She didn’t answer. When I looked over, fresh tears were pooling in her eyes.
“It’s okay to talk about them,” I said gently.
She shook her head. “No. We’re not supposed to talk about our families. Ever. We’re supposed to forget about them.”
“That has to be hard,” I said.
“Yeah,” she whispered.
“But you miss them, right?”
When she answered, her response was so quiet I almost missed it. “Yeah.”
Relief stole my breath. She had a home she missed. Somewhere to go back to. Because I’d have taken her in myself before dumping her into the system. But my life wasn’t exactly built for raising a thirteen-year-old girl who probably needed therapy and stability, not to mention that the big boss of the people who’d used her wanted to torture and kill me.
“Did you fight with your mom and dad a lot?” I asked, sliding down on the bed so I was lying down too, like we were just two people watching TV. “My mom hated me when I was your age. I couldn’t wait to leave. I just didn’t know I could when I was your age.”
She was quiet for a long moment. “My mom and I fought a lot about my clothes.” Her voice cracked.
“Did you run away?”
She slowly shook her head. “No, Mom was mad at me sometimes, but I never wanted to run away.” She hiccupped a tiny sob. “I miss my mom. And my dad. I even miss Chloe.”
“Is that your friend?” I asked.
She shook her head and swiped at her cheeks. “My little sister.”
I wondered if it was smart to press any further. But this felt organic. Just part of a conversation. I only hoped she wouldn’t think I was setting a trap.
“What if I told you that you could see them again?” I held my breath, bracing for her reaction.
She went rigid. “Buddy says I can’t go back. That they don’t want me. He says I disobeyed them, and I’m a stupid girl. They don’t have time for stupid, disobedient girls.”
“I’d bet you a hundred bucks Buddy’s lying,” I said. “Hell, I’d bet you even more than that.”
She turned her head to look at me, terror in her eyes.
“There’s only one way to find out.” I lifted my brows. “We could call them right now.” I slid my phone out and held it up. “We can ask.”
She stared at the phone like it was a poisonous snake.
I sat up and turned to face her, my legs hanging over the side of the bed. “If you don’t want to make the call, I can do it. They don’t even have to know you’re here. I’ll put it on speaker so you can hear what they say.”
She looked horrified, slowly shaking her head.
“I know Buddy wouldn’t let you call them,” I said softly. “But I’m Amber. I’m going to do things differently than Buddy did.”
Her breath hitched. “He said if I ever called them, he’d kill Chloe.”
I schooled my face so Lexi wouldn’t see my anger. The last thing I wanted was for her to think I was pissed at her. “Like I said, I’m in charge now.”
“What if he comes back?” she whispered.
I could see the desperation and longing in her eyes. She wanted to go home. But Buddy had done everything in his power to make sure she never did.
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my thighs, and held her gaze. “Lexi, Buddy is never, ever, coming back. He will never hurt you or anyone else ever again.”
Understanding filled her eyes. Then hope rushed in behind it.
