My door was slammed open. I jumped scared for what Goerge would do to me this time. Kyle was God knows where.
"Let's go," he said with a nasty yellow smile.
"Where?" I asked.
He only smiled bigger which meant we were going somewhere I would not like.
He slammed my head into the wall with one quick movement. I saw stars as my eyes went from crossed to uncrossed. The room spun as he picked me up over his shoulder.
We were outside. I heard someone yell.
"Hey, where the fuck are you taking her?" Kyle said harshly. I felt his hand grab my leg tightly making sure we stayed together.
"She's leaving, she's going to a different home," George answered, "Now let go."
"No," Kyle's voice was ice cold.
"Look I'll give you some of the money, okay? How's twenty dollars sound?"
I couldn't see Kyle, but I knew he was giving George his death glare.
My head had stopped spinning and I kneed the guy in the chest.
He threw me on the ground once again hitting the back of my head on the hard gravel driveway.
I groaned.
I heard a car pull up and footsteps come towards me.
I heard fighting. Most likely my brother and Goerge. Someone picked me up.
"Don't touch her!" I heard Kyle yell. He was held down by George and two other guys.
I was placed in the car by whoever was holding me.
"Elliot's waiting for you," the guy laughed.
I shivered at the name. Elliot no please not him.
The guy cuffed my hands through the seat belt and put a black bag over my head. They were taking me to him, Elliot. I was sold.
The car sped down the road going as least 80 miles per hour. I was surprised the cops weren't behind us yet.
I cried. I had never felt so weak. They had taken me so easily.
What would they do with Kyle? Would I ever see him again? He had protected me for so long, and I never helped. If I was just stronger, I could help. Maybe this would be better for him, not having me. He could have a life. He didn't have me holding him back anymore. Maybe there was something good that would come out of this.
But for me, I was going to be a sex slave for the rest of my life. That wasn't a life. That was death over and over again, but still not dying. I would -
The car swerved interrupting my thoughts.
"Watch out you moron," one of the guys said.
"Thanks for telling me before the car almost hit us." The driver said sarcastically.
"Shut up," the other guy said.
"Why don't y-"
Bam!
The car went airborne. I didn't have any time to react before we hit the ground and I was knocked out.
~~~
I woke up in the hospital room completely alone. I had no one.
My right leg had a cast on it and my head was bandaged up as well.
I cried. What is the point of life if nothing good comes out of it?
The door to my room opened. A lady with short brown hair walked up to me.
"Hi, Cassie," she said, "I'm Stacey. How are you feeling?"
I didn't answer. Who was this lady?
"Well, I'm your new social worker. If you need anything at all just tell me and you've got it."
"Where's Kyle?" My voice was dry.
Stacey picked up a cup on the table and put it to my lips.
I drank not knowing how thirsty I was.
"Dear, he's been put in juvenile detention."
"What? Why?"
"He attacked your foster father, George." She explained.
"What he didn't attack him. Kyle was just protecting me from him."
She nodded to show that she was listening, but I knew she could do nothing about it.
"Can I see him?"
"I'm sorry, Cassie, not now."
"When?"
"I'm not sure."
I was truly utterly alone. I hadn't helped Kyle. I had put him in juvy. It was all my fault. Tears ran down my face. It was all my fault. Everything was my fault. I shouldn't be here.
~~~
I woke up with my face wet with tears. I must have cried while asleep.
No one was in my room. The feeling of isolation from three years ago came back.
I hugged my pillow. I wasn't alone, I thought. But I was.
I cried until I had no more tears to shed.
After a little while, Cole came in.
"Hey, how you feeling?"
"Better," physically. Not mentally. But I didn't tell him that.
"Good, maybe you can come home sooner."
"Why can't I just go home now?" I asked.
I raised my arms, "Carry me to the car,"
He laughed, "Maybe tomorrow."
I had spent two days in the room and I was starting to smell. The nurse tried to clean me with washcloths. I still felt gross. I wanted to go home already.
The nurse made me get up and move around every day. I never wanted to. The nightmare memories happened every night. It would be the same car crash.
I was finally released from the hospital on the 6th day.
The boys were all at school. Mom and Dad brought me home to an empty house. I could walk and go upstairs, but Dad insisted on helping me.
I immediately took a shower and followed the doctor's directions on keeping the wound clean.
