by Amanda Perry
Maggie simply nods as if she expected his response. I notice she didn’t ask about any sisters, and I wonder if all of their children are boys. “Okay then, Parker, why don’t you go get settled into your room? Duncan can show you the way again.”
Duncan nods eagerly. “Right this way, Parker.”
I follow him back up the stairs, not bothering to admit I don’t need his help. I don’t want to be rude to him by telling him I remember the way. Once at the door to the guest room, Duncan motions to a door at the end of the hall.
“That’s the bathroom,” he informs me, then blushes slightly and rubs the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. “I, uh, I’m sorry, but you have to share with me and Austyn. My parents have their own bathroom. Besides theirs, there are only two other bathrooms that can be shared between the four, now five, of us living at home. Greyson and Talen share the other one. Trust me when I say you’re better off sharing with Austyn and me than with those two. Of course, you should probably keep an eye out for Talen. If he finds a chance to steal this bathroom, he will. He likes the shower better.”
I nod my understanding. “Thanks.”
He smiles softly and strolls a few feet away from me before turning back around quickly as if a thought suddenly occurred to him. “If you need anything, Parker, just say so. I’m more than happy to help in any way I can.”
I blink at him a few times, allowing his words to process. He waits patiently for me to respond. When nothing intelligent comes to mind, I simply thank him again in a whisper.
Duncan smiles brightly, his whole face lighting up. Duncan turns without another word and heads back down the hall. I wait until he rounds the corner before entering the room.
Unpacking my bag takes only ten minutes. I own next to nothing, which makes moving around really easy. A few pairs of jeans, some second-hand shirts, and a pair of sneakers make up my wardrobe. Once done folding my things and putting them in the top drawer of a large dresser, I stash the bag in the far corner of the walk-in closet and sit down on the end of the queen-sized bed. I assume Maggie and Collin want to talk to Rebecca without me around, but now I find myself at a loss as to what to do. Part of me wants to eavesdrop, but I decide to stay put until they come for me.
On more than one occasion, I’ve been forced to stay in my room for long periods of time. This room is the first one I wouldn’t mind never leaving. Lying back, I sigh slightly as my body melts into the soft bed. The room smells like lemons and summer. My lips twitch with a small smile as I inhale deeply and snuggle into the yellow and white quilt. I decide to close my eyes for a few minutes while I wait.
CHAPTER THREE
My eyes snap open, and I sit up quickly. It takes me a moment to remember where I am, but the events of earlier hit me all at once. I jump off the clean, soft bed. A quick glance out the overly large, curtained window tells me I fell asleep for a lot longer than I meant to. With no watch or clock, there’s no way of knowing the time, but the pitch black sky tells me plenty.
Obviously, no one came to find me after Rebecca, Collin, and Maggie talked earlier. They probably didn’t want me to join their family for dinner. It isn’t anything new to me. Eating a meal with the people I stay with is a rare occasion. I’m not part of these families; I’m not their real child. There’s no reason for me to participate in their family activities.
With a tired sigh, I decide to sneak from my room to find a clock and raid the fridge. I almost always eat my meals at night when everyone sleeps. No one grumbles at me if I sneak my food and eat alone. I may give myself a quick tour of the house and find out what areas to avoid. Slowly, I tip-toe to the door of the bedroom, careful of each footstep and noting any squeaky spots. It wouldn’t make a good impression if I wake the household. Once to the door, I flip on the light and turn the handle; pulling it with painful slowness to be sure it doesn’t make any noise.
Breathing a quiet sigh of relief when the door doesn’t cause any problems, I silently make my way into the hall, closing the door part way, and heading toward the staircase. Turning the corner, I freeze in place when a giant, shadowy figure at the top of the stairs catches my eye.
I hold my breath, wish myself invisible, and try to come up with a plan to sneak back to my room unnoticed. I don’t know if this person lives here or broke in, but strolling over and asking him seems like a bad idea. Of course, my wish of invisibility doesn’t come true, and the figure stops suddenly when I try to take a small step backward. Without waiting to find out what the guy- or monster- wants, I turn on my heel and run back the way I came. Not my best idea, but in my panicked state, I don’t have a better plan. Luckily, I turned the light in my room on. It guides the way down the dark hall. As I rush to my room, I try to come up with some kind of plan for when I make it back. The only thing I can think of is jumping out the window.
