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I’m so angry I begin to shake. “He. Is. My. Brother.”
I feel my parents walk up behind me, and a hand settles on my shoulder.
“Kayn,” Mom starts.
“No!” I shake off the hand. “I love Emo like a brother. And you protect the ones you love.”
“You love him, huh?” Mr. Masters sneers. A look comes in his eyes that makes a nasty shiver crawl up my spine. “Let’s see just how much you love him.” He looks past me to my parents. “Since you can’t keep a handle on your boy, I believe you owe me.”
It’s Dad who answers. “You can have him for the night.”
Dread fills my stomach, making it turn and flip. For as far back as I can remember, Mr. Masters has always had Emo take Rella, Trouble’s sister, while he takes Emo. It’s only been a couple of times he’s added someone else, and it’s always been another kid. Once I saw him hurting Trouble while Trouble was forced to have sex with Emo. I’m scared of what he’ll have us do tonight. From the evil look in his eyes, I know it’ll be painful for both Emo and me.
Emo’s bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. When he straightens his back, his eyes meet mine. He also knows tonight will be worse than normal. Mr. Masters is mean all the time, but when he becomes angry, he reminds me of the devil.
My stomach clenches when I realize I’ve just made things worse for Emo. I didn’t want to make it worse. I just wanted Mr. Masters to take his hands off him. As the oldest of my three brothers and little sister, Rella, it’s my job to protect them.
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I try to convey my regret to Emo through my eyes. It’s barely noticeable, but I see the slight nod. He’d never blame me, but I still feel guilt.
A sick feeling forms in my stomach as we’re marched inside by our parents. I stopped begging Mom and Dad to help me years ago, and I don’t do it now either. Besides, there’s no way I would let Emo go through whatever evil thing Mr. Masters has planned alone.
I did this to protect Emo, and I’ll continue to protect him and my other brothers and sister until the very end. No matter the consequences.
Chapter Eight
JUDGE
SITTING ON THE COUCH, my eyes mostly on Maisy, I watch as she plays a game called Minecraft. It’s a strange game that seems to have gone back in technology rather than forward. The characters are all block. So are the trees, the dirt, the farm animals, and there’s even green block zombies that explode and kill you if you get too close. I think Maisy called them Creepers. So peculiar.
I’m not complaining though, because it gives me the opportunity to watch Maisy without looking like I’m some weirdo. She’s on the floor with her back against the coffee table, her thick, curly brown hair put up into a ponytail. I have a profile view of her, and I can’t help but smile every time she sticks her tongue out the side of her mouth in concentration. She’s a cute kid. And smart.
She looks better today. The paleness in her cheeks doesn’t seem as pronounced, and the slowness I’ve noticed in her movements has improved. According to Ellie, she’s having a good day, something that doesn’t come as often as it used to.
It’s been two days since I took the required tests, and we should be hearing back from the doctor anytime. I’ve prayed more in the last two days than I ever have in my life. It’s a bitch to feel so powerless against something that means the world to you. And Maisy does. In the short time I’ve known about her, I’ve come to care deeply for her.
I still haven’t brought up the subject of her being my daughter, and neither has she. If I’m honest, it scares the shit out of me. I have no idea how to be a father, and I’m scared of failing. I know I’m being a coward, but really, how do you talk to an eleven-year-old about being her father? A father that hasn’t been a part of her life until recently.
Ellie and I haven’t spoken more about what happened to her either. I’m still coming to grips with the fact that it was partially my fault that she was attacked and could have easily died. Could have miscarried Maisy. No, I didn’t throw her in front of her assailants, but I may as well have. I threw her out of my apartment that night instead of making sure she got home safely. It was my guilt of knowing she could never come to terms with what my brothers and I had planned for once we moved back to Sweet Haven. I was so worried she would look at me with fear and horror that I pushed her away, literally, and it ended with her being horrifically hurt. I’ll live with that regret for the rest of my life. I still would have ended things between us, but I should have taken her home, or at the least made sure she got in her car safely.
My phone rings, and I blink away my thoughts. I release a sigh when I see Mae’s name on the screen. I knew this was coming. I should have called her already, but I didn’t know what to tell her.
Getting up from the couch, I leave Maisy in the living room and walk to the room I’m using.
“Hey, Mae.” I rub my hand across my forehead and take a seat on the chair in the corner.
“You know, it makes a person feel pretty insignificant when she has to hear from one son that her other son has a child he knew nothing about.”
I wince at the amount of guilt I feel at her statement.
“Mae—”
“Not only that, but this child needs a kidney transplant and you plan to give her one of yours. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you. It’s actually very noble. But I still would have liked to have known before you took off.”
Mae is the only person in the world who can make me feel three feet tall, and that’s exactly how I feel right now. She might not be my biological mother, but she may as well be. When she took my brothers and me away from Sweet Haven all those years ago, she and Dale stepped in as parents. Hell, even before we left Sweet Haven, they were more parental figures to us than our real ones were.
“I’m sorry,” I say with sincerity. “I wasn’t purposely keeping it from you. I was just trying to get used to the idea myself before I announced it. I’m still a bit overwhelmed by it. I had planned to call you this evening.”
