom that’s mine. The cabin is very small. My room is more like a large closet. It barely holds my twin mattress and a small dresser. But it’s clean and it’s my haven.
My father rarely comes into my room. When he’s mad or wants something from me, he stands in the doorway and bellows loud enough that neighbors would hear if we had any.
I glance at Brian as he reaches around to run his hand on the wall inside my room. “Where’s the light switch, Little one?”
“There’s no light,” I murmur. I can make out his features from the lamp behind him.
“You don’t have a light in your room?”
I shake my head before I cover my mouth and cough. I always start coughing when I return to this cabin. It’s musty and nasty and filled with smoke.
He pulls out his phone and turns on the flashlight, illuminating the space. “How long have you had that cough, sweet girl?”
I shrug. “Since my father started smoking in the house.”
“We need to get that looked at.” He smiles encouragingly. “Do you have a bag you can put some things in, sweet girl?”
I shake my head again. I didn’t think of that. And then I remember my old school bag and rush over to the closet to pull it out of the back corner. I hold it up triumphantly.
He smiles broader. “Good girl. Be quick, Little one. You don’t need to bring clothes. I’ll get you new things. Just grab what’s special to you. Maybe you have some pictures of your mom?”
I reach into the back of the closet again with my good hand and pull out my special box. It’s all I have of my mom. My father threw away almost everything when we moved, but I snuck several things into my belongings and hid them in this box.
I rush over to my dresser and yank the bottom drawer open. It sticks because it’s not on the tracks. I pull out my favorite clothes, the ones I wear when I go to the Dungeon. I open the next drawer and stare into it. My clothes are tattered and embarrassing.
Brian steps into the room and squats down next to me. He tucks a finger under my chin and turns my face toward his. “We’ll get you new clothes, Lacey. All you need is mementos.”
I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. I’m confused. I drop down onto my bottom and wince because it hurts to sit on the hardwood floor. I can’t do this. What am I thinking? My father would kill me if he knew I brought someone to the house. He would kill me just for leaving the house if he ever found out about it.
“You should go,” I murmur, staring at the floor. I cough again.
“No, Lacey. I’m not leaving you here.”
“I’ll be a burden to you. Where do you think you’re going to take me?” I tip my head back. “He’ll find me. I don’t have money or an education. I can’t get a job. It’s not simple. You can’t just swoop in here and give me a place to sleep tonight, and everything will be okay.”
Brian holds my chin again and leans closer. “Lacey, I’m not going to leave you anywhere. Never. We can discuss your options when we get to Noah’s apartment.”
“Options? I don’t have options. If I had options, I would have left a long time ago.”
“You do, Little one. You have options because I’m going to make sure you do.” He reaches for my backpack, tucks the box of my mementos in it and stands. “Is there anything else you need?”
I rise from the floor, wincing again, and glance around my room before rushing over to my bed to reach under my pillow and pull out Fluffy. Will he think it’s weird that I have a tattered stuffed animal I can’t leave behind?
I hug her to my chest with my bad arm and meet Brian at the doorway.
He’s staring at the frame at the entrance to my room. “Where’s the door?”
I swallow as I meet his gaze. “He took it off when we moved in.”
Brian’s entire face tightens. “He took the door off your room?” His voice rises.
I nod.
Brian searches my face.
He needs more of an explanation. I give him the only explanation I have. “So I can’t do anything he doesn’t permit.”
Brian lifts a brow so high it looks like it should hurt. “What’s not permitted, Lacey?”
I take a step back, nervous. “Reading,” I whisper. “That’s also why I don’t have a lightbulb.”
Brian sucks in a sharp breath and holds it. For a long time, we just stand here, not saying a word until he lifts my backpack up one shoulder and takes my hand. He leads me out of the cabin. Our shoes crunch on the leaves. We don’t have a concrete driveway. It’s just dirt and leaves.