Carolina Wren

Chapter 46

Wren's POV

Sleep hadn't come easily, even after spending so long outside with North and Mr. Blackbourne. My head had been spinning thinking about North's story about his childhood. Knowing him now, it was hard to wrap my head around anyone ever being able to abuse him, but he'd only been a kid. I knew firsthand that there was no escaping that. My heart hurt thinking of a little North looking out the window, staring at the stars, and imagining a life anywhere but where he was. I'd do anything in the world to keep the little ones sleeping around me from ever feeling that alone.

When my thoughts strayed to Mr. Blackbourne, it was easier for me to wrap my head around, for the most part. I could understand the desire to protect his family at all costs. I could even understand the knee jerk reaction to do whatever it takes to save a bunch of little kids from an abusive situation. It was the normal response to want to make sure that nothing worse happened to them and to also not want the people you care about to get hurt in the process. If anything, I was thankful that he hadn't called in CPS immediately, because that's what teachers were supposed to do. His methods seemed odd and borne out of fear, but his priorities made sense to me.

I hadn't spent the entire time I laid awake in Kota's bed, Dylan breathing slowly next to me, thinking about the guys, though. There was a bigger picture and for now, they were only a small portion of it. Most of the time I spent trying to avoid tossing and turning so I wouldn't wake up Dylan, I was wondering about my family's future. Worrying about it is probably the better word. If things went wrong with the guys and they couldn't deliver on their promises, we were out of options and the potential for that made me want to run away with the kids right now. I'm not used to relying on anyone other than myself, and that's scarier than I could have imagined.

But Sheila's a loose end and she's always going to be until either Juni is eighteen or she legally can't sink her fingers into the kids anymore. If they can help me, it's worth the risk, especially since they don't plan on letting this go. At the end of the day, we want the same thing—for the littles to be happy, healthy, and away from Sheila's brutality.

Worry and a mind that wouldn't slow down kept me awake until I finally forced myself to focus on the sound of the kids breathing, allowing it to lull me to sleep like a comforting lullaby. My eyes only seemed to be closed for a moment before I was jolting awake, jerking my foot back from whoever had touched it. My heart was racing and my hand immediately reached out to make sure Dylan was still next to me.

Even after being awake in this room most of the night, it still made me panic for a moment when I didn't recognize anything around me. The bed was too comfortable and on the wrong side of the room. None of the things in here were mine... but Dylan was next to me, I could see the outline of a pack and play that I knew held my sister, and I could hear the little snores that Keegan does when he's laying with his neck at a weird angle.

Kota was standing at the end of the bed, cringing apologetically, his face partially illuminated by the light from the hall through the open door. "I'm sorry. North said you didn't sleep well, but we have to get you guys out of the house before my mom gets home if we don't want to answer questions about you staying here overnight."

Rubbing at my eyes in an attempt to wake myself up, I nodded. The red glow from Kota's alarm clock said it was 6 AM, so the kids had already let me sleep in. Gently, I shook Dylan, who whined and tried to hide his head in his pillow. "Dyl, you need to get up. We're—" I wasn't really sure what the plan was from here.

"We're headed to Nathan's," Kota supplied. "You can go over in your pajamas. North and Luke are already over there working on breakfast, Gabe and Silas will pack up everything over here and take it over once you guys are up and moving. All of us will discuss our plans for the day once we've all eaten."