Next Chapter! Kind of a short one so sorry for that. Warning: this chapter contains violence and slight child abuse.
The chilly evening air follows Wren and Riley in as they enter the house late at night. They are quieter than mice; quieter even than sleeping mice. Up the shady stairway and still no sound comes from the children. Into the gloomy, depressive hallway and still nothing. They file into the middle room on the left, close the door silently behind them, and let out a deep sigh.
"We made it," Wren says with a grin that stretches from ear to ear.
Riley looks at her watch, "Its 10:15, we're lucky she didn't catch us; we'd be dead meat!" Her heart races from the thrill of possible capture by the watchman of the house, her foster mom. She smiles as fervently as her foster brother. They stand behind the door for a few minutes letting their pulses grow normal and realize how tired they are.
"It's getting late. You should get to bed, Wren. You need to go to school tomorrow," Riley advises.
"Don't you have to go too?" he asks as he moves closer to the bed at the side of the room.
"I'm a week ahead of everyone else. I don't really have a need to go, but if I want to, I might. It all depends on other things…"
Wren lets out a long yawn as he crawls into bed. Riley comes over to him and tucks the covers over his small, fragile body. He is smaller and skinnier than other boys his age. I don't think he gets enough to eat around here. He is at the bottom of the food chain in the house, especially when I'm not around. Riley gives him a sympathetic look as she brushes the hair away from his face and whispers, "Sweet dreams, bud. If you need me I'll be right across the hall alright?"
"No. Stay with me. Please Riley." Wren whispers back. He doesn't want to be away from her even while they sleep. He feels more comfortable and safe with her by his side.
Riley sighs and replies, "Alright, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep. But then I have to go to my room or she'll catch me, okay?"
Wren, a little upset but understanding, nods and Riley lies down on the bed beside him. He faces the wall and closes his eyes while Riley looks up at the ceiling, trying to fight sleep. She can't fall asleep here; there will be serious consequences if she gets caught.
Her eyelids grow heavy as she stares at the dull ceiling. She only closes them for a split second before a searing pain attacks her ear. Riley opens her eyes to find a middle-aged woman with dark curly hair standing over her with a scowl on her face. Her ear feels like it's about to be torn off, she stands up relieving some of the pressure. The woman starts guiding her toward the open door. Riley grabs her bag at the foot of the bed as she is forced out of the room.
Wren awakens to see his protector being forced out of his room. "Riley!" he whimpers.
"It's alright, Wren. I'm alright, I'm fine. I will see you in the morning alright?" Riley calls to him.
The woman stops before they leave the room and lets her grip on Riley's ear loose. The skin around Riley's face stings as her foster mother slaps her.
"You won't be coming back here anytime soon! Get out! Leave! You're not welcome here anymore. You know the rules, one kid per bed, and no intermingling of genders! This is the boys side of the hall, why aren't you in your own room? You don't follow my rules, you don't belong here. Go!" she bellows. A tang of alcohol is on her breath as she screams in Riley's face.
Riley is utterly surprised. No one has ever been kicked out before. She stands there dumbfounded for a few moments, what should she do? What could she do? But, it was a few moments too long for the woman. Another cruel sting comes across Riley's face and she stumbles backward into the hallway from the force of the blow. She reaches her hand up and feels the raw skin as it blazes with inflammation. A drop of blood edges down her bottom lip.
I'm not going to take this! Especially not in front of Wren! Riley looks over at the boy in the bed. His knees are brought up to his chest, his blanket covering them, and he's trembling with fear. He doesn't want to see her hurt. Stand up for yourself!, Riley thinks to herself.
Riley narrows her eyes and glares at her foster mother. "I'll make a deal with you."
The woman hesitates for a second, considering it. "I'm listening."
"If you let me come back and visit anytime I want, I won't tell anyone about what happened here and I'll let you keep my welfare check. I won't sleep, eat, or borrow money from here. Just come and visit. Deal?"