I lied down on my bed glad to be home. Home. When did I start calling this place home? Was it home? I think it was. This was my home. Woah. The feeling relaxed me. I smiled.
There was a knock at my door.
"Come in," I said.
Mom and Dad came in.
"Hey sweetie," Mom said, "How are you feeling?
"Okay," I replied.
She nodded, "We are still not exactly sure what is going on with you. And that's perfectly fine. I know you might not be ready to tell us everything or anything. Whatever you're okay with is okay. Never feel like you need to tell us anything, but we are always here. Always," she looked at me with her warm brown eyes. "We will always love and care for you no matter your past."
I nodded, trying not to get emotional.
Dad handed me a box, "This is yours. If you need to text us anything anytime you can. That might be easier than talking about it."
I opened it and there was a new phone.
"Really?" I asked.
"We want you to be happy. If anything at all is bothering you just text us or any of your brothers or your friends. Don't be afraid to share your feelings."
"Thank you guys," I hugged them, "You are the best parents I have ever had."
I'm lucky to have them.
I slept the rest of the day.
There was another knock at my door.
Adam walked in and sat on my bed saying nothing.
"I didn't know it was that bad. In the locker room your back... I thought it was just a minor cut, but it wasn't was it?"
I shook my head.
"And you said you would tell Julie if anything else happened," he confronted me, "But you didn't and you ended up in the hospital."
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"When are you going to realize that we are here to help?" He said forcefully.
"You don't understand..."
"Understand what?" He got louder.
I gulped and lowered my eyes on habit.
"I should've just told them about your back as soon as I found out. We aren't going to hurt you and I don't know why you won't tell us these things. We can help you."
"Have you ever been so terrified that you just want to die?" I asked quietly.
"What?" Adam said, confused.
"Have you ever been completely alone surrounded by strangers in a dark room who force themselves onto you one by one?" I said my jaw clenched.
He looked at me sadly, "I'm sorry,"
"You didn't answer my question," I stared at him coldly.
"No, I haven't-"
"Then you don't understand and you don't get to tell me how to act! You know nothing about me! Trust may be easy for you, but because I have been failed by everyone I have ever known, I don't trust anyone. And if you want my trust, I would try a different way because yelling at me and telling me I'm wrong is not going to make me trust you!" I yelled at him.
"Cassie I-" he started to say.
"Just leave," I cut him off.
"I-"
"Leave!" I screamed at him.
He stood up and left.
~~~
I stayed home for the rest of the week. On the weekend Mom and Dad let me have Rylee and Emma over for a sleepover. They weren't sure about it at first, but after a little convincing they agreed. I argued that having them over would help me ease back into school.
I have missed over a week of school and we agreed I would go back on Monday. But no soccer for the rest of the semester. Which sucked but tryouts weren't until spring. And no heavy lifting of any kind. Not even reaching for a cup on the higher shelf. Yeah, I did that and they freaked out. They were a little too overprotective and me coming from not caring families, it was foreign to me.
Adam and I hadn't talked since the fight.
Rylie and Emma came over after dinner. The boys helped me set up the movie room for the sleepover. I wasn't allowed to do anything.
"Thanks, guys," I said after they finished.
They had blown up two air mattresses. There were pillows and blankets everywhere and the projector was all set up.
I shooed everyone out of the room when Rylie and Emma came.
"Oh my gosh, hi!" Emma came in and hugged me, "Where have you been?"
"She already told us, Emma," Rylie said, rolling her eyes at her overly dramatic friend.
"Oh yeah, are you okay? Did it hurt? What exactly happened?" Emma asked.
I sighed. I had decided to tell everyone that I did have internal bleeding, but I was going to say that the reason for it was unknown which was not true.
"Well, we aren't sure. One second I was fine and the next I was coughing up blood."
"That sucks. I'm glad you're okay," Rylie said.
We all went downstairs to the movie room.
"Woah this looks so comfy," Emma jumped on the bed.
"Did I miss anything major in school?" I asked. I was worried about the amount of work I would have to catch up on.
"Oh my gosh, yes, in English there's this new guy and he's so hot," Emma said excitedly.
"Emma doesn't know what we did in English all week because she was fangirling over the new boy," Rylie explained.
"So Emma and I can catch up together, perfect," I said.
"Um, yeah sure, but Evan is so hot. You should see him," Emma said.