When I reach my room, I push the door slightly open, slip in, and turn to close it. Before I can, I notice the monstrous guy coming after me a good deal faster than anticipated, and my panic intensifies. My heart hammers so hard in my chest I wonder if he can hear it. My breathing becomes labored and my hands tingle. The guy must be some kind of mass murderer, and he wants to chop me up because I spotted him. No normal person would rush after someone with such determination. Rather than wasting time shutting the door, I hurry to the window and throw it open. A screen slows down my terrible plan of jumping two stories. The giant serial killer rushes into the room before I can pop the screen out.
“What the fucking hell do you think you’re doing?” He roars, towering over me as I cower against the window.
My body shakes, and I try my best to fight off the panic attack taking over. What a terrible time for crippling fear to set in. From the corner of my eye, I notice something shiny on the desk beside us. I grab it and thank my lucky stars it appears semi sharp.
“Back up or I’ll... I’ll hurt you,” I threaten. Of course, my threat comes out about as scary as a kitten’s meow, but it does the trick. Sort of. The crazy killer guy backs away a step, his eyes darting from my face to the object in my hand. My focus goes to the object as well, and I cringe when I realize I picked up a ruler.
The giant smirks when he notices my weapon of choice. The second he figures out I’m virtually defenseless, he reaches around his back. Shutting my eyes tight, I decide right then I don’t want to know what he might be reaching for. “Lochlan!” A slightly familiar voice shouts from behind the giant.
My eyes pop open to find the giant pulling a phone out of his pocket and glancing over his shoulder at the same time. I nearly faint when the gun in his other hand catches my attention. “I was about to call Dad. We have an issue,” he explains to Duncan, who steps further into the room.
“You’re damn right we do!” Duncan hollers, placing himself between me and the psychopath. “Are you seriously holding her at gunpoint? What is wrong with you?”
My breathing becomes uncontrollable at this point, and my entire body tingles as my vision blurs. An uncontrollable panic attack sets in, causing my heart to beat erratically and my chest to tighten painfully.
“Parker, I need you to take a deep breath for me.” Duncan’s voice floats through the fog taking over my mind. “Breathe in deep, and then let it out nice and slow. You can do it.”
I try to comply with his request and fill my lungs. It takes a few failed attempts before I finally pull in enough air to clear my vision. After a few additional slow, deep breaths, I’m breathing somewhat normally. When my focus returns, Duncan stands in front of me. His presence helps to calm me. He appears pleased with my ability to follow his instructions, pulling in more deep breaths and letting them out slowly. A small smile graces his lips, easing my panic further.
“You’re doing perfect, Parker,” Duncan encourages, slowly placing a gentle hand on my forearm.
His touch brings my attention to my hand, finding it still wrapped around the ruler in a death grip. I loosen my grip, allowing the ruler to drop to the floor, then shake
my hand a little to ease the hurt of the ruler’s indent.
“What the fuck, Duncan?” The giant’s deep voice now softer as he steps back a bit and tilts his head, a confused frown on his handsome face.
For the moment, the guy isn’t trying to chop me up or shoot me; I take a second to allow my eyes to roam over him. He stands well over two heads taller than me with milk chocolate brown eyes and dark buzzed hair. A light smattering of stubble decorates his jaw. His short sleeved, dark grey shirt shows off extensive tattoos on his olive skin. A black leather belt loops around his black jeans, and from his new angle, I notice a gun holster with his gun now back inside, attached to the belt on his right side. When he crosses his giant tattooed arms over his massive chest the muscles bulging terrify me. A few more minutes without Duncan coming to my rescue, and this guy would have smashed me like a bug even without his gun. All he needs to do is use his pinky and flick me, and I’d be a goner. His strong jaw and thick lips are set in a scowl as he waits impatiently for Duncan to answer him.
