10
DANIEL
Years ago...
“We’re going to be late for dinner.” Trevor got out of bed and searched for his clothes around the messy bedroom. “Come on, you know how Robert gets when we’re late.”
Daniel forced his thoughts to assemble. He wanted to sleep, or just be left alone.
“Get up, Danny.”
He hated being called that. The boys at the group home had always called him Daniel, and so had his mother and grandmother before that. He lifted the blanket from his naked body and rose to his feet. Without needing to look, he sensed a fresh hickey decorating the side of his neck. Kim wouldn’t like that, but fuck if he cared.
He began collecting his clothes, then realized he still had Trevor’s sperm inside him. “I’m going for a shower.”
“Be quick about it.” Fully dressed, Trevor checked on his hair in his mirror before leaving the room.
Daniel made his way to the side bathroom and entered the shower. The water started cold, but it helped push back the fog surrounding his senses.
It’s because of all the joints.
He hated smoking, yet he found himself filling his lungs and brain with weed almost every day. It was a lame way to escape his problems, but every attempt to escape for real had ended up horribly, costing him even more freedom. By now, the tracker around his ankle felt like part of his body.
When the water became warmer, he fingered himself and washed away Trevor’s remains, two loads worth. He got out and dried himself quickly. In the mirror, his dark blond hair looked too long for his liking, but Kim had insisted. The hickey on his neck seemed big and red, impossible to miss against his pale skin. He once more felt detached from his flesh, watching himself through someone else’s eyes.
His eighteenth birthday fast approached, and he dared to hope—although cautiously—that he’d be finally able to leave. He had no clue where to go or how to support himself, but living in a dumpster and eating garbage would be acceptable in comparison.
When he entered the dining room, the Mitchells were already there. Robert, sitting at the head of the table, glanced at his watch. “Cutting it close.”
“Sorry, sir.” He took the seat next to Trevor, facing Andy, who smiled at him. The table was rich with food he wasn’t hungry for, but he took some anyway to keep his mind sharp.
“Daniel dear, you seem tired.” Even for a simple family dinner, Kim made sure to look immaculate, from her evening dress to the way she fixed her dark hair. “Trevor, you need to do something about that libido of yours.”
Trevor chuckled and filled his plate with lobster. “Not my fault he always comes for more.”
“Your mother’s right,” Robert said as he neatly cut his meat. “He was tired today during our lesson. Let him sleep, or he’ll need to move back to his old room.”
Trevor sighed. “Fine.”
“Is that...” Kim leaned closer and pulled down the collar of Daniel’s shirt. “Trevor, I was very clear about new hickeys, wasn’t I? We have guests coming over in two days, or have you forgotten?”
“How can I forget? And it’s not like they would mind.”
“I ask for so little, yet you give me even less.” Kim glared at Trevor for a long moment before switching to an icy smile. “Starting tomorrow, Daniel will go back to his old bedroom for two weeks. Robert, please lock his door in case a certain someone wanders over there.”
“Mom, come on!”
“You heard your mother. Suck on a fruit if you can’t control your mouth.”
Andy laughed. “Suck on a fruit!”
“Be quiet, you,” Trevor grumbled.
Daniel remained composed, but it was hard to contain his joy. Two weeks of sleeping by himself sounded heavenly. Since his birthday was due to take place during that time, he wondered if that was perhaps a sign of a positive change to come.
“Daniel, did you speak with the nice lady from the bank?” Andy asked, his plate filled with a mountain of pasta. “She called again today.”
“Which lady?”
“Andy,” Robert growled, and Andy shrank in his seat.
“Which lady?” Daniel asked again, his heart beating faster.
“It’s nothing,” Robert said flatly, exchanging a look with his wife. “Wrong number.”
The hell it was.
He turned to Robert, forcing his voice to come out steady. “If someone looked for me, I would like to speak with them, sir.”
“Now, why would a woman from the bank look for you?”
He didn’t know why. He didn’t remember ever being in a bank.
“Let it go, dear.” Kim added a touch of warning to her voice.
He knew he should keep his mouth shut, but his instincts prevented him from backing off. He put his fork and knife down and crossed his arms. “I would like to know why the bank wanted to speak with me. Please.”
“What you want,” Robert said slowly, “is to eat the food your mother worked hard to put on this table.”
Daniel almost rolled his eyes. Kim could barely find the kitchen. She had people bringing in cooked food every day.
“Daniel,” Trevor whispered, “eat.”
He tried to make his hand pick up the fork, but his body wouldn’t obey. He had grown accustomed to bowing down to these people, to their whims and desires. But every instinct he had refused to allow him to bow down this time. “I would like to know who called me and why.”
Robert sighed. “Bring me your plate.”
“I asked, who called me and why?”
“Daniel!” Robert slammed his fist on the table, rattling silverware.
Daniel stood up and took his plate to Robert, all eyes watching him. His hands shook and his stomach churned, but he refused to apologize, and not only because it mattered little. Robert took the plate and placed it on the floor.
“Get down and finish your meal.”
He sank to his hands and knees, lowering his face to eat. Before he could get two bites in, Robert shoved his face into the plate, rubbing it against pasta, meat, and gravy. The food was hot, but not enough to burn. When Robert finally let go, Daniel continued to eat, his eyes shut because of the gravy on his face.
Moments later, Kim began to talk about her upcoming party and how marvelous it was going to be.
