by Belle Harper
“Shelly knew about Rafferty coming here early yesterday morning and had everything set up ready for today. But you were a surprise to her . . . to all of us, so she didn’t get a chance to set everything up with the school yet. She will be doing that first thing this morning, but I told her we would take you shopping and get what you need. Get a chance to settle in here. Maybe we can get something nice for your room? Give it an Alexis touch?”
I just shrugged. A day off sounded fine to me.
Chapter Four
Lexi
Jack drove a new silver hatchback; it was clean and still had that new car smell.
“So, where are we?” I asked as he backed us out of his driveway. At least if I knew the town we were in, I could find a map and figure out the rest from there. Shelly wouldn’t tell us where we were going last night; all she said it was the foster home I need to be in. I didn’t know what she meant by that, but so far, these people were alright. Maybe too nice, which worried me more.
“We live in a small community called Kiba, which is about ten minutes from Port Willow, where your new high school will be. That’s where we are off to do some shopping. There is a Walmart where we can grab some stuff from.” I nodded. I was only going to get jeans, maybe a new hoodie if it was on sale. But otherwise, I would just stitch the one I was wearing. With it being the winter, it would have to do. I shuffled my bag between my legs, I wasn’t going to leave it behind. Jack watched as I took it with me, and if he wanted to say something about it, he didn’t. I wouldn’t have cared anyway; I never leave my bag behind.
At Walmart, Jack grabbed a shopping cart and watched me as I readjusted my bag on my shoulders to equal the weight out. But with so much jammed in there, it was never going to be easy to carry. But having two straps was a lot better.
Jack cleared his throat. “Would you like to go to the ladies clothing first?” I shrugged.
“Let’s go over. Maybe we can find you something you might like.” I walked behind him as he pushed the cart through the aisles, but he kept checking over his shoulder at me . . . I guess to make sure I was there. A guy, maybe in his mid-twenties, stared at me for the longest time. It made me uncomfortable, so I moved closer to Jack. This happened a lot with guys, so it wasn’t new. Fucking creeper. The world was full of them, but the weird ones that sniffed me were the worst.
Jack stopped suddenly and I almost walked right into him. I looked around. We were in the underwear section. I stepped away from Jack.
“Sorry, I haven’t shopped with a female before. Just pick what you would like and put them in the cart. I will wait for you over there.” He pointed over to a rack with umbrellas and he quickly made his way over, making sure to put distance between the female section and himself.
I looked around at the different types of underwear—boy shorts, thongs, lace, and cotton. I picked up a pair of black cotton boy shorts and checked the price. It was on sale. That will do me nicely. Maybe if there was a cheap pair of socks.
I couldn’t find any on sale in my size, so I pushed the cart to Jack and he glanced in. His hand went to his face as he rubbed the dark stubble on his jaw before he looked at me with his face scrunched up. “Ah… just one pair?”
I nodded. I wasn’t spending my money on more than one, it’s hard enough to carry around what I have. He hesitated for a minute.
“You know I’m paying right? This shopping trip is for you . . .. We get a generous allowance by a local benefactor to do so. The money is yours to spend, Alexis.” My heart began to race. He gets an allowance from someone to buy me clothes? The other homes just gave me whatever they had, everything second-hand and usually full of holes. I never got to keep it.
“How much?” I asked. It took him a few seconds to register what I was asking.
“Oh, um . . .. They give us whatever we need. Do you need me to set a budget? Would that make it easier?”
No, I just want the cash.
“Can I get it in cash?” I watched his face fall slightly.
“I’m sorry, Shelly told me that you . . . ah, don’t stick around long in homes. I really want you to stick around. We all do. I can’t give you the cash, but you can buy whatever you want.”
Fuck them. I started to walk and Jack followed me. I grab the first thing I saw and threw it into the cart.
“Did you want to try some things on? We have all day, this is a very large shirt. Did you mean to pick this size?”
I looked back and saw him holding up what I think was a maternity top. Try it on . . . that’s a good idea.
“Yeah, I should try it on.” There were change rooms close by and Jack stood outside and chatted to the worker. Turns out there were two exits to this change room so I left the top and doubled around and walked as calmly as I could to the front of the shop. Creeper guy was there still. He turned to me and watched as I walked out the sliding glass doors.
I pushed my hair behind my ear and looked up and down the street and saw people going about their normal day. A little girl was holding her mom’s hand as she crossed the street. A dad with a child on his shoulders laughing.
Ugh, too much. This was a too perfect place. Jack and Grayson were the same, it was just for show, an act. They couldn’t really be this nice. No one ever was.
I ran toward the main street through the parking lot and found the nearest bus stop. It was too close for my liking, but there didn’t seem to be any others close by. I sat on the bench and placed my bag between my feet. I reached in and picked up my favorite novel. Pride and prejudice. Yeah, I liked to read. If you have nothing else, reading was the next best thing. But I loved this book. It was the first one I ever got. It looked rough, but that was because I read it too much. Plus, Mr. Darcy was hot.
When the bus pulled up after only a few minutes of waiting, I quickly looked behind the bus shelter to check if Jack was following me.
