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“Why don’t you go and wash up, dear? The girls are just getting the boys, and we should be ready to eat.” Martha shoos her husband out of the kitchen and gestures to the table. “Take a seat, Mackenzie. Sally, show her which one is hers.” Martha bustles back to the counter to grab another pot of steaming something.
“You sit here.” The green-eyed twin points to one of the seats. “I’m sorry. It’s between the boys, but if we don’t separate them at dinner, they end up squabbling over who gets the most food.”
Before I can respond, there’s a clattering of feet on the stairs. Whoever it is isn’t even trying to avoid making noise. Two boys tumble into the room, and they seem to be doing their best to keep each other away from the table. One of them is basically the spitting image of the two girls, so I’m guessing they are triplets, not twins. He’s slightly taller and lean as well, with the same red hair. The other is a little more solid, with dark skin and tight, curly black hair that sticks out all over his head like he stuck his finger in a light socket. It bounces with every movement. They shove and jeer at one another, but Martha quickly puts a stop to it.
“Boys, that’s enough. Sit yourselves down.” They quickly do as she says, and that’s when they catch sight of me. A grin spreads across the face of the redhead, and he winks at me, his eyes brown like his sister Stephanie’s.
“Oh look, Ty, new meat,” he jokes, but Ty is looking at me with a frown on his face.
“Yeah, Will, and she looks like she’s already been tenderized for us.” The boys quickly take a seat on either side of me and start peppering me with questions. I’m not sure what to answer first, but again, Martha jumps to the rescue.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, leave her be. You have plenty of time to get to know her.” She places a steaming bowl of vegetables on the table and takes a seat at one end just as Cassie and Jessica return. Cassie takes a seat on the other side of Ty, and Jessica sits opposite us where Sally and Stephanie are, but there’s still one empty seat on their side, as well as the chair opposite Martha. The table is loud and chatty as Martha asks everyone about their day. Nobody touches the food on the table, so I guess they are waiting for James and whoever sits in the other empty seat.
Five minutes later, Martha sighs and looks at the clock on the wall. “Where are the other two? They know how I like to keep to the schedule.”
Just then, two things happen. James reappears and takes his seat, and the back door opens one last time. The person who saunters in gets a reaction from Martha, but they also manage to get one from me. My mouth drops open in surprise as Miller peels off a leather jacket and hangs it on the hook before taking the last seat at the table. When he turns around, he catches my eye, and his green eyes widen minutely as he catches sight of me. I guess he wasn’t expecting for me to look like I do. I dyed my blonde hair black, and I have long wear lavender contacts in my eyes. I didn’t bother with makeup because I wanted the sympathy my bruises would bring me.
Our eyes meet, and I think there’s a small hint of appreciation in his gaze, but I must have been mistaken, because all I see now is cold indifference before he looks away.
Chapter 9
“Miller, that was cutting it close,” Martha scolds, and he gives her a smile much like the one he had given my mom a few days ago. It’s like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.
“Sorry, Martha, my lift home had to run an errand on the way,” he apologizes politely, ignoring me completely.
I catch Jessica eyeing me carefully, and I have to quickly snap my mouth shut and look down at my hands. I can’t appear to be interested, or I’m going to blow this right here and now. Why the fuck didn’t anyone tell me he was a plant in this house? I thought I was going to work the foster angle while they did something else.
“That’s alright, dear,” Martha coos at Miller inappropriately. “Now that everyone is here, this is Mackenzie. She’s going to be with us for a while, so I hope you make her feel like family.”
“What happened to your face? Did your pimp beat you up?”
Cassie gasps in shock, but I hear Jessica snicker as Miller’s silky tone floats across the table. I don’t look up because I’m worried if I do, they’ll see my desire to grab my knife and stab him in the thigh with it. Did my pimp beat me up? Is he implying I’m a whore? Scratch that—not the thigh, the balls. I’ve done that before, pinned a man to his chair by his balls. The sounds of his screams were magical to my ears because that cocksucker liked little boys and girls just a little too much.
“Miller, that’s enough,” James snaps and holds out his hands. “Let’s say grace so we can eat the delicious food Martha and the girls made for us.”
Everyone does as asked, and I find myself holding both Ty’s and Will’s hands as James thanks the good lord for our food, and to keep us all healthy and safe, and to watch over those of their children who have left to go on for new things, and to keep the ones who have gone missing safe.
A foot nudges me under the table at that, and I lift my eyes to see Miller looking at me. He nods at James, like he’s trying to get me to listen to what he’s saying. I roll my eyes at him and look back down. Of course I heard it, moron. Has he never been undercover before? That wasn’t subtle at all.
James finishes with, “Amen,” which is echoed around the table, and people start reaching for food.
“So what year are you in, Mackenzie?” Jessica’s voice has a little girl quality to it, which is annoying as fuck, and she’s only said a few words. I’m going to want to gag her if she talks to me too much. “Sally, Steph, and Will are sophomores, and Ty and Cassie are juniors, so I’m sure they can help show you around.”
And the claws come out, but what does she think that implying I look young is going to do? Fuck me, I’m still recovering from having the shit beat out of me, so her pathetic attempt to make me feel bad is nothing.
Before I can answer, Martha does. “Oh no, dear, she’s a senior like you. I thought maybe you or Miller could show her around school tomorrow.”
Jessica’s eyes widen dramatically, and she puts her hand on Miller’s tattoo covered arm. “I couldn’t possibly. I have my Divinity of Morality Club meeting before school tomorrow, and Miller is helping me with that. Maybe if you call the school, they can assign someone to help her out.”
She’s smiling, but I can hear her politely covered threat. Jessica just staked her claim on Miller and basically told me I was nothing and no one, and I better not get in her way. That’s no skin off my nose, she’s welcome to the asshole. I wonder what she’d say if she knew he was the one who did the damage to my face. She’d probably congratulate him.
“Of course I’ll do that. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they look after you,” Martha assures me.
“Of course we will. We take really good care of our foster children. We want you to be the best you can be,” James adds, smiling at me, but once again, it doesn’t reach his eyes.
Dinner chaos goes on around us, and he breaks our stare off when Miller passes him a basket of rolls, but I can’t suppress the shudder that runs down my back at his words. The dude gives me a creepy feeling, and he just became my number one suspect.
“We sure do, so you can go on and live happy, successful, and productive lives,” Martha chimes in, sounding like a propaganda ad. They are laying it on a little thick, and I can see I’m not the only one who thinks so. The twins roll their eyes good-naturedly, and Jessica simpers at the adults.
