by Belle Harper
“As I have told you, Thomas, time and time again, if you don’t stop using your nephew, I will take him. He was caught again this morning doing your dirty work. I pulled strings to keep him here.
“If I let Keene and Stoker take him in and officially book him, he will be gone for many, many years. I only hope he is smart enough to leave you all and never go back.”
Oh, man, this uncle was physically shaking. His fists were balled up and he growled low as Keene and Stoker held him back. The way he was slightly unsteady on his feet, the way he smelled, told me all I need to know about this guy. Drug addict. Was he going to hit Shelly? She was so tiny compared to him. Animal.
“Go, Uncle T. I will come back.” I looked over and saw the guy watching his uncle, who made a deep growling sound again in his chest. I sat back in my chair a little more to get farther away from him. But that was a bad move. He saw me and his hazy eyes turned on me.
“What the fuck are you?” He sniffed at me, his brows furrowed. What the hell am I?
“She is nothing to you, Thomas. Just go. I will speak to you tomorrow.” The cops pulled him out of the hallway. Shelly straightened her skirt and continued on as if nothing had just happened.
“Why are you still cuffed?” she huffed and the hot guy shrugged. Shelly let out a frustrated sound and muttered something as she followed the way the cops just went, her heels clicking along the hallway.
There was an uncomfortable silence that hung between me and the mystery silver-haired guy. I wasn’t here to make friends and he wasn’t, either. The sooner I could get to this new place, the faster I could work out where I was gonna run to next. Eventually, Shelly and Keene came back and they uncuffed the guy. He pushed his hair back and Shelly held out a brand-new backpack in front of him. I hadn’t seen one of them in years. I got one when I first came into the system. It had a cute little stuffed pink bunny, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. I would take it for the toothbrush alone—mine was worse for wear.
“Raff, just take it.” I heard her sigh as she placed it beside him. When she turned to me, she gave me a smile that was filled with pity, sadness, and something else. It had the hairs on the back of my neck raising.
“Alexis, I have one of the staff chasing down a female bag for you, but it’s late and we don’t really have much time before we need to leave.” I shrugged. It was fine. I was used to not getting anything. Why would today be different than any other day?
“We will leave in twenty. If you want to take a quick restroom break, please do so as it’s a few hours’ drive and we will be getting there late.” I laid my head against the wall and closed my eyes. I needed today over with now.
Chapter Two
Lexi
So, it turned out they couldn’t find a female bag, so I got a boy one, instead. I didn’t understand why there was a difference anyway, but Shelly explained that a female one had the type of supplies the first aid kit back at The Landing Strip had. And a more girly set of pajamas. I was fine wearing boys clothes. It was only to sleep in, but I really did need a new bag. Plus, this way I didn’t need to spend money on one. I only had about eighty dollars left to my name. I wasn’t stupid—that money was in my sock that I wore. I never left my money in my bag; it was on me at all times.
We had been driving for a while, and Keene was behind the wheel. The way he acted with Shelly was like we weren’t in here at all—which suited me fine, since I wasn’t up for causal chitchat. We stopped and Shelly grabbed some burgers for us before we continued the journey to this foster home upstate.
It was dark and late when we arrived. I was exhausted but I wasn’t about to fall asleep in the car. I was used to not sleeping much, but I think it was the little workout with Keene after school that had made me so sleepy. We drove down some streets in what looked like a cozy neighborhood. It was hard to see when we finally stopped outside the house. The porch light was on, and I could see a window with a light on inside.
“Alright, you two, come on. And be nice, they are good people and there are some younger kids here. Please don’t wake them up by fighting this.” I nodded. I didn’t want to scare kids and I wasn’t going to do anything. Yet.
I walked up to the porch and I noticed the door was a nice shade of blue, and the trimmings around the windows all matched. Total suburban house. Shelly knocked lightly and I could feel Raff stand behind me. Normally I didn’t let people get behind me—they might get the jump on you—but I didn’t feel like that with him. He felt safe . . . for now at least. Keene was watching us, maybe to see if we would do a runner. I didn’t want to go for another round, so I stood there waiting.
