I want to drop to my knees and weep. I want to bolt out the door and run down the road, screaming his name.
He didn’t take my money.
What have I done?
I look to the door, but Dean steals my attention by slapping the table. “Look at me, dammit! You hate living with me that much?”
My swallow is thick, anger and terror competing for top place in my chest. “You took my money.”
“Your money?” He stands with a roar. The chair behind him topples back against the wall and I flinch. “That’s mine, Annie! The diner belongs to me!”
“No it doesn’t! It still belongs to Gramma.”
He ignores the truth and walks toward me, each slow step more ominous than the last. “What was the plan, huh? Save enough pennies to run away?”
My thumb digs into the frame. I need to move. To run like a rabbit. Maybe if I’m quick enough, I can slam my bedroom door shut and lean against it. He can’t get me then.
Or he can, because you’re tiny and he’s a giant.
He’s getting closer, and still I’m not moving. I’m just staring at him, wishing for big fists and at least another two feet.
“What kind of person abandons their family? How do you think Jackson would feel if he woke up one morning and you were gone?”
My eyes flick to his and I can’t help myself. Between clenched teeth, I grit out the truth. “I’d never leave Jackson with you.”
“Oh, so you were just gonna steal my son from me, then? Was that the plan, Annie?” He fists my shirt, yanking me out of the doorway.
I pull in a sharp breath, steeling myself for whatever comes next.
“No wonder your tips were always so pathetic. You were pocketing that money. Stealin’ from me!” He shoves me back against the wall.
My shoulders smack into the unforgiving wood, and I wince. “Those tips were mine. This diner is mine!”
He slaps me hard, and I was expecting it.
This is when I need to shut my damn pie hole and just let him rant, but I refuse to let him keep buying into the lie.
He doesn’t own this place!
My family does!
“You’re a kid.” He leans down into my space, his spittle hitting my cheek. “Those tips are mine now. Back where they belong.”
I want to scream at him for going into my room. For invading my privacy.
When did he do it?
He would have had to hunt for my jar.
What the hell tipped him off?
I want to ask, but I’m wise enough to keep my head turned away. To just shut the hell up and let him say his damn piece.
“Don’t think for one second that I am gonna pay you for any more work you do.” Grabbing my face, he pinches my cheeks and forces my head around to face him. “You lyin’ little thief. You are gonna work your ass off until you make up for tryin’ to betray me.” His pincer grip moves from my face to my throat, his thumb digging in tight enough to make me cough. “You are gonna pay for what you did.”
41
Don’t Run
“Michael! Michael!”
Someone’s shouting my name.
Not someone.
Jackson.
I’m tempted to hunch my shoulders and keep walking, but my pace slows in spite of my resolve, and I’m soon standing there waiting for Jackson to reach me.
He grabs the edge of my jacket, bending down to catch his breath.
Rain sprinkles the top of his hair, just a little dusting of droplets that soak into his already wet hair. More droplets cling to his round cheeks and eyelashes.
I resist the urge to muss his hair and send him on his way. He’s run about a mile to reach me; I should give him a chance to speak.
Standing up straight, he rests his hands above his hips and puffs, “Where are you goin’?”
“I got to move on, kid.” I shrug. “It’s time.
“No! No it’s not! Annie needs you.”
“She doesn’t want to see me right now. She…” I shake my head, still reeling from the disgust on her face. She was so repulsed by my stealing. My lying. I grimace. “I hurt her. I lied. She deserves better than that.”
“So, go back and make it right!” Jackson points down the road. “Please. Don’t leave us! You promised you’d keep us safe. You promised you wouldn’t let Dean hurt her again.”
“I’ve done what I can to help her.”
“That’s not good enough.” He thumps my chest, his little fist barely making an impact. “She needs you! She loves you, you dumb idiot! You can’t turn your back on that.” The fire in Jackson’s eyes suddenly fades, replaced by tears that rise on his lashes. He sniffs, his lips wobbling into a frown. “Dean’s gonna find an excuse to hurt her again. You know he will. And she nearly had enough to get us out, but then I saw him in her room this morning. I was gonna tell her before school, but I didn’t get a chance because Dean was right there. She keeps her money in her room. Under her bed. Dean never usually goes in there, but he was walking around her bed, and I was too afraid to ask why. What if he finds her savings? What if he takes it? She’ll have nothin’. And you’ll be gone. And Dean will own her forever. Please! Don’t leave us. You gotta stay!”
My insides pinch, my mind racing with thoughts of Annie and how Dean will react when he finds out what she’s been doing.
Oh shit, he’s gonna hurt her.
He’s gonna make her pay.
Gripping Jackson’s shoulder, I fight the wave of black emotion coursing through me.
I can’t just leave.
Not without her.
Glancing down at her little brother, I replay his words. She loves me. And people who love each other forgive, right? So maybe if I go back, she’ll forgive me, and then I can persuade her to get the hell out of this town. With me.
After I tell her about Sloan.
She’ll need to decide how much of a risk she wants to take on me, but the least I can do is try.
She might be repulsed by the fact that I stole and lied, but it’s not like I fought very hard to tell her the truth. I just let her slap me and run away.
Maybe with Jackson to back me up, I’ll get a decent shot at explaining things.
Glancing down the road, I clench my teeth and wonder just how far away Sloan might be. Time is still ticking, but if I’m fast enough…
“Come on.” I start jogging back toward the diner. “Let’s go make this right.”
“Yes!” Jackson pumps his fist in the air and races after me.
I wish I could smile the way he is, but there’s an urgent warning in me.
I need to find Annie, convince her to forgive me, and then get us the hell out of here as fast as we can.
All I can hope is that Dean—or something nastier—won’t stop it from happening.
42
From One Monster to the Next
Dean’s breath is hot on my face. He leans in so close his lips are brushing against my cheek when he speaks. “I told you what would happen if you screwed up again, didn’t I? I warned you, Annabelle!”
Fear drives through me, a sharp spike that makes my eyes bulge. I look to the door, praying Jackson’s safely away. Maybe he’s sulking in the attic. That’s perfect.