Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Ty

A s we sit on the back porch steps, wind blows through Lakelynn’s hair. She looks beautiful in the moonlight.

“Why does everyone want to leave this place so badly? I just don’t understand.” She frowns. “It’s not that bad here.”

Her words make me cringe. This place is hell. Mr. Rylee is a pervert, Mrs. Rylee is a bitch, and everyone who’s ever lived here knows that from personal experience. Except Lakelynn. She’s the only one who has been safe from the horrors in this house.

When Lakelynn arrived, Sierra was already keeping Mr. Rylee entertained. Over time, other girls came in, taking the attention. Mrs. Rylee turns a blind eye to it all. If it wouldn’t look so suspicious, she probably wouldn’t have ever accepted a male foster child into her home. We’re of no use to her, or him. All she cares about is the money she receives for taking in each child.

Mrs. Rylee used to be a surrogate mother, carrying children for people who couldn't have them. It was a big paycheck she wouldn’t have to leave the house to work for. I was the last one she did. The couple that wanted me divorced, then decided they didn't want me. It was too late to abort, so Mrs. Rylee was asked to keep me as a foster child. That’s why they hate me the most. She reminds me constantly that she was too afraid to lose her outstanding reputation by declining their request.

No one’s ever wanted me. Except Lakelynn.

Since the day we met, she’s made it perfectly clear how much she likes being around me. It doesn’t matter how hard I try to push her away, she always comes back.

I’ve never loved anyone, but if there’s one thing I can’t live without, it’s her. She’s the only reason I’d consider sticking around. Legally, I can drop out and disappear in a month when I turn eighteen, but Lakelynn doesn’t age out of the system for another year and a half. I won’t leave her behind. I can’t.

“Why aren’t you answering me?” She pouts. “Are you going to leave me?”

I didn’t know what to say before, but I do now.

I shake my head. “I won’t leave you.”

Lakelynn hugs my neck, giggling. “Thank you.”

I pat her arm with a smile. “You’re welcome. But we are leaving as soon as you turn eighteen.”

“Why?” She pulls away.

“Because they’re going to kick you out. I’m sure they’ll force me out when I turn eighteen too, but I’ll do what I have to do to stay with you.”

“They wouldn’t do that!”

“Yes, they would,” I scoff.

She doesn’t understand how things really work here. She hasn’t been a victim yet. Every time I get bruises she can see, I tell her it’s from a fight at school, but that’s not true. Mrs. Rylee and her husband get angry often. They take us out back to the shed when it happens.

Lakelynn knows that’s the punishment room, but she doesn’t know what happens in there. It’s not easy keeping her in the dark about everything going on, but I do my best to protect her. I don’t want that innocent look in her eyes to disappear. Ever. I want her to always be as happy and safe as she is now.

I’ll protect her with my life.

“No, they won’t kick anyone out!” She jumps to her feet and scowls down at me. “Why are you always so negative?”

“Because I know them.”

“So do I.”

“No, you don’t,” I say. “They only let us stay because we’re useful. The second we’re not, we’re out of here.”

“They’re only trying to teach you right from wrong. Everyone just runs away as soon as they know the state won’t search for them. If you’d just do as they ask, they wouldn’t punish you. Or the others. They’d let you stay.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know you’re a jerk!” She stomps back inside and slams the door.

A few seconds later, Mr. Rylee is yelling, “Who slammed the fucking door?”

Shit. I get to my feet and rush inside. If I don’t do something, Lakelynn will get hurt. I glance up the stairs as Mr. Rylee storms into the hall. Luckily, Lakelynn is nowhere in sight. She made it back to her room without being noticed.

“Was it you?” He points at me with his beer bottle.

“Who the hell else would it be?” I retort.

It’s not the first time I’ve taken the rap for Lakelynn, and it won’t be the last. Lakelynn is the only one to care for me, so I take care of her.

Even if that means taking a beating.

“You’re always causing problems. If it wasn’t for the money we got for you, we’d have thrown you out years ago,” Mr. Rylee rants.

He staggers, showing how drunk he is. He won’t remember any of this in the morning.

I roll my eyes and head back outside. “Fuck you.”

“Get back here, you little bastard!” He follows me, but stops at the porch steps while I keep going.

He’s too fucked up to chase me. I’ll come back after he passes out for the night. With everyone else already in their rooms, Mr. Rylee should leave them alone.

I walk around the neighborhood for a few hours, enjoying the quiet. There’s not enough of it at home. Guilt at upsetting Lakelynn eats at me. I need to apologize. While there’s not much that gets to me, hurting her does.

When I arrive back at the house, all the lights are off. Mrs. Rylee’s car is back in the driveway, signaling she’s home from work and in bed. She only works part-time at the hospital on the night shift. With all of us in the house, she doesn’t need much more money to live. Mr. Rylee’s drinking habit consumes most of their income.

Whimpering comes from the shed. I feel bad for whoever’s in there, but if I let them out, it will be worse. I creep inside the house and into Lakelynn’s room. She’s been roommate-less since Sierra turned seventeen and ran away almost a year ago. No one has seen her since.

I don’t blame her. Most of the teenagers escape when they find a chance. I didn’t because of Lakelynn. She wouldn’t leave. She still won’t leave. I have to find a way to convince her. The longer we stay, the more chances Mr. Rylee has to hurt her. We’ve been lucky so far, but I don’t like pushing it.

Streetlights pour in, eliminating Lakelynn’s bed. It’s empty. For a moment, all I can do is stand there, shocked. She’s never out of her room at this hour, except when she’s following me.

Fear I haven’t felt since I was little courses through my veins. Remembering the sounds in the shed, I bolt outside. She’s never been forced in there. Not once in two years. She’s the good girl, the boring one they don’t bother with.

I yank on the door. The lock on the outside rattles.

“Lakelynn?” I call.

Muffled sobs are my only response. Glancing around, I search for something to help me open the door. The neighbor’s utility truck catches my attention. I clamber through the truck bed until I find a crowbar.

Using the bent claw, I hook it onto the top of the lock and push up. It snaps apart. I unlatch the door and open it, flicking on the overhead light. Lakelynn cowers atop the makeshift bed. Tears stream down her face as tape covers her mouth. Her hands are cuffed to the metal bar of the cot. There’s blood on her nightgown from her busted lip and a bruise on her cheek.

My gaze travels downward. The hem of her dress is hiked up; more bruises cover her legs.

The dark red stain on the sheets tells me what I’ve been dreading all these years.

I’m going to kill him.

My grip tightens on the crowbar. Lakelynn tugs at her cuffed hands, making the metal rattle. Stepping closer, I pull the tape off her mouth as gently as I can. Her sobs get louder. My heart physically aches at the sound.

I caress her cheek. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, but I promise no one will ever hurt you again.”

She wordlessly responds with more tears. I kiss the top of her head. No one hurts what’s mine.

Grabbing the keys off one of the hooks, I release her from the cuffs. “Stay here and don’t come out, no matter what you hear.”

She nods, rubbing her wrists and hugging herself. My palm sweats, warming the cool metal of the crowbar. My hands shake as I leave the shed, but not from fear. All I feel is red-hot rage.