I didn’t know where I was, and I was tired. This place had a warm bed and roof over my head for tonight. And it would be even better if there was a lock on my door so I could sleep a little deeper—preferably one that locked from the inside.
When the door cracked open, a man in his forties greeted us with a huge smile. He had short dark hair with a bit of gray mixed in; he wore a dark tee and was bare-footed. Another man, with a much larger build and longer dark hair, opened the door wide and said, “Come in.”
The house smelled nice when we stepped in, like someone had been baking.
“Oh, huh . . . Shelly?” I turned to see the shorter guy staring at me, his mouth slightly dropped open. Did she forget to tell him I was coming?
“Um . . . I, this . . .. Sorry, I’m Jack. I just wasn’t expecting a girl, we oh . . .. Grayson,” he called out to the other man who disappeared before we even got inside. Shelly put her hand up to stop Jack from talking anymore.
“Hold on, Jack, we spoke on the phone. I told you this one needs to be here, at least for now. Until we work out . . .. Look, can I talk to you.” She moved away from me and they both walked off into another room. Grayson was back with a cupcake in each hand, chocolate with vanilla frosting. He froze when he saw me.
“Oh, you’re a girl.”
Holy shit. Have I walked into a boys-only house? Have they never seen a girl before? Not once has a foster family made cupcakes to greet the new kids, or even make them in general. He held it out to me, and I took it. I took a bite and wanted to moan, it was so good. Dang, if he bakes cupcakes every day, I might need to stay a little longer. I listened to Jack and Shelly as their voices rose a few times before they returned with fake smiles plastered on their faces.
“Sorry about that, Alexis. I misheard when Shelly called. I thought she said Alex Turner and Raff King. We only have one room made up currently. We have two single beds in there, but I have an office we don’t use, so we can change that around. But we will have to do that tomorrow, sorry. It’s a bit late now and the pups will be getting up early.”
“You have puppies?” I blurted out without thinking. I loved animals. They were kind, loyal, and not judgmental. Everyone turned to me like I said something crazy. He just said pups. Didn’t he?
“No, sorry. Jack calls the kids pups. They are on the other side of the house from your room. I remember being a teen once, so we moved all the boys around so that you would both have the room down that end away from the chaos and early bedtimes.”
I have always shared, but shit. Did they want me to share with Raff tonight? I made a move to step away from Raff. His hair hung around his eyes, which were cast down to the floor. He didn’t speak or make a move to claim his cupcake from Grayson.
“Raff, would you be okay on the couch tonight? I promise we will have the office cleared out tomorrow.” He made a sound that everyone must have taken as a yes. Shelly and Keene said their farewells, leaving me and Raff in the entrance and two very confused men staring at us.
“Come with me, Alexis, I will show you your room. Grayson, can you pull out the couch for Rafferty?” Huh. His actual name was Rafferty.
The light flicked on as I stepped into the room. It had blue-colored walls, two single beds with matching sheets and comforters, and a lamp on a bedside table between the two beds. I glanced around and saw a desk in the corner with a
computer. There was a real computer here in my room? I must have given a funny look as Jack started to apologise.
“Sorry, that it’s blue. We never have girls here—you’re the first. Maybe we can paint it up to your liking if you don’t like blue?” I looked to this guy. Was he serious?
“I turn eighteen in two months, so I won’t be here long.”
He smiled and nodded. “We don’t mind. You’re welcome to stay here until you finish out the school year.” His smile was genuine, like he really meant it. But I knew about these types of promises. They could take it back at any moment.
He gathered up the bedding on the other single and grabbed a pillow, then he headed to the door. He turned and smiled. “Breakfast is at seven-thirty, Grayson cooks up a big breakfast. I will knock on your door at seven so you have time to be ready before the boys all get there and eat everything. The bathroom and toilet are just to your left. If you need me, I’m down the other end. Double doors.”
