So, there was that.
Heaving for breath, I staggered over to the toilet and took off the heavy porcelain top. Repositioning beside the door, I raised my makeshift weapon and closed my eyes.
When they walked through, I’d bludgeon them and Nyx would bite them.
No one will hurt Charlie. No one will take him from me. Ever. He’s safe. I’ll keep him safe.
Pain stabbed my chest.
A panic attack had never felt so sharp.
G-sharp at a crescendo.
With labored breaths, I forced my shaking arms to stay raised while Charlie rocked back and forth in misery.
For him, I can do anything.
We might not be related, but as Father John preached, “The blood of a covenant is thicker than the water of any womb.”
Day and night, Charlie and I survived in this hellish trailer together. We shared a cardboard bed. We starved together. Besides Nyx, he was the only person I had in my life.
“What’s your plan?” Nyx asked, her invisible tongue brushing against my cheek.
“If they enter,” I said, cracking my neck. “We kill them.”
Cymbals crashed.
Agony skewered my sternum.
Charlie sobbed louder.
Alotwas happening.
“Brilliant plan,” Nyx hissed.
The foster parents had won; they’d made a murderer out of me.
On the other side of the door, Mother let out an unholy scream, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. The sound was so heinous that my panic quadrupled. I gasped with fatigue as my chest ached.
Heavy footsteps pounded.
My arms shook with exhaustion as I raised the yellowed ceramic higher—ready to fight.
Father’s voice was close as he screamed, “Kids, help—quick... something is hurting her!”
I stilled.
What had he just said? Had he just askedusfor help? The ones he was planning on killing?This man cannot be seriousright now.
Charlie whimpered and curled tighter in on himself.
I closed my eyes and didn’t move.
The wails harmonized.
“Children, call 777, a Titan has your mother!” The bathroom door rattled like he was trying to get in. “Alex, do something.”
I hated that nickname.
