Chapter 8

Lost

Atlanta, 9 years ago

Cate wrapped her sweater tighter around her, she was cold. Where was Simon, he should have been here 45 minutes ago. Normally she would have been home already, she always had to go straight home from school, but today she had needed to finish her project in the library, so their mother had told Simon to pick her up.

He had turned 16 couple of months ago and their father had bought him a car. Cate couldn't imagine that he would have ever bought her a car or anything else for that matter. Simon had always been his favorite and he didn't hesitate to show it. Not that Cate was complaining, she only tried to stay out of her father's sight. At least her mother cared about her. Kind of.

She never wanted Cate to go anywhere except school. It was embarrassing, Cate wasn't a little girl anymore, she was 13. When she had been younger, she would have wanted to spend time with other girls after school, but now she didn't really have anyone to spend time with. The other girls and boys called her a freak, mostly because of the clothes her mother made her wear.

Ugly pants and shirts that were too big for her, oversized sweaters, long skirts and so on. Why couldn't she wear the same kind of clothes than all the other girls in school? She didn't really care about fashion, but she would have wanted to fit in. Just one pair of jeans and maybe a shirt that would actually be her size.

She had seen very cheap jeans in a second hand store, but her mother had refused to buy them. Cate would have gladly earned her own money, but her mother didn't allow that either. Finally Cate had managed to earn the money, 10 dollars, for the jeans and a very pretty shirt by writing an essay for an older boy.

She had only wanted one pair of jeans and a nice shirt. When her mother had seen the clothes, she had been furious and she had called Cate a little whore. Then she had told Cate's father who had beaten her so badly that she hadn't been able to go to school for couple of days. Obviously she had never seen the jeans and the shirt again.

It felt so unfair, but she feared her father too much to complain. She sighed and tried to call Simon again, but he didn't answer. The library was closed and she had no money for a bus ticket, so apparently she would have to walk home. Great. She was lost in her thoughts and didn't notice a man across the street. He had observed her for a while and now he approached her.

"Hello," he greeted her smiling.

She startled a little, but tried to remember her manners. Maybe he was someone she had met before.

"Hi," she replied and turned to look at him. No, she hadn't met him before. He was in his twenties, a handsome young man. Why was he talking to her?

"I hope I'm not intruding, but is everything alright?" he asked. "You seem lost."

"What? No, no, I'm not lost."

"Oh. Well, you shouldn't walk here alone this late. May I walk you home?"

His smile made Cate blush; she really couldn't understand why someone like him was talking to her.

"Thanks, but I… I'm fine."

He looked at her from head to toes and licked his lips.

"Yeah, so you are," he hummed. "You smell amazing."

Her eyes widened.

"Wha-what?"

She tried to back away when he leaned towards her, but he grabbed her arm.

"Your scent… What is it?"

"I'm leaving now…" she squeaked, but he only tightened his grip.

"I don't think so, sweetheart. I think you're coming with me."

She was about to panic, he was some kind of a loony.

"Let go or I'll scream."

"Why would you do that? I only want to be good to you; I'm not going to hurt you." He paused and leaned closer. "Come with me. I can give you everything you want."

She didn't have time to react when a car stopped next to them.

"Cate!" Simon's voice called. "What the fuck are you doing?"

For a brief moment she was sure that she saw black veins under the man's eyes. Simon and couple of his friends got out of the car.

"Cate!"

There were few other people observing the situation and a police car was approaching them. The man let go of Cate and took a step back.

"My sister's 13 you perv!" Simon snapped.

The man didn't say anything; he just turned around and ran away.

"Hey!" Simon shouted and signaled the police car to stop.

"That pervert harassed my sister! He went that way!"

"Miss?" one of the police officers asked. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," Cate murmured. "He was just… weird."

"Probably a junkie," the other officer huffed. "Let's see if we can catch him."

The police car went after the man, but there was no trace of him. Despite Cate's protests, the officers called her parents who arrived quickly. The look in her father's eyes scared Cate much more than the man. The ride home was dead quiet and the first hit came immediately when they were home. Her mother simply stood there, watching.

"You see now," she stated after Cate's father was finished, leaving Cate on the living room floor, curled up into a fetal position.

"It's not safe for you out there. That wasn't the only one, there are more of them. Many more."

Cate was sobbing quietly; she didn't know or care what her mother was talking about. Men?

"I've told you not to act like a whore, but you don't listen. Fine, you leave me no choice but to pull you out of school."

"What?"

"You're not going to school anymore, I'll start homeschooling you tomorrow."

"But mom…"

"Shut your mouth," she snapped. "Haven't you already done enough?"

Cate wanted to shout, ask what she had done. What had been her crime? Of course she didn't. She didn't want another beating. She only wanted to be free from this hell.