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We sat like that, in No Man’s Land in the middle of the night, until there was nothing left but discarded wrappers and empty cartons.
Over the last year, our adventures had gotten later and later. With no Lucas to cover for us, it was too risky that someone would see us sneaking out, so we had started waiting for everyone to fall asleep.
“I feel sick,” Penny groaned, causing me to snicker.
“You shouldn’t have eaten that last cookie.” We were lying back on the blanket, holding hands and looking up at the stars. “I’m sorry I couldn’t afford a proper gift.”
Penny rolled onto her side and pushed up on her elbow to look at me. “Blake don’t even… this, the card, being here with you tonight, it’s more than I ever dreamed of.” She leaned down and stole another kiss. “Thank you for making this the best birthday ever.”
“Anything for you.” I tucked her hair behind her ear and brushed my knuckles down her cheek, fighting the urge to pull her down on top of me and take me just one little kiss.
Because this was Penny.
My lucky Penny.
And she deserved the world.
She deserved so much more than just juice boxes and cookies.
* * *
It was a little after two when we finally started to make our way back to the house.
Darkness cloaked our two-story prison, and I had to strain to make out the small bathroom window on the ground floor. My senses immediately went on high alert—something wasn’t right. I always made sure to leave the light on to guide our way back.
“Shit,” I muttered, squeezing Penny’s hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“The light’s out. Either it blew, or someone switched it off.”
“Crap, what should we do?”
“There’s a chance whoever it was has gone back to bed.” I pulled Penny closer and whispered into her hair. “Come on, as quietly as you can.”
She smiled against my neck and my heart went haywire in my chest. But I locked down everything I was feeling, determined to get us back into the house in one piece.
Stealth wasn’t Penny’s strong point, and although she could jimmy open the window with ease and climb out undetected, she’d had more than a couple of close calls over the last year.
As we crept closer to the house, the pit in my stomach churned wider. I’d come to trust my instincts since living in foster care.
Forced into this life from a young age, all I had was myself to rely on. I had to grow up and get wise, and right now, the adrenaline pumping through my veins was telling me something was very wrong. But we had no choice but to go back inside. If we stayed out all night, someone would discover us gone anyway.
Ducking out of the cover of the tree line, we crossed the yard to the side of the house. The window was on this wall somewhere, and I was almost certain I could retrace our escape route in the black hole surrounding us. I traced the wall looking for the frame. Just as my fingers hooked onto the sill, the kitchen light came on, and the door creaked open.
I froze, my heart in my mouth, blood roaring between my ears.
Fuck.
“So it is true?” a faceless voice said gruffly. “You two have been sneaking out right under our noses. Tut tut, you should know better. Especially you, boy.” Derek’s voice was eerily calm, causing shivers to jolt up my spine.
Penny gasped and pressed herself into my side, letting go of my hand. I wanted to reach back and grab it—it belonged there, but I knew it would only make our situation worse. So I squared my shoulders and took a step toward the half-open door.
Derek sneered at me. He looked like he’d just won the lotto, an evil smirk on his scruffy half-awake face. “Inside. Now.” He stepped aside to let us pass.
Penny moved with me, still pressed into my back as we entered the kitchen.
“Go to your rooms. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