And with that, he closed the door behind him and I dropped my bag to the floor. I looked for a lock but there was none. Great. I quickly got changed into the new pajamas, which was a large white T-shirt and green-checkered sleep pants. I opened my door but the whole house was silent. I quickly ran out to pee, then ran back to my room. I closed the door and looked for something heavy. The desk would be good, but there was a whole desktop computer on top and I didn’t want to mess with it. So instead, I pushed the bed closest to the door and jammed it up against it. That should wake me up if someone tried to get in.
I laid my head down on the fluffy new pillow. The soft sheets smelled like strawberries as I wrapped my body up in them. They were so soft and it didn’t take long before sleep came.
Chapter Three
Lexi
I didn’t sleep well, I never did. Bad dreams. The clock on the desk read 4:23 a.m. I decided it would be a good a time as any to see what I had with me, what I needed, and to figure out where the hell I was—though I knew I was still in Washington state, just where exactly was unknown.
I was startled slightly when the soft knock sounded at the door. I looked over and watched as the clock switched over to 7:01 a.m.
“Alexis, breakfast will be ready in thirty. Soap and towels are in the bathroom. You won’t be disturbed in there. The younger ones have been instructed not to come down this end of the house.”
I held the sheet up to my chest and looked around the room.
“Yes. Okay,” I called out, and I listened as his footsteps went down the hallway. I grabbed some clean underwear and socks that I had set down for today and pushed the single bed back against the wall. Stepping out into the hallway, I could hear people talking down from where I came into the house last night. I took my things with me and made my way into the bathroom. There was no lock on this door, either. I groaned to myself. What was with these people? No locks at all? Well, I guess that make it easy for me to leave.
I saw there was a towel sitting on the counter, along with a bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and a brand-new bar of soap. I looked around to see if there were any hidden cameras or something. You just never know . . ..
When I couldn’t find anything, I quickly started the shower and when it was warm enough, I stripped down. I took the bloody bandage off and saw the cut from yesterday was healed. The area had dried blood, so I jumped under the steady stream of hot water to clean it. I moaned as my sore and tired muscles relaxed. The water felt so good on my skin.
I started to wash my hair when I heard a sound. My body tensed, waiting for someone to come in. When I didn’t hear it again, I quickly finished and dried myself off. I felt clean and smelled so much better, that was for sure. I put on my new underwear and socks. Unfortunately, I was back in my dirty, blood-stained jeans. I didn’t have much else, so I put on my bra and the tank top I wore last night.
I bundled my dirty clothes into a ball and took them back to the bedroom. I swiftly made my bed, because that was one thing I couldn’t stop myself from doing. After working in a hotel as maid for a few months, I couldn’t just leave a bed unmade. It made the room look messy. I placed the dirty stuff on the end of the bed and pulled my hoodie out. The rip in the fabric still needed to be stitched up. Maybe Jack had a sewing kit I could use. There was a chill in the air, but I didn’t want to wear it right now as it didn’t smell the best.
I walked down to where I could hear all the voices and smell the breakfast. I rounded a corner and could see a large table, laden with all types of breakfast foods. There were two bench seats on either side, and three young boys were talking loudly with their mouths full.
“Oh, sorry, Alexis,” Jack said as he quickly avoided crashing into me. His hands were full with three glasses of what looked like orange juice. The smell in here was amazing, bacon and eggs on the table tempting me forward. I had never had bacon and eggs for breakfast like this. A head popped out from a door and Grayson smiled and waved a spatula in the air.
“Good morning, Alexis. I hope you slept well.” He waited for me to answer, but I didn’t know what to say so I just nodded. This was not your average foster family. Or if it was, I have been sorely unlucky with my past ones.
“Take a seat. Do you want orange juice? Coffee?” Jack was pointing to a space at the end of the table. I went over and sat down, and he placed a plate in front of me as I mumbled, “Orange juice.” A little boy with beautiful, silky jet-black hair was seated beside me. I smiled down at him; his big brown eyes so expressive as he looked up at me. He was maybe six or seven. His little mouth dropped slightly.
“You’re a girl,” he stated. I snorted a little, gotta love the honesty of a child.
