AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ellie gritted her teeth. “Hopefully they’ll show up tomorrow and we can get some answers.”
Eighty-Four
Somewhere on the AT
Monday, December 23
Ava clung to Kaylee’s hand as she led her into the kitchen the next morning. Last night after they’d run back to their room, she’d hidden under the covers and willed her real daddy to show up. She’d heard scratches on the window and thought she’d seen her mommy’s face looking in.
Then it was gone and there was a monster there and a big fat grizzly bear and she’d pulled the covers up over her head so he couldn’t see her.
Daddy had a temper sometimes and she hated it when he got mad. But right now, she wished he was here and he’d tell this lady that she belonged to him and that she couldn’t keep her.
“Be good this morning,” Kaylee whispered to her now. “Last night I heard Daddy say Becky couldn’t stay here anymore.”
Ava sniffed. “I don’t wanna stay here either.”
“You don’t get it,” Kaylee said, her voice hoarse like she had popcorn stuck in her throat. “We don’t know where they’ll take her. They might give her to some bad people or leave her out in the woods alone.”
Ava pushed her fist against her mouth to keep from crying. Bears and bobcats and snakes and other wild animals lived out there. And it was cold. So cold and windy the trees were shaking like she did when she went to the spooky house at the school during the fall festival. Outside, she could freeze to death.
She heard the lady humming “Here Comes Santa Claus” as she came into the kitchen, setting plates of bananas and pancakes on the table. Two pill cups sat by the juice cups, one for each of them. “Good morning, girls,” she said with a big smile. “After you take your medication and eat breakfast, we have special plans.” She stepped into the small room attached to the kitchen then returned with two angel costumes. “We’re going to perform our own angel pageant in front of the beautiful tree.” She clapped her hands. “Won’t that be fun?!”
Ava hated that tree. She stared at the angel costume, her heart thumping. The night before this lady took her, she was at the pageant with her mommy and her mommy kissed her right before she went on stage. When Ava looked out into the crowd, Mommy blew kisses at her and waved. And when they got home, they had cookie dough ice cream and Mommy danced around the living room with her and whispered how much she loved her.
“That sounds good,” Kaylee said obediently.
Ava shook her head. “I don’t wanna wear that costume. I want the one Mommy made me.”
The woman pointed to the glitter on the wings. “I made this one for you. And you will wear it.”
Ava shook her head. “You lied about my daddy. Where is he?”
The lady looked into her eyes. “Your family is here. Now don’t be a brat.”
“Mommy never called me a brat,” Ava shouted.
The woman’s eyes grew so wide and mad that Ava thought she might hit her. She heard Kaylee’s voice in her head, telling her to be good or they might send her away.
The lady stooped down in front of her. “Listen to me, Ava. You’re my little girl. We’re going to dance and sing and have a great day together.”
Tears clogged her throat. “Liar, liar, pants on fire. You lied about Mommy not wanting me. And you lied about my daddy coming.”
The lady’s eyes went crazy mad again.
But Ava didn’t care. She clenched her hands in fists. “You said Daddy was coming. Where is he?”
“You have a new daddy,” the lady said.
“I don’t want a new daddy or you. I want my old mommy and daddy.” She stomped her foot, then turned and ran back to the stairs and up them. She flung the door open and threw herself on the bed. The tears came fast and hard and she looked out the window at all the trees that seemed to go on forever and forever.
On the tops of the mountain, it was raining little pieces of ice right now. When it snowed at home, the white hills reminded her of her snow globes. Only they were magical and pretty. It didn’t look pretty outside now. It looked cold and ugly and not at all like her home.
She heard footsteps echoing, then the lady walked over to her bed. “Listen to me,” she said in a hard voice, “I’m your mommy now. And I say we’re going to have an angel pageant today. And we’re going to.”
Ava wanted to run but she remembered what Kaylee said about the lady getting rid of Becky or leaving her outside. Fear bubbled in her stomach as the mean lady took her arm and pulled her off the bed.
“Come on, now. Kaylee is already in her angel costume waiting.”
