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Noah
The house is crowded. Voices ring through the interior, and the aroma of food wafts through the halls. Once a month, my roommates throw a dinner party, which they have dubbed Family Day.
“You okay, Noah?” Madison peers into my room and checks on me.
“Yeah, just dandy.” That couldn’t have come out any flatter.
“I know you don’t have any family here, but that doesn’t mean you have to hide away. This is your home, too, so get your butt up, and come hang out with everyone.”
I’m being a brat. I’m usually better than this, but sometimes, my lack of ties is just hard. Despite not wanting them to, pity parties can get the better of any of us.
“I’ll think about it, Madison. For now, I’m pretty comfortable where I am.”
She nods and closes my door to give me privacy.
I try not to be jealous of others or dwell on the negative, but I have to admit, I’ve been dreading today. I don’t even know the meaning of family and can’t remember a time when I actually had one. The closest thing to parents I had were the people who ran Golden Heights. My siblings would be the other kids who were abandoned to the place.
This morning, I helped to cook, and I hung around long enough to meet Benson’s and Madison’s parents, but since then, I’ve been hiding out in my room, sitting on my bed, holding the unopened letter from my mom. My fingers have traced the edges of the envelope so many times that I’ve given myself paper cuts on the tips. The light weight of the letter somehow sits heavy in my hands. Frustrated, I set it on my bed, sigh, and stand. I have a long day, and the written words inside will be there to taunt me some more when I get back from the bathroom.
I push open the bathroom door and freeze, jaw falling open in shock. Madison’s mom is in the bathtub. There is a rubber band tied around her upper arm, and she’s slapping her forearm to try to pull a vein up.
“Oh, sorry!” I trip over my feet as I move backward.
“Keep your mouth shut about this to Madison. You hear me? I don’t need any lectures from Queen Bitch,” the woman barks the demands out from the tub.
“You got it.” Quickly, I back out of the room and slam the door.
As I retreat, Madison is headed in my direction.
“Is my mom in there?” she asks in a worried tone.
“Um, yeah. She should be right out.”
What else could I say? I know exactly what I saw, but how to even begin to explain it to Madison is beyond me. She’s my friend, and she deserves the truth. Instead, I flee to my bedroom, turning just in time to see her reach for the doorknob of the bathroom I just left.
“Oh, and, Noah, you have visitors outside on the porch,” she adds.
“Visitors? What vis—” The door closes with Madison now on the other side.
Who the heck is here for me?
Slowly, I move out to the front of the house, anxious about what I’ll find but also anxious about what Madison is now finding out. When I get there, I can’t help the purely happy smile that takes over my features.
Brazen and Sunday.
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask them.
Sunday is wearing way more clothing than could ever be comfortable in the Florida heat. Long sleeves cover her arms, and boot-cut denim jeans hide her legs. A black ball cap is pulled low over her eyes. The heavy layer of makeup does a good job of concealing her exposed skin, but I’ve already seen the bruises. I know what her foundation is hiding.
Brazen speaks up to answer my question about their attendance, “I saw Benson the other day when I was at the site. He might have mentioned today in passing. Plus, Sunday and Madison talk, like, three hundred times a day.”
Across the room, Benson’s nervous tic is worse than ever as he sits sandwiched between his parents. When I look his way, he gives me a wave and a tight smile. I’ll have to remember to thank that boy. Maybe I can save him from his parents later for a brief reprieve.
“Are you two hungry? We made enough for an army.”
“I can always eat. Point me in the direction of that delicious smell.” Brazen dramatically rubs his stomach and gives me a wink.
“This way.”