“Yes, and you’re a boy,” I replied, and he smiled and nodded. I realized then the whole table had gone quiet. I thought it was because of me. But when I looked to where the other two boys were now focused, I could see Raff lingering by the doorway. He was dressed in what he wore yesterday—I guess he didn’t have a change of clothes, either. His backpack was slung over his shoulder. I guess he wasn’t sticking around long.
The boy next to me shrank in closer and sniffed. Was he crying? I patted his little hand that wrapped tightly around my arm. Jack came bursting out the door and into the room. He stopped abruptly and watched the scene in front of him.
“Oh, boys. Sorry. I didn’t even introduce Alexis to you all, and this is Raff. They will be staying with us for a while. So, make them feel welcome.”
The little boy let go of my arm a little as Raff took a seat on the other end of the table from us. The two boys on the other side looked frightened. Shit. Raff was a little rough around the edges, in a sexy kind of way, but I didn’t think he was scary looking. But I guess I was used to what real scary looked like, and most times, it was clean-cut and wearing a suit.
When Raff rolled up the sleeves on his navy long-sleeved top, I saw tattoos. Holy crap, he was covered in dark ink. I knew I was staring but I couldn’t help it. I looked up to his face and saw his jaw tick. He could obviously feel all of us looking at him.
I saw the hint of dark just above his collar. Dang. How many tattoos did he have? His eyes turned to mine and pinned me. I was frozen and gasped slightly. With the intensity I felt, I couldn’t pull my eyes from his. How could someone have eyes that color? I could feel the heat on my neck creep up. I quickly looked down and took a sip of my orange juice to distract and cool myself off. Dang, I would need a cold shower after that stare down.
Jack and Grayson returned to the table just in time to join in the uncomfortable silence.
“Sorry we took so long. I hope you like bacon and eggs, Alexis? Raff?” I nodded but I didn’t dare look over at Raff. The little boy next to me shifted slightly, but he was still holding my arm. I tried to move away a little, but he seemed pretty scared of Raff.
“Let me introduce the boys. This is Joshua.” Grayson pointed to the little boy clinging to me. “And the other two rascals are Harry and Jaxon.” They looked like they could be brothers, real ones. H
arry had dark red curls, a sprinkling of freckles across his nose, and big blue eyes, whereas Jaxon had a more auburn-colored curls and hazel eyes. They didn’t smile, you could see in their body language that they wanted to be as far away as they could from Raff.
When no one said anything, Jack leaned over and took Joshua’s hand from my arm. I was able to get some bacon, eggs, and toast onto my plate. I could hear Joshua sniffle again.
“Are you okay?” I asked. He gave me a puzzled look and turned to Jack.
“She don’t smell like no shi—” Jack’s hand was over his mouth before he could finish. I slid away from them, and the sudden movement had my heart racing and my hands shaking. Was he going to say I smelled like shit? I know my jeans weren’t the best, but I showered. Jack removed his hand just as fast as he put it there, and he looked like he was in shock that he had reacted that way
“Oh, Alexis. It’s not what it looks like. He just . . . he forgot his manners is all.” I could see him look down to Joshua as he apologized, but that still made me uneasy. There was a tense silence in the room. I looked out the window into the backyard trying to distract myself from what just happened. The sky was gray, and there was a forest that backed onto their yard. The trees swayed gently and it looked like it was going to rain again today. Grayson broke the silence first.
“Okay, boys, I think you have had enough. Grab your school bags and go pack your lunch. Your bus will be here soon.”
All three of them jumped up and left the room. Jack looked to me and I could see Raff was really tense. Or maybe he was tense all the time and I was only noticing it now.
“He is young, Alexis, I’m sorry if I scared you . . .. So, Rafferty,” Jack turned to Raff, “the high school bus leaves here at ten past eight. Shelly told us that you can’t afford to take any time off school. Grayson packed you some snacks if you want. I can take you to get some more clothes and things you may need after school. I have some books ready for you in my office—one of the parents gave them to us last night when we said we needed them for a new student. You will have everything you need for today at least.” I saw Raff pull out his cell phone and ignore Jack. Jack didn’t seem surprised by the way Raff ignored him.
