The hitman's wife

CHAPTER 5: THEO'S VIEW

I couldn't quite believe it when I got the call from the hospital. All this time I had been searching for Becca and she can't have been more than 2 hours away if that was the closest hospital for them to take her to. I didn't hesitate as I caught up my car keys and headed out the door. There was no way in hell that I was letting Becca disappear again.

I recalled the first time that I had ever seen Becca. She had arrived at the foster home is recently been placed in and had looked so innocent and vulnerable. She definitely didn't belong in a place like that. I had been there less than a week and I already knew it was the kind of place for innocent kids to be. The dad was mean and I could sense it from the moment I had first seen him. Richard had a smile that didn't meet his eyes and everyone around him acted warily, as though they were used to being cautious with him. That hadn't bothered me when i had arrived, I was used to the system and I was used to being beaten and treated like shit. It hasn't bothered me right up until I caught a glimpse of Becca. Her long golden hair had been tied back fiercely and she had been dressed in jeans and a hoody that covered up her body and her expression was issuing a big fuck you to the world. Yet I could see the fear in her eyes and i could see that under the defences she was innocent. It raised a chivalrous part of me that wanted to keep her safe. I wasn't sure what that shit was, you had to look out for yourself in care. If Becca couldn't handle it then it wasn't my problem. I turned away from her and tried to avoid her yet for the new few days all I could think about was Becca and that hair spun like gold and that air of innocence.

In all the years I had known her Becca had never lost that innocence. She projected a hard exterior to the world but underneath she was a lost little girl who just wanted someone to love her. She hasn't realised that I couldn't be that person she wanted for needed me to be.

The foster home and the people in it had been strange from the start and we all lived under a dark shadow. The mom was so quiet and always had a false expression as she tried to demonstrate a normal front. It was clear that she was strained from the toll that life was taking on her and that she was afraid of her husband, not that most people looked that closely. They saw what they wanted to see and ignored the cracks in the exterior. Kimmy was sweet to me but it was clear that the abuse She had suffered in the care system had broken her and she acted out whenever she got the chance. I liked Kimmy but I had my doubts about whether she could reach the other side of the system and build a better life for herself. Alice was a strange one, there was something about her that I couldnt quite understand. She was silent and walked around like a shadow, which made me think that she was the most abused of all us kids, but there were times when i saw flashes of who she was and I didn't like what I saw. She was likely the most damaged but from what I could sense she was also ten most dangerous. Then came Becca. There was something about her that I couldn't quite put my finger on, she was damaged like the rest of us but there was something that made her different. She intrigued me from the start and it was why I knew I had to stay the hell away from her.

At first it was easy to stay away from Becca and I could pretend she didn't even exist. But then came that fateful night that changed everything. I didn't usually venture from my room on a night. I had learnt long ago that whatever happened on a night was best to be unseen and unheard. But this particular night I felt something urge me to leave the safety of my room.
I went to the bathroom and found the hallway deserted and the bathroom door shut and locked. I knocked and there was no answer. I knocked again and demanded they hurry up. However, when the door did open I was shocked to see the state of Becca as she tried to walk past me. She looked pale and wan and not like herself at all. I caught her wrist to stop her and asked what was wrong. She didn't answer and when her fearful gaze landed on the dad I realised that something must have happened to cause that fear. I knew then that I couldn't stay out of it anymore and I couldn't avoid the truth. There was no way I would let the dad do anything to birth Becca. She had practically run back to her room and I had watched her go before turning my gaze back on the dad. He smirked at me before turning and waltzing back to his own room. I wasn't sure what the hell had occurred but whatever it was I wouldn't let it happen to Becca again.