He tried to fight. Tried to hold the door. But my father was a monster, and monsters don’t stop until they’re dead.
My stomach knots viciously. Bitter bile scorches my throat. I brace my hands on the floor, forcing it back down, forcing myself not to break. Not yet. Not until I know Jared and Amelia are safe.
I crawl back to them.
Jared hasn’t moved. He’s still curled around Amelia, a human shield, his eyes red and rimmed with tears. The moment our eyes meet, a sob escapes his throat.
“Is he gone?” he whispers with a voice so small I barely hear it.
“He is,” I say, voice low, even. Flat. Lifeless.You have to be the strong one now. I reach for him.
He latches onto my hand as if it’s a lifeline, dragging himself into my arms. Amelia comes with him, clinging to both of us. Wrapping them up, I press their shaking bodies to mine. I don’t care about the blood soaking my shirt. I don’t care about the knife on the floor or the corpses in the room.
Right now, all that matters is this—keeping them safe. Keeping them together.
“Mama,” Amelia whimpers, voice barely more than a breath.
I squeeze my eyes shut. I can’t say it. Not here. Not now. I can’t tell her.
A voice cuts through the silence, low and commanding. “You three need to come with me.”
I look up fast, adrenaline flaring again. But it’s not danger this time. It’s salvation.
Cornelius. President of The Outsiders. My father’s opposite in every way. He’s standing in the doorway, black boots planted wide, leather cut stretched across his broad shoulders, his face grim but calm. The faint, clean scent of leather and oil clings to him. It’s a sharp contrast to the blood and rot around me.
“What?” I rasp, barely able to speak.
Jared clutches me tighter. I shift, lifting both him and Amelia against me, just as I’ve done a hundred times before. Only this time, it feels as if I’m carrying the whole damn world.
“The sheriff will be here soon. We don’t have time.” Cornelius’ voice is steel wrapped in gravel.
I nod, automatic. I don’t ask how he knew to come. Maybe someone called him. Maybe he just knew. Cornelius always did. I don’t care. He’s the only adult I trust. The only man I don’t flinch from.
“What’s going to happen to us?” My voice cracks. I’m almost eighteen, but Jared’s twelve. Amelia just turned eight. I can’t let them be torn away from me. Can’t let the system chew them up and spit them out.
“You’ll live with me,” Cornelius says, stepping closer. His hand lands firm and steady on my shoulder. “I promised you when you were fifteen. I meant it.”
Gratitude wells so fast it chokes me. I can’t speak. I just nod.
I glance one last time toward the living room at the blood, the bodies, the silence so loud it screams. And I know I can’t take another second in this house.
Cornelius reads it in my face. “It’ll be taken care of,” he murmurs.
Maybe Matt got a call out. Maybe someone heard the screams. It doesn’t matter now. I don’t ask how. Don’t want to know. Just let someone else handle it. Just let us leave.
I tuck Amelia’s face into my shoulder. “Close your eyes, baby. Don’t look.” She obeys without a sound, her arms tightening around my neck.
I follow Cornelius out into the night. The air feels heavier now, burdened with the weight of something the earth itself seems to mourn. A breath caught in its throat.
Jared slides into the backseat beside me. I climb in with Amelia still in my arms, refusing to let go.
“Kai,” she whispers.
“I’m here, Amelia,” I say, brushing her hair back, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’m not going anywhere.”
And I won’t. No matter what it costs. No matter who I have to become. Family isn’t something you’re born into. It’s something you bleed for.
The car ride is silent, except for the soft hiccups of Amelia’s crying. Jared leans into my side, clutching a wad of my shirt, as though releasing it would make him vanish too. The streetlights flash past, flickering against the window, ghosts of everything we just left behind.
