AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There’s shit you don’t know about me, Ellie. Shit I didn’t want you to know. I was protecting you from it.” He lets out a harsh laugh. “I protected you from something that would hurt you and threw you in front of something else that could have killed you.”
“Does… does it have to do with your childhood?”
I don’t know why I ask that. I know about Sweet Haven and what Judge, his brothers, and all the other kids went through. It was horrible and unfathomable. We had talked about it several times back then, and each time it ended with me in tears, but there’s no reason for me to think him breaking things off had anything to do with it. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he always seemed so secretive anytime we talked about it. Like there was more to what he had told me.
“Yes,” he answers. I open my mouth to ask him what, but he forestalls me by holding up his hand. “It’s still something I’m not ready for you to know. I’ll tell you, just not right now.”
I purse my lips. “That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think? You just demanded I tell you something I didn’t want to tell you and now you’re refusing me?”
“This is different.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Says who? You? How is your secret any different than mine?”
“Because,” he bites out, “it would affect a hell of a lot of people.”
I frown, perplexed. What in the hell is he hiding? What was so important that warranted him ripping my life apart?
I decide to drop it for tonight. Talking about my ordeal has left me raw. It always does when I think about it. That’s why I avoid it as much as possible. Of course, every time I look in the mirror, I’m reminded of it.
I sigh and wipe my hands down my sleep pants. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I turn and make my way to my bedroom. At the mouth of the hallway, Judge calls my name. I stop but don’t turn around.
“I’m sorry. For not only what those bastards did to you, but also for the part I played in it. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
My throat closes and I have to clear it before I respond softly, “I know.”
Leaving him behind, I go to my room, crawl into bed, and cry silently into my pillow until I drift off into a fitful sleep.
Chapter Seven
JUDGE
The Past
WE’RE STANDING JUST OUTSIDE of the doors to the Hall of Hell. My parents are several feet away talking to the Moores. I push my hands into my pockets and kick a rock, watching it skitter across the concrete. I kick another one to see if it makes it past the first one.
I’m trying my best to not think about what’s going to happen in a few minutes, but just like every Hell Night, it consumes my thoughts.
Who will I be forced to be with? A man? A woman? Another kid? One of my parents? Or maybe both? More than one person at once? Will I have to put my penis in someone, or will they be doing that to me, or will I have to put my mouth on them? I don’t know which one is worse. Actually, yes, I do. Doing all three at once is worse. Will they be rough or pretend to care and be gentle? Will it be someone who my parents owe a favor? Or one of their close friends? One of my friends? Or maybe my parents threw some names in a hat and picked someone randomly. As you can tell, my parents aren’t picky on who normally has me for Hell Night. I’ve probably been with half the people walking inside the Hall of Hell.
Mrs. Malone walks up to my parents and the Moores. I overheard my parents talking about her the other day. A couple of weeks before then, they found out she was pregnant and they wondered if the baby was mine, because I was partnered up with her the Hell Night before then. They went on to say they were glad she had the baby killed—I think they called it an abortion—because they weren’t ready to be grandparents yet. They said that abortions aren’t normally allowed by the council, but Mrs. Moore feared the child could be her son’s because she was with him the same night she was with me. Her husband is now infertile, so it couldn’t be his. Having a baby by someone related to you isn’t allowed. I know that it’s bad to be glad a baby is dead, but I am glad, because I don’t want my baby to go through what I’ve been through ever since I could remember.
Yelling has me turning to look behind me. My fingernails bite into my palms when I see Mr. Masters with his hand around Emo’s throat. His face is red and his eyes shoot out fire as he glares at his dad.
“Get your fucking ass in the Hall, Aziah!” Mr. Masters yells. “Or so help me God, you’ll regret it.”
No one does anything as Mr. Masters squeezes Emo’s neck harder, causing his face to turn purple. Except for Hell Night, most kids have normal childhoods. The parents care for them as most parents should. Emo’s one of the exceptions. His dad is always abusing him in some way. Everyone’s scared of Mr. Masters because he’s one of the high members of The Council and they worry he’ll cause trouble for them. I don’t care though. It’s not like I won’t be hurting later tonight anyway, and Emo is one of my best friends, one of my brothers.
I stomp across the grass toward them. Mr. Masters back is facing me, so I catch him by surprise when I use all my strength to shove him. He lets go of Emo and stumbles forward.
“Get your hands off him!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
After he regains his balance, Mr. Masters spins around. “What in the fuck are you doin’, boy?” he growls.
I glare at him. I’m only twelve years old, so I know my glare won’t scare him, but I do it anyway. “Making you stop hurting my brother.”
He barks out a laugh. “Brother? He’s not your fuckin’ brother, Kayn. He’s a little bastard that doesn’t follow rules. That’s the only thing he is.”
