I squeeze back, trying to telegraph:We need to get out of here now. We should run.But Z is just staring at the two large men invading his room, frozen like a deer in headlights. I know no one terrifies him like his stepfather.
“Harper,” Silas says, not taking his eyes off Frank. “C’mon. We’re leaving.”
“No.” The word rips out of me before I can stop it. I can’t just leave Z here defenseless.
Both men’s heads turn toward me.
“No?” Silas repeats, like he’s never heard the word before.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” I pull my hand free from Z’s and stand, but only so I can plant my feet in front of him. “You don’t get to just show up afterfive yearsand tell me what to do.”
“Harper—”
“I’m not leaving Zedekiah like you left me!” My voice cracks, and I hate it. I hate that he can still do this to me.
“Harper.” His voice goes soft. Gentle. And somehow that’s worse. “Darlene called me. She told me about Todd. About what he’s been doing.”
My stomach drops.Bitch. The only reason she did it now is because Todd must not be giving her enough attention. She’s jealous… of her own goddamndaughter.
“So instead of kicking out a pervert, she called you,” I whisper, not shocked by Darlene—never shocked anymore. Although that’s not to say it doesn’t still have the power to hurt...
“She should’ve called me a hell of a lot sooner.” Silas’s eyes are hard now, locked on mine. “But she did, and I’m here. I packed all your stuff in the back of the truck. Let’s go home.”
“I don’t have a home.” The words taste like ash. “And even if I did, it sure as hell wouldn’t be with you.” I want to reach back for Z’s hand, but I don’t want to bring attention back to him. He’s the only home I’ve ever known.
“Too bad.” Silas steps into the room, moving past Frank like he’s not even there. “’Cause you’re still seventeen, and I’m still your legal guardian. You’re coming whether you like it or not.”
“The fuck I am.” I back up, but there’s nowhere to go.Z’s bed is behind me, the wall to my left, and Silas advancing like a freight train. “I’m staying here. With Z.”
Silas’s eyes cut to Z, taking him in for the first time. The bruises. The way he’s pushed up back against the wall on the bed like he’s ready to bolt or fight, even though we both know he’d lose.
Understanding flashes across Silas’s face.
“Not happening, kid,” he says to Z, not unkindly. Then back to me: “Harper. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“Harder?” I laugh, and it comes out jagged. “You want to talk abouthard? Where the fuck were you when I was twelve and begging you not to leave? Where were you when Darlene started drinking herself to death and I had to raise myself? Where were you when?—”
I don’t even see him move.
One second I’m yelling, and the next I’m upside down, draped over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry like I weigh nothing.
“Put me DOWN!” I scream, slamming my fists into his back. “Put me down, you son of a bitch!”
He doesn’t even flinch.
“Z!” I reach for him desperately, our eyes locking. “Z!”
But Z just sits there. Frozen. Helpless.
Because what the hell is he supposed to do? Fight Silas? Fight Frank? We’re both just kids playing at being adults, and the real monsters always win.
“Frank,” Silas says calmly, like I’m not actively trying to murder him. “We’re leaving. And if I hear you laid a hand on that boy?—”
“You’ll what?” Frank sneers. “You ain’t shit, Tucker.”
“Don’t you dare touch him!” I shriek, past having lost it.
Silas stops in the doorway, me still slung over his shoulder, still beating at his back uselessly.