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The pain in his voice was almost tangible. Something I could reach out and touch.
A silent tear rolled down my cheek as the past rose up, crashing over me like a tsunami, shattering my heart into a thousand pieces.
Just like that, for the second time in my life, Blake Weston pieced together the broken parts of me, all while tearing them back down.
CHAPTERFOUR
Blake
Age 12
“Have you seen her yet?” Lucas asked me as we sat on the wall of the Freeman group home, our legs dangling beneath us.
“Another girl?” My nose screwed up with disapproval.
That made five in the last year. They came, stayed for a few months, and left. Girls were always first out of here. A couple looking to adopt preferred girls, or at least that was what Marie liked to tell us.
“Yeah, Gabe saw her already. Marie has her in the house giving the grand tour,” he smirked, flicking his head back toward the house.
We both knew what the grand tour meant. A quick look around the house and then a rundown of what Derek and Marie expected of us while we stayed.
House rules, they liked to call them. They expected each of us to do chores and keep our rooms tidy. But rule number one was to be seen and not heard, which was almost impossible given we were teenagers. Well, not me. Not yet. I’d just turned twelve, but in a year, I would be a teenager, and then I would stand up to the Freemans’ shit.
“Don’t go there.”
“What?” I shrugged, kicking my feet on the sidewalk.
“You have that look again,” he said with a disapproving look. “You have to rein it in, dude. You’ve already been grounded three times this month. Don’t go causing trouble. It’s not worth it. Besides, I kinda like having you around. You might be the youngest here, but you have a good head on your shoulders.”
Pride swelled in my chest. Lucas was the oldest kid living in the Freemans’ house. He was strong and protective of the younger kids, like me, and he knew all the ways around the house rules.
I got along okay with Gabe and Peter, the other two boys, but I looked up to Lucas.
I wanted to be just like him when I was older.
“Okay, Lucas. Sorry.” I ducked my head not wanting him to see my red cheeks.
“Hey, don’t apologize, okay? Just keep your head down and remember you won’t be in this place forever.” He shoulder-checked me and hopped down off the wall. “Come on, let’s go and meet her. You know what Amy can get like when a new girl arrives.”
I followed Lucas up the path to the porch and took a deep breath.
He was right; one day, I would be free.
And I was counting the years.
* * *
“Why are your eyes so puffy?” Amy snarled at the new girl, folding her arms over her chest like it was a crime to cry.
“Amy, back off,” Lucas said.
He was slouched back on the threadbare, stain-ridden couch in the den, the one room in the house we were allowed to hang out in besides our bedrooms.
“You’re not the boss of me, Lucas Foley. I can ask her a question if I want to.”
I looked over at the new girl from underneath the bill of my hand-me-down baseball cap. She seemed to shrink further into herself, wrapping her arms around her waist. She looked so broken. I hadn’t been happy about another girl showing up, but I didn’t like how sad she looked.
I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat.