Fuck, Jack was looking for me and he had a Walmart security guard with him. I ran up the steps and dropped my cash in, taking a seat as far as I could down the back, praying the bus would leave right now. Come on, leave. That was when Jack spotted me.
I got down as low as I could, but he had already seen where I was. He started running, but before he made it over, the bus had closed the doors and we were leaving. I sat up and watched as he quickly turned and ran toward his car. Fuck, I didn’t think about that part. I honestly didn’t think he would care that much to chase me. None of the other fosters ever have. Okay, Plan B then. I will get off at the next stop and wait for him to pass. Then I will be long gone before he realized I was not on the bus anymore.
I walked into the warm house, my shoulders slumped in defeat. It smells amazing in here, and I can’t stop my stomach from rumbling as I wrap my arms tighter around my waist. It was late, the sun had been down for hours. I thought I did good. I made it to Port Angeles and spent the afternoon exploring until this fucking asshole cop found me. Said he sniffed me out, so I called him a dog. He just laughed and threw me in the back of his cruiser.
“Thank you, Nash,” Grayson said as he shook the cop’s hand. I must say for a cop, he was kinda young and cocky, but the asshole had one of those panty dropping smiles. I rolled my eyes. Still an asshole, though.
“Alexis, are you okay? Come into the dining room, I made you a plate. I will heat it up.” I looked around the living room and saw three sets of eyes follow me into the kitchen—the younger boys were all still up. Jack prompted me to take a seat at the table and to leave my bag on the floor.
“Here you go.” He placed a hot meal of chicken and vegetables in front of me and took a seat beside me with a mug of black coffee. Dinner smelled amazing, so I picked up my fork and dug in. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and was hungrier than I thought. I was used to skipping meals or just having one a day, but if there was food in front of me, I wouldn’t let it go to waste.
“Would you like something to drink?” My eyes shifted to Jack. He hadn’t scolded me, hadn’t yelled. Shit, he hadn’t said anything a
bout me running away from him. I didn’t say anything, and he got up suddenly. I flinched and wrapped my arms tightly around myself.
“Oh, Alexis, I’m… I was going to get you some water.” I didn’t look at him. I didn’t need to see the pity in his eyes. I already heard it.
I could hear him tell Grayson what had just happened. I could feel the lump in my throat and my chest felt tight. I grabbed my bag and ran off to the room I was in last night. I turned on the light and noticed there was only one bed in there now. I looked to the doorway across from mine where the office was this morning and saw the faint glow of light coming from the gap at the bottom.
I closed the door behind me. There was now a lock on the bedroom door. I quickly locked it and ran to the window, pushing the drapes to the side. Huh, it had a lock on it also. I wonder if it was there last night. I tried it. This one was different. I couldn’t open the window. They locked me in.
In frustration, I threw myself on the bed. I noticed that my dirty clothes from this morning had been folded and put over on the nightstand next to the lamp. I smelled them, and they smelled so fresh like the sheets. Someone washed them. It was nice to have clean clothes… but I didn’t know what to think about this, it was private stuff they touched. But it was to make it clean.
I needed a shower.
I opened the bedroom door and listened to see if anyone was around or looking for me before running over to the bathroom. I knocked and waited. When there was no answer, I pushed open the door and my heart jumped a little in fright. Raff was standing there, the red towel tucked around his waist. I saw he was covered in tatts, like not just his arm or neck. I was talking a whole body worth of art.
He had a huge skull on his stomach, words and roses ran up both pecks—that was what I could see earlier on his neck, the tip of a rose. I looked down to his legs. They were inked, too. How old was this guy? These would have taken years to get and a lot of money. I stood frozen, completely ogling him. I glanced up and saw he was watching me too; his eyes were heavy-lidded and he lazily took me all in.
He had a deep purple bruise under his left eye and a cut on his lip. My mouth dropped open. I was going to ask if he got into a fight, but that was pretty obvious.
His eyes burned into mine as he stalked toward me like he was hunting prey. I didn’t move as I felt my insides heat up. His nostrils flared slightly as he brushed past me on his way out of the room, our eyes only breaking apart once he had left. I wanted to reach out and touch the skull, feel his skin beneath my fingertips, but I made a fist to stop myself doing something stupid. When I heard the click of his door closing, I quickly scrambled to close the bathroom door. Okay, now I could think straight. I was a little wound-up and maybe slightly horny.
There was something about Raff that called to me. I didn’t know if it was just two broken souls who just understood each other, or the fact that I wanted to lick every tattoo he had…
I quickly shook my head as I put my clothes on the counter and glanced back to the door. Would he bust in on me? Huh . . .. The door now has a lock.
I locked it and took the longest shower I have ever had. And I totally didn’t think about Rafferty King the whole time.
Chapter Five
Lexi
I woke up in a cold sweat. My chest was pounding as I tried to draw in breath. I had another nightmare. I had them a lot, but it was just as scary each time. I didn’t think they could get any worse, but they did.
