Chapter Thirty-One
Annistyn
KNOWING KREED IS goingto be in church at the clubhouse means I only have a small window to leave the compound without him knowing.I rush back upstairs and change into a pair of jeans and slide one of his hoodies on over the tee-shirt I’m wearing.Grabbing a pair of sneakers, I slide them on my feet and rush back downstairs.The only thing I grab is my keys to the house.Well, I did grab one other thing from the bedroom all of my stuff is in but no one needs to know about that yet.I’ve already got my phone and use it to order a car like Cali showed me so I don’t have to walk everywhere.As soon as I put the order in, I leave the house and make sure the door is locked behind me.I practically run from the house and around the clubhouse after verifying no one’s outside.I only have to get past the Prospect on the gate and that should be easy.At least I hope so.If they know what’s going on, they might ask questions I’m not prepared to answer.Though I’m sure I can come up with some reason for leaving.
Coming up to the gate, the Prospect standing guard leaves the gatehouse and gives me a smile.He’s one of the newer guys and I can’t remember his name.
“Hey Miss Annistyn.Are you leavin’?”he asks me, never losing his smile as a slight southern drawl comes from him.
“I am.I thought I’d go into town for a little while since Link is in church,” I answer him, not really lying since my aunt and uncle live on the other side of town.“My car should be here in a minute.”
“Okay.Have fun, Miss Annistyn,” he returns, turning and going back inside to open the gate for me.
“Thank you,” I say as I slide through the small opening and release the breath I was holding that I pulled this off.
I start to walk down the driveway so I’m farther away when the car pulls up and stops just in front of me.Walking faster, I open the back door and slide inside.After giving the driver the address to my aunt and uncle’s again, I lean back against the seat and memories bombard me.
Walking into the house a little later than normal because I had to repair a section of the fence this morning during my chores, I hear a loud argument coming from inside the house.My aunt’s voice is loud, almost a screech while my uncle’s is low and cold.This isn’t the first time they’ve argued like this.It happens on a regular basis and is something I learned to avoid whenever possible.Unfortunately, I can’t avoid it today because I have to cook their breakfast so my uncle can head out for the day.
“You lost everything last night!”my aunt screams as I open the back door and enter the kitchen.
I look around for them and see my uncle standing just inside the living room.My aunt is nowhere to be seen, but it means she’s also in the living room.I quickly grab what I need to cook breakfast while remaining as quiet as I can be.If I can remain invisible, they won’t hurt me today.At least that’s my hope.
“So what.We’ve got that huge payday coming in.I should have the money tomorrow and then you can pay the bills and I’ll take the rest and double it.Maybe even triple it at the casino.I’m gonna hit it big, just you wait and see.Maybe then I’ll leave your ungrateful ass all alone here on the farm,” my uncle shouts, grabbing a vase filled with flowers and tossing it.I listen as it shatters and my aunt screams.
“You stupid fuck!You almost hit me.And if you think I’m going to allow you to take that much money to the casino, you’re fucking dead wrong.You can take a couple hundred dollars because we might have to leave.We’ve been lucky so far and no one’s come after her.I won’t allow you to leave us stranded with no getaway plan,” my aunt says as my movements freeze because I know they’re talking about me.I just don’t know why anything involving me would include a large payday.
“Bitch, you won’t tell me what I can and can’t do.Your only job in this house is to make sure that fucking idiot does her chores and makes sure our food is prepared.Speaking of her, where the fuck is she?”my uncle questions, turning around to see me already standing in front of the stove cooking.“It’s about damn time you show up.”
Since my back is to him, I don’t see the small lamp he picks up and throws my way.It hits me in the back with such force I fall into the stove and my hand presses down on the top of it.Even though I don’t touch the burner the pan is on, it’s close enough for me to burn my hand as I wince and hold in the scream of pain.My hand isn’t the only thing hurt as my stomach presses hard against the handle of the oven.There’s a hook hanging there for towels and it digs into my skin.I know I’ll have a deep cut that will have to be treated as soon as I’m done with everything.Or they both leave the house.
“You have twenty minutes to get our breakfast cooked and on the table,” my uncle orders as I hear him stomp down the hall before a door slams shut.
“You need to stop fucking around.You should have been in here over a half hour ago.I don’t know why you think you can sleep in, but it better not happen again,” my aunt states from the living room as I nod my head regardless of if she can see me or not.I learned long ago not to apologize to them because they don’t want to hear it.
My aunt and uncle prefer it when I’m silent.They don’t like to hear me talk and can pretend I don’t exist if I remain silent.Talking and asking questions used to get me beaten.The last time I tried to have a conversation with one of them, it resulted in me being confined to my bed for four days.My uncle beat me bloody and I was covered in bruises.So, now I remain silent and move as quietly as possible at all times.
Shaking my head from the memory, I see we’re almost to the farm.Leaning forward, I look at the driver.
“You can pull over here.I can walk the rest of the way on my own,” I tell him not wanting to give my aunt and uncle an early indication of my arrival at their house.I want the element of surprise to be on my side and not theirs.
I hand over the money for the ride with a generous tip and get out of the car.While watching the driver turn around in a driveway, I shove my hands in my pockets and look in front of me.I can already see the farm and a million other memories bombard my mind.I spent countless hours wandering around the farm while doing chores or completing the harvest and I know every inch of it better than my aunt and uncle ever will.Even now, I highly doubt either one of them will have done any of the chores or fed the animals.If there’s even any left by this point in time.
Slowly, I begin to walk down the road toward the farm.My steps are steady as I steal my spine for the upcoming confrontation.I never once thought I’d be strong enough to face my largest tormentors head on, but here I am.These two monsters sold me, deliberately killed my parents, and changed my life irrevocably.It’s only because of the people in my life now that I’ve become strong enough to overcome all of the damage done to me by them.And I’m nowhere near where I want to be even now.There are still nights I have nightmares about my past and I still feel aches and pains if the weather is bad.Those are things I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.Things caused by them because they decided money was more important than my safety or even treating me like a human instead of a servant.
