1
This is the second book in a series. It would be helpful to read it in order. Book One = Locked Out.
I wander out on the football field. The game is over. The bleacher’s creek under my feet. It feels so peaceful after an epic fight against high school teams. The raging beasts are calm and the call for blood dims. I look out over the green battlefield.
I just wish my battlefield looked like this.
I curse myself for even thinking the thought. I’m happy my house doesn’t go back to normal after Gary the drunk goes on one of his rampages. If everything went back to the way things were we wouldn’t be prepared for him to come home drunk and high off his ass. We wouldn’t have money saved up and hidden for when he goes on a bender.
Sometimes though, I just wish that I had a family that worked. A family that could be seen playing in the park and smiling. Instead, I got a family that only acts normal when other people are around.
Life isn’t fair.
Shaking the thoughts out of my head I turn and head to the bus station. Thinking sad thoughts aren’t going to change anything. If anything they’ll just make me angry and anger in my house is only fit for one person: Gary.
I step onto the bus just as it gets ready to leave the stop. The bus driver gives me a sympathetic but hard scowl for holding up the bus. I ignore him completely and sit down on a bench.
The bus is full except for a few seats by the bigger and stinker of passengers. Everyone is heading home after the football game. A mother holds her sleeping son in her arms. She gently brushes his hair over his forehead. A man in a suit gets right back to work and is even on call. He talks sternly and argues in short parts. A group of five teenagers sit together gossiping and chatting about the football game. I offer them a warm smile remembering those days.
Maybe I could have gotten a ride with Sammy, but she is usually busy with all her cheerleading friends. Shadow has been increasingly busy with her boyfriend. It seems weird to think about it. Shadow, the introvert, got a boyfriend before Sammy the cheerleader. I guess that is just my stereotyping. There is nothing wrong with that.
I pull on the yellow string signalling my stop is next. The bus beeps and the lights flash. Other passengers get ready to go as well. We all crowd by the back door.
“Busy night tonight,” A lady grumbles eyeing up some of the unsavoury passengers beside her.
A middle-aged man rolls his eyes. “It’s busy after every football game. You just have to get used to it.”
I smile at them before stepping off the bus and onto the sidewalk. Hiking up my backpack I walk the three blocks home. The wind bites at my exposed cheeks, but I smile despite the sting.
Strolling up my driveway I notice Jamie or James as I call him isn’t home. Snorting to myself I joke, looks like he finally got a life.
My smile dims as I notice my front door unlocked. Creeping up to it I gently push the door open. “Hello?” I wait for an answer while closing the door and slipping off my shoes.
“Ginny?” My Aunt peers down the stairs and smiles at me. “What are you doing home so early?”
I giggle up at her. “It’s almost midnight.” Sometimes I forget my Aunt is a bat only up in the sleeping hours of the world. She smiles down at me. “I’m going to take a shower and head to bed.”
“Good, I just put another pile of towels in your washroom.” Aunt Isa tells me as she finishes her sandwich. “I am going to be heading off to work. Gary shouldn’t get back until late. Lock your door though just encase.”
“I will,” I kiss Aunt Isa on the cheek. She smiles at me and I can feel like the sun as I shower.
Drying off I pull on an oversized t-shirt and some old loose running shorts. I flip the lock on my bedroom before crawling into my bed. Snuggling into the sheets I smile.
A night free of-
My window pops open and a slim athletic body slips into the room. It moves quietly not bothering to turn on my bedside lamp. They flick the window shut and lock it.
I turn and snuggle deeper into my blankets attempting to ignore them. If I can’t stop them from coming I might as well pretend they never came.
The sound of a jacket being unzipped echoes into the room. They lay it down on the old chair I placed by the window for their clothes. Then their shirt, socks, and shoes before they drag off their pants. At least they don’t take off their boxers.
Smooth as a tiger they slip under the covers. Their hands reach around and pull me towards them. Then they swiftly check my skin for any unwanted bruises. They’ve been like this since they first had the fun of watching Gary smack across the face with a rolling pin and then became suspicious when they couldn’t see it at school. Boys.
“Nothing new?” Their deep voice questions into the room.
I roll my eyes and attempt to scoot away. There is no hope of escaping the search, but sometimes afterwards he lets me sleep on my own. He’s been here since the moment I let it slip Gary once broke into my room while I was asleep to borrow a “bar of soap”.
“Not unless you put it there, demon,” I hiss not bothering to hide my discomfort.
He sighs spooning me from behind. “I wouldn’t want to damage my angle,” he hums. “Goodnight Ginny.”
“Fuck you, James.” I hiss between gritted teeth. This guy gets on my nerves sometimes.
He has the nerve to nip on my head with his teeth before placing a gentle kiss behind my ear, "if you have the stamina."
"Just get out. I don't want you here," I snap at James rolling to glare up at him in the dark.
He just chuckles. "You know the deal. If you want me gone he has to be out of your house."
I growl at him flipping back over to face the wall. "You know I can't kick my Uncle out of his own house-"
"Then I guess we are at an impasse. Sleep tight, don't let the bed bug bite." James snuggles in behind me.
"The only thing that has bitten me in this bed is you," I grit at him. He just has to remind me of all the things I will pay him back for in the waking hours.
The only answer I hear is a soft snore.