The homeowner contemplates her decision. I get to keep the welfare money and she won't sleep, eat, or get any of it. She just visits. I don't see what's wrong with this. Maybe I should have done this months ago…
"We have a deal. Now get out of here! Your visits don't start 'til tomorrow," the vile woman sneers.
Riley gives a curt nod and agrees. She takes a last, long look at Wren to assure him that she will be back when she can, and walks down the hall and out of the house, the woman watching her like a hawk. She finds herself on the porch with the door slamming closed behind her. Now where am I supposed to go? Riley glances at her watch again. 10:24. I'll go to Reid's, I'm sure he's not home yet so I'll just crash on the couch. What's new? She thinks to herself cynically.
The streetlights provide little light as Riley treks to her safe haven. The house is as dark as coal as she walks up onto the porch and reaches under the mat blindly to find the key. A cold, metallic object skims her fingertips; she grasps it and pulls it out. The inside of the house is eerier than the outside. Riley flips the light switch and the light makes the house a little comfier. Hmm looks the same as it did five months ago. No surprise there.
Riley sets her bag down gently on the coffee table as she flops down on the couch. She reaches for her phone to go through her messages again. It's just as she assumed, He replied.
You must not know about me. I could have another you in a minute. Matter of fact, he'll be here in a minute. You must not know about me, you must not know about me. I can have another you by tomorrow so don't you ever for a second get to thinking you're irreplaceable. "Irreplaceable", Beyonce
Riley swallows what feels like a cotton ball. He wants to belittle you. Don't let Him do that, Riley. He thinks you're nothing special. He thinks He can just get rid of you. Well, tell Him He's going to need some good luck trying…
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away. You shoot me down but I won't fall. I am titanium. – "Titanium", David Guetta
Great, one more thing to worry about. What does He want from me anyway? Well, I know He wants the information but He didn't succeed at getting it out of me the first time. What would He do the second time? If He knows I'm out of the hospital, why hasn't he tried to find me again? Should I hide? Should I tell Reid? That will just make him worry about me even more than he already does…I don't want that. Maybe I can just end this once and for all with this messaging. If I'm so irreplaceable why doesn't He just leave me alone and go to that "other" person? Maybe I can convince him to do just that. It's worth a try…
Riley sets her phone down, turns off the light, and relaxes on the couch. Her eyes close instantly and she nods off into an uneasy sleep.
A sudden glow and a loud, obnoxious noise awakens Riley from her dream world. She sits up and looks at her watch with groggy eyes. 11:15.
"I'm never going to be able to sleep am I?" Riley grumbles, not even realizing why the lights turned on.
"Riley?" Reid walks in and sets his bag down by the door. "What are you doing here?" He sits on the edge of the coffee table beside Riley's bag.
"I got out of the hospital around uhhh 4:00ish I think. I puttered around the city for a while and then I came here to sleep. I texted you and told you but I guess you didn't look at it."
"Why didn't you go back to your foster home?"
Memories of what really happened flood into Riley's mind, but she says none of them. "I uhhh didn't feel like it. It's quieter here…"
"Alright, alright," Reid says as he lets out a yawn. He's too tired to ask any more questions. "Sleep well Riley."
Reid stands, moves around the couch, and heads toward the stairs. He stops mid stride and turns to look at Riley. She looks up at him innocently, realizing what could be wrong. Squinting his eyes, he notices something out of the ordinary.
"What happened to your face? It's all red and there's a cut on your lip," he asks with concern, his exhaustion put on hold.
Riley reaches up and touches her face. The side of her mouth is a little swollen and the irony tang of blood hits her tongue. Think of something! Quickly!
"I uh must have slept on it funny and bit my lip while I slept," she answers, hoping she sounded more confident about her story than she felt.
Reid yawns again as he replies, "Okay. Good night."
"Good night Reid," Riley calls as he walks slowly up the stairs. Once out of sight, she collapses back down onto the couch and lets out a long sigh. Drowsiness seeps back into Riley's limbs and she's forced to slip back into her dreams.