Page 96 of Before We Break

My coworker at the diner. She can help me.

“Fine. I’ll go. Give me two weeks. I have to give notice at work.”

Rodney’s nostrils flare, and I take a slow step back.

“Please. Two weeks.”

“Two weeks and I want you or that baby gone. One way or another.”

The memory fades like an old black-and-white movie, flickering across my vision. There’s no reprieve this time as I’m ripped from one scene to the next with lightning-quick efficiency, stealing my breath.

Glass shatters against the kitchen wall as Rodney tosses Mom’s vodka bottle across the room. Rodney advances on me; white-hot rage is evident in the set of his jaw and the clenching of his fists. “Where the fuck is the money?”

“Someone stole my wallet on the subway.” It’s a lie. I need the money to move to North Carolina with Lindsey’s aunt. The plan is all set. I leave next Thursday, if I survive until then. My situation grows more precarious by the second.

His fist closes around my wrist, and he twists, causing a sharp pain to radiate up my arm. He pins me against the wall, his mouth barely an inch away from my face as his rancid breath fills my nostrils. “You will pay me what I’m owed, or I’ll bury you next to your good-for-nothing father.”

Fear floods my system, blocking out everything around me. “Please. I’ll get the money. Just let me go.”

“And where are you going to find that kind of cash, little girl? Stand on the street corner and whore yourself out?”

“I can ask my boss for an advance. Please.”

Rodney releases me, but I don’t get far. His hand clamps around my upper arm. “You have twenty-four hours to get the money. Do you understand me?”

“Yes.”

He shoves me away so forcefully I nearly fall to my knees, then he’s out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Mom is nowhere to be found, probably out drinking and gambling as usual.

It’s now or never.

I rush to the bedroom where Callie’s lying in wait. She knows not to come out when Rodney’s having one of his fits. I grab my backpack off the floor and shove clothing inside.

“Where are you going?” Callie asks from her spot atop my bed, her voice quavering.

My heart thunders as I tousle her hair. She flinches, and my stomach plummets. Rodney likes to pull her hair. How could I forget?

I push down the guilt and stuff more clothes into my backpack. “I have to find us a new home. I’ll come back for you, I promise.”

I can’t tell her why I’m leaving—she wouldn’t understand. I’m her sister. I promised I’d always protect her, but I’m choosing to save myself and my baby instead. How do I explain that to a ten-year-old? It’s an impossible choice. No matter what I do, I’m losing a piece of my heart tonight.

I swallow the well of emotion rising to the surface as I reach for my favorite teddy bear and our last family photo with my biological father. He was a good man—a kind man.

I miss him so much.

“You said we’d stay together forever.” Callie’s sobbing now, the words barely more than a quiet whimper.

I grab the roll of cash from my nightstand drawer and shove it into the bag. It’s all of the tips I’ve squirreled away from my job at the diner. Rodney takes most of my money for room and board.

“I know, but I have to go for a little while. You can be brave for me, can’t you, Copycat?”

She pinches her eyes shut and buries her face in one of my threadbare pillows, muffling her voice in the tear-soaked fabric. “I c-can’t.”

I kneel beside the bed and take her face in my hands, wiping away her tears. “You can. You’re the strongest girl I know. Stronger than even me.”

I swipe impatiently at the tear that rolls down my cheek. I don’t have time for sadness. I have to get out of here.

After zipping up my favorite hoodie, I sling my backpack onto my shoulder. “Stay here, ok? Don’t make a sound. If you hear anything, hide. Get in the closet and do not come out. Got it?”