Duncan straightens up and turns to the giant, still keeping himself in front of me. “Lochlan, this is Parker. She’s the girl mom texted you about. Parker, this is Lochlan. He won’t hurt you, I promise. He’s my brother.”
I peek around Duncan and find Lochlan with a slightly guilty expression as he watches me closely. “I didn’t get her message. My phone’s been turned off all day,” he admits, his scowl coming back and any trace of guilt disappearing. “No one bothered to call the office and mention a new kid?”
“Yeah, mom did earlier today. You just didn’t get the message apparently. Rebecca brought her over earlier today, and she isn’t a kid.” Duncan turns around and smiles softly at me. “You’re seventeen, right?”
I glance at Lochlan then back to Duncan. “Uh, for another month I am,” I admit, only half paying attention to Duncan. A big part of me wants to pick the ruler up and throw it at Lochlan for calling me a kid. Being short means I get mistaken for a younger child a lot. It irritates the hell out of me.
“Good job trying to kill the girl, Lochlan,” a new male voice calls from the doorway to the room.
It takes me by surprise, and I let out a squeak, stepping back into the wall. When did another guy show up, and why do they keep coming into my room? The new guy comes into view, and I check him over as he stands casually behind Lochlan and Duncan. His hands rest in the pockets of his black jeans. He wears a short-sleeve, grey shirt, same as Lochlan. I notice he also wears a gun on his side, and I can only hope the two of them work together on the side of good. Though with my luck, they’re probably criminals, and the serial numbers on their guns have been filed off to avoid identification. Probably time to stop watching crime shows.
The new guy and Duncan stand close to the same height, about a head taller than me. His eyes glow a honey caramel brown. His messy dark brown hair makes me want to run my fingers through it to fix it. The idea surprises me, and I turn away from him in case he can read minds or something.
The new guy clears his throat, and my eyes dart back to his honey ones. He smirks slightly, and I know he caught my blush as I checked him over. I duck my head and cross my arms around my stomach.
“Oh, sorry.” Duncan chuckles. “Parker, this is Dominic. I didn’t know you came in with Lochlan, Dom. This is Parker. Though, I think you heard me introducing her to Lochlan.”
“Yeah, we both finished up our paperwork at the office around the same time,” Dominic explains, his intense eyes still trained on me.
“Right, well Parker was asleep for dinner, and I’m sure you two haven’t eaten anything good since you started working that case, so how about we all go to the kitchen for something to eat before we get to bed?” Duncan suggests, but doesn’t wait for an answer before heading out of the room. Lochlan watches me expectantly for a few seconds, clearly waiting for something. Rocking back on my heels, I simply stare at him. What does he want me to do? Is he making sure I don’t get the ruler and go after him or something? Perhaps he doesn’t want me to go downstairs with them like Duncan suggested. I don’t truly care what he wants, but I don’t want him pulling out his gun again.
Dominic’s deep chuckle pulls my attention away from Lochlan. “He’s waiting for you to go first. His manners are impeccable, don’t you think?”
I snort, trying to keep a laugh in. Lochlan glares at Dominic, clearly not amused by him.
Dominic ignores him, stepping out of the way of the door. “Ladies first,” he offers gesturing to the door.
“Erm, thanks,” I mutter, hurrying past them to catch up with Duncan. I don’t want to stick around and watch the awkward tension between Dominic and Lochlan. Before I fully walk out of earshot, I overhear Dominic whispering to Lochlan. “Was she really going to try and defend herself with a ruler? It’s not even metal.”
Duncan beats us all to the kitchen. When I arrive, the leftover spaghetti he placed in the microwave spins in circles as it heats up. He grabs four bowls and sets them on the island, in front of the stools. Lochlan and Dominic each sit on a stool, waiting for Duncan to finish heating the food. When he sets the large container of hot spaghetti on the island they dish out some for themselves. Duncan chooses to lean against the island across from Dominic and Lochlan while he eats. Dominic adds some to the bowl next to him. He pats the stool in front of the bowl he filled while glancing at me then goes back to his food. My feet won’t move; all I can do is gape at them.