Jack knocked on my door. I was still a little jumpy after the nightmare, but I quickly got up. I needed another shower, but I just didn’t feel up to it this morning. I quickly got dressed in a fresh tee and my now really dirty black skinny jeans. I found some deodorant in the bathroom so I sprayed it all over my jeans, hoping Joshua wouldn’t notice I smelled like shit today—or anyone else for the matter. I applied some makeup, just a little eyeliner and mascara. I flicked my hair and tied it up into a messy bun. I pulled down a few extra strands to frame my face and soften the look. I didn’t have some amazing hair color—it was brown, boring and plain.
I took a deep breath and looked at myself. I was wearing all black. The eyeliner made my unusual eye color pop. People often asked me where I got them from, my mom or dad, but I have no idea. I didn’t remember their eye color . . . or much of what they looked like. I tried my best to forget them. They weren’t worth remembering.
My eyes were amber, but people said they were yellow copper or sometimes kids thought I had yellow eyes like a cat. But they are not that yellow. Just the way the light hits them sometimes makes them appear more that shade. With my lip balm in my pocket, I left the bathroom. Ready to be yelled at for the whole running away thing.
It smelled nice as I made my way down to the dining table. Raff was already eating down at one end of the table. The other end held three boys who couldn’t get farther from him.
Joshua’s little head perked up and turned to me. He gave me a shy smile and waved me over. I sat down near him. I can’t blame him for thinking I smelled like shit yesterday or pointing it out. I filled my plate with yummy things as Raff got up and stomped back to his room.
Well, I guess more for me. Jack sat down and started talking to the boys about going to the mall after school. He mentioned how I forgot to buy some things, so they all have to help me. I looked at Jack, waiting for him to say something, anything about what I did yesterday, but he just smiled and nodded.
Ugh, I couldn’t take this. They didn’t say anything, like they were ignoring the elephant in the room. I just wanted to get the yelling over and done with.
When I was done with breakfast, I went back to my room to grab my bag. As I left my room, Grayson was standing next to my door, his shoulder on the wall looking very casual.
“Today I think its best you just take your books. Nothing else.” His head tilted toward my heavy bag.
I stared him down for a few minutes and when he didn’t move, I went back into the room and dumped my bag on my bed. I put my books in and left the rest on the bed. I had made the bed, but now it looked like shit. I guess this was their way of telling me off for running. Well, I can assure them, after yesterday’s attempt to run, I needed a better plan. Apparently, I didn’t count on fosters who actually gave two shits about me.
And I hate to admit it, but I was okay here, for now. If I can just finish high school, then I will be set. I can go anywhere . . . finally start my life.
A door slammed open. I jumped, my heart gave a few extra beats. I looked up through my lashes as I zipped up my bag and saw Raff. He had his bag over his shoulder and was glaring daggers at Grayson.
Grayson was a huge guy, but I would put money on Raff in a fight. Where Grayson was big and full of bulky muscle, Raff was smaller but lean. I bet he would be quick on his feet.
“New cologne?” Grayson asked. Raff just held himself taller. “I don’t know if that was the right move, kid.” Grayson shook his head. “If you have trouble, go see Galen Donovani. You didn’t yesterday. I understand being new is going to bring out the worst in some, but you can trust Galen. He will help you.”
Raff pushed to move past, and Grayson grabbed his shoulder. Shit. Maybe I should make that bet now. I think there was going to be a fight.
“Just think about it,” Grayson said as he let him go and Raff shouldered past him. I swung my bag over my shoulder and push past Grayson the same way Raff just did. But it was like hitting a wall. Ugh, I think I broke my shoulder. Maybe I was wrong . . . maybe Grayson would be the safer bet. But Raff was a wildcard. That’s for sure.
The bus pulled up, and I had been standing about a yard away from Raff for a good five minutes too long. He spent the whole time on his phone. I got that he wasn’t up for talking but still . . . it would be nice to know one person at school. I shoved my hands in my pockets and stared at the sky then at my feet. Eventually, I looked over at Raff, his hair looked even more sliver in the daylight. It was pushed back and had some real style and dang, it looked good. His lip was
healed and his eye was no longer the purple from last night, with just a slight tinge of yellow coloring it now.
When the bus pulled up, I practically jumped on to get away from him—and maybe to stop my thoughts from going over how attractive he was. The whole bus watched in almost deafening silence as I made my way towards an empty seat where a girl sat. She seemed younger than me, her hair was pretty ash blonde color and in two braids. She smiled at me and gestured with her head, so I sat down beside her. I guess they knew which one was the foster kids’ house. Great, so much for a good start at a new school.
There were growling sounds coming from behind me. I looked around to see what it was and a bunch of guys were staring, some even standing and looking to the front where Raff had just got on. Some bared their teeth. What the fuck did Raff do yesterday? He certainly had an interesting way of making friends. When the growls died down and the bus started moving, Raff took a seat up front. The guys behind were watching the back of his head, and some of them were sniffing…Me? Wait they were sniffing Raff.
At least they weren’t sniffing me. I found it creepy when guys smelled me—it was weird to do that to anyone, especially a stranger.