"Oh and Jacklin's being a bitch like usual, but whatever she's dumb," Rylie told me.
We talked a little bit longer and then started watching a movie.
The second movie in Mom told us that the pizza was here. We went upstairs and ate at the bar. All of the boys had gone out with their friends except for Eli.
I took my pain medication and we headed back downstairs. I fell asleep during the third movie.
~~~
That Monday I went to school. It felt weird.
River and Deshaun walked me to our 1st block.
"I had no one to cheat off of for a whole week," Deshaun said, "You can't do that. It's hurting my grades."
I wasn't in the mood for Deshaun's jokes. My pain medication made me drowsy. I wanted to sleep. Why did school have to be so early?
"You good?" River asked me.
"Yeah," I said before walking into class with Deshaun.
I sat down and the teacher gave me all the work I missed. This class was easy, but I still had a lot to do and this was just the first class.
Near the end, I got a headache and put my head down.
"Can't stop now you're almost done," Deshaun said.
After I didn't respond Deshaun asked, "Cassie, you okay?"
"Yeah," I mumbled.
Then the bell rang. Next block.
Algebra went by fast. Time flies when you're having fun. So fun.
Jacklin gave me an evil glare which I didn't have enough energy to counter the glare or even understand the reason for the look.
Whatever, I thought.
Then I went to English and sat with Emma and Rylie as usual.
"Cassie, look there Evan," Emma nudged me.
I glanced at where she motioned. There was the new guy who was indeed hot with his messy dark hair.
"Yes, very nice," I said unenthusiastically, turning back to them.
"Come on he's hot," she stretched the words out.
Rylie and I laughed.
My English teacher made me work at the table near her desk to get my assignments done. Evan also had to sit at that table to get caught up on the schoolwork he missed.
After about 20 minutes I got another headache and closed my eyes.
When I opened my eyes Evan was staring at me.
"What?" I asked.
"You're cute," he said confidently.
I blushed and he smirked.
I wanted to cry. Maybe it was the medication, but I was not feeling it today. I hated guys like this. Cocky confident hot guy. Made me feel special, but he didn't really mean it. Now I'm overthinking everything and can't concentrate on my work.
"Whatever," I mumbled.
I felt his eyes still on me and it bothered me. It made me uncomfortable.
"Is there something you need?" I asked, looking at him.
"Yeah, you," He smiled.
I stood up not wanting to sit with this creep.
"I'm just kidding," he said quickly, leaning back to look up at me still smiling, "Sit down, I was just messing with you."
"Fuck off," I said and the bell chose that perfect time to ring. I walked out of the classroom.
I went to the bathroom and took some painkillers. I groaned as I walked to the cafeteria.
"Hey," someone said behind me.
I turned and saw Evan.
"Oh my God, just leave me alone," I groaned.
He raised his hands in defense, "Are you always like this?"
"Only to creepy old men and you," I said.
"I feel personally attacked," he said walking next to me.
"Okay and?" My headache was getting worse. I just wanted to sleep. We walked down the stairs. I had to hold on to the railing with both my hands.
"Are you okay?" Evan asked.
"Yeah, just not feeling great today," I replied.
"Headache?"
"Yep,"
He put his arm around my back to help me, but I wasn't having it.
"Can you not?" I said.
"I'm just trying to help,"
"I know, but you can't just do that without asking. I don't feel comfortable with that so please don't,"
I'd rather fall, I thought.
"Sorry," he said removing his hands. I could tell he wasn't used to be told no.
We got to the lunchroom and I looked for Rylie and Emma. I couldn't find them, but I saw Henry and his friends not too far away on the comfy sofas.
I went over to him and sat down. Evan hadn't followed me, thankfully. I laid down and rested my head on Henry's knee.
"Hey Cassie, you okay?" He asked me.
"Everything hurts. I want to go home," I closed my eyes.
"I'll text mom," he said.
"No, I can't miss any more school," I said.
"Are you sure? You don't look too good?"
"Cassie has left the chat," I said.
"What?" He laughed. "All right, sleep now and at the end of lunch if you don't feel better, I'll text mom."
I nodded and then drifted to sleep.
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Sorry for the wait 😓
I'll try to get the next one out faster.
We are at more than 8k reads and over 200 votes. That's crazy! Thank you guys so much for reading!
Not really sure where this book is going. Kind of just going with the flow. Lol, we'll see...