Duncan being the first to notice my confusion stops eating. He stands up straight and eyes me with concern. “What’s the matter? Do you not like spaghetti? I bet we have something else you would like.”
Lochlan harrumphs and rolls his eyes. “Let me guess,” he growls, turning his narrowed eyes to me. “You only eat organic foods and never carbs? Or maybe just vegan crap?”
“No, I love spaghetti,” I assure Duncan, ignoring Lochlan’s rude comment. “But don’t you think they saved this for their kids?”
“We are their kids,” Dominic mutters through a giant bite of noodles. “Did you really think we were intruders just chilling in the kitchen, using the microwave?”
“No,” I growl, focusing a glare on Lochlan and pointing my finger his way. “I thought he was an axe murderer but Duncan calling him by name cleared that up for me.”
“Jokes on you,” Dominic quips. “He doesn’t have an axe.”
“Lucky me,” I mutter, shaking my head and attempting to hide my grin. “Seriously, though. Shouldn’t we save this for their real kids?”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Lochlan shouts, dropping his fork into his bowl and turning his body toward me.
Jumping back a step, I put my hands up defensively. “Holster your gun, Yosemite Sam. I just meant their biological kids. You know, their real kids.”
“You don’t consider adopted children to be real kids?” Duncan asks, tilting his head and scrunching his brow in genuine confusion.
Shrugging, I chew on my thumb nail, a bad habit I need to work on. “It’s just the way it is. People have their real kids, the ones they want. Then they have the kids like me.”
“Kids like you?” Dominic repeats, clearly as confused as Duncan.
Nodding my head, I shuffle my feet awkwardly. They clearly don’t understand the way things work. “Foster kids,” I explain, frowning at my shoes. These guys must be the real kids if they find it necessary to ask. “The kids they get paid to deal with. Foster parents don’t actually want the kids like me, the foster kids. They put up with us because of the check they get . We aren’t their real kids, so they don’t want us around. We aren’t part of their families.”
“Okay, seriously,” Dominic prods, leaning around Lochlan to watch me better. “Where did you hear that crock of shit from?”
“I didn’t hear it, I lived it,” I assure him with a shrug.
Duncan sighs sadly. “Parker, this isn’t their food,” he promises, putting air quotes around the word their. “It belongs to everyone in the h
ouse, including you.”
“I’ve fallen for this trick before.” I shake my head and move slowly toward the stairs with narrowed eyes.
Lochlan raises a brow, clearly amused. “What trick?”
“You offer the good stuff, promising it's all fine with the parents. I eat it and get in a load of trouble for your entertainment.” I take another step back. “Either that, or you’re about to offer me some kind of messed up deal in exchange for this food, and I’m not doing anything like that. So, either way, if I eat the food, I’m out of luck. I’d rather find something in the fridge that they won’t miss and munch on it.”
“Jesus,” Dominic mutters, running his hands through his dark hair. “That’s some fucked up logic, Muñeca.” Briefly, I wonder what he called me, but brush the thought aside.
Duncan nods his agreement with Dominic. “All you have to do is eat what you want, Parker. You don’t have to do anything else. You never, ever, have to do anything you don’t want to do. As far as a trick, we wouldn’t trick you into something like that.”
“Even Lochlan isn’t that much of an asshole,” Dominic grins.
Lochlan elbows him in the ribs, earning a muted grunt from Dominic. “He’s right, though. Even I wouldn’t do something that fucked up.”
I don’t believe them. The world doesn’t work this way in my experience. But my stomach grumbles with hunger, and if they say they aren’t asking anything of me right now, then I may as well take the food and risk pissing off Maggie and Collin when they find out. “If you say so.”
Walking awkwardly around Lochlan and Dominic, I take a seat in front of the bowl Dominic filled for me and dig in.
Dominic and Duncan finish their bowls as Lochlan fills his again with seconds. I glance down at his seemingly flat stomach and I wonder where he puts it all. It’s kind of shocking he can fit it all in his stomach. Then again being incredibly massive he may need more food than most people.