Daniel didn’t know if he’d be punished later for his disobedience, but his mind was already busy elsewhere. He had to get the information they were trying to hide from him, no matter the cost.
*
Later that evening, he managed to slip away from Trevor’s watchful eyes and walked to Andy’s room, likely the first time he had done so willingly.
Andy immediately opened the door. “Hi, Daniel!”
“Shh, keep your voice down.” He slid inside and closed the door behind him. Andy’s room looked like a six-year-old’s, with superhero posters on every wall and some of Mickey Mouse.
“I got new comics,” Andy said. “You want some?”
He didn’t like comic books, but other than the heavy texts Robert made him read, he only had limited access to fiction, which made Andy’s comics more appealing.
“Yes, I’d like to read them. Thank you.”
“Sure thing!”
Knowing he didn’t have much time before Trevor came looking for him, he said, “Earlier at dinner, you mentioned someone calling here to speak with me, someone from the bank.”
Andy shook his head and clapped his lips tight.
Great. “Andy, please. Tell me who called.”
Another shake of the head. Daniel wondered if Robert had warned Andy after dinner about answering his questions. Knowing the man, he likely had.
“Andy...” He took a step closer. “You and I haven’t played together in a long time.”
Andy stopped shaking his head, listening closely.
“Trevor doesn’t let you play with me like he used to.”
Andy crossed his arms over his belly and huffed. “He doesn’t let me because of you, silly.”
That was true. Daniel had to do a lot to get Trevor to limit Andy’s games. With time, Trevor’s sense of ownership had grown to be both a curse and a blessing.
“He doesn’t have to know.” Daniel raised his shirt. “If you tell me about that call, I’ll let you play when Trevor’s away.” He raised the shirt higher, above his chest.
Andy smiled broadly. “I’d like that!”
“Great, so how many times did the lady from the bank call?”
“Hmm, three times.”
Since Andy was obsessed with answering every phone call to the house, it was reasonable to assume there had only been three calls from the bank. “And did she ask to speak with me?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
“Dad told me not to tell.”
Daniel lowered his shirt a bit. “Should I leave? I really wanted to let you play.”
“No! She said she wanted to talk to you about money.”
“My money?”
“Yes.”
I have money? Maybe she was simply trying to sell him a savings account because he was turning eighteen. He needed to keep his hopes in check.
“Did she tell you the name of the bank?”
“Yes, but I don’t remember.”
Shit.
Daniel rubbed his stomach slowly, Andy’s eyes following his movement like a hypnotized snake. “What more do you remember? Do you know how I can call her back?”
“Hmm, I do, but I shouldn’t say.”
This was taking too long. He pulled Andy close to his chest. “Go on.” In an instant, sharp teeth closed on his nipple. His eyes watered, but he bit down on his lower lip and fought to endure.
Andy wrapped his arms around his torso, clinging like a leech and squeezing his ribs.
Just a little more.
When his nipple became at risk of being chewed off, he firmly pushed Andy back, his chest throbbing.
“How can I call that lady back?” Daniel asked and let go of his shirt.
With a dreamy smile and wet lips, Andy said, “She asked me to write you a note.”
His heart skipped a beat. “And did you write that note?”
“I sure did! She was a nice lady.”
Daniel’s head began to spin. “Andy, this is important. Do you still have that note?”
“Yep, right in my second drawer.”
He hurried to Andy’s desk and opened the second drawer. A folded piece of paper lay there like it had been waiting for him to find it.
“Daniel, you’re being rude!”
He took the piece of paper and shoved it into his pocket. “Thank you.”
“Wait, put it back! I shouldn’t give it to you.”
“You didn’t; I took it.”
He pursed his lips. “That’s true... but I can still get in trouble!”
He moved to stand in front of Andy. “I’ll find time for us to play tomorrow if you promise not to say a word about this to anyone. I also won’t say that you gave me that note.”
“I didn’t give it to you!”
“I’ll say that you did if you tell on me. Robert might take away your comics.”
Andy gasped. “Oh no!”
“So, do we have an understandi—”
The door opened behind him. Without looking, he knew who it was, and his heart dropped to the floor.
“Am I crashing your party?” Trevor shut the door behind him.
Daniel turned around, his skin a few degrees warmer. “We were just talking.”
“Sure, sure. You always go to Andy for profound and insightful conversations.”
“I came to borrow his new comics. You know I read those.”
He tensed when Trevor put his hands on his shoulders. “I love it when you act like I’m stupid.” His fingers dug into the crane between his shoulders and neck.
Daniel grimaced, fighting to stand still.
“What did he want, Andy?”
“Hmm, we talked.”
“About?”
“Stuff.”
“Andy...”
“He asked me about the nice lady.”
Trevor smiled, his fingers pressing harder into Daniel’s flesh and making him gasp. “The nice lady from the bank?”
“Yes. She called me hon and said I was a peach!”
“Yeah, you’re a peach alright.” He turned Daniel to face Andy. “What more did you tell him about the nice lady?”
“Hmm, nothing.”
“Andy, I’m not playing. Should I go tell Dad that you told Daniel about the nice lady?”
“No!”
“Then tell me what more you said.”
The note in Daniel’s pocket felt hot like it was burning. I should have looked at the number and the name. Seconds from defeat, he tried the only thing he could think of. “He was going to tell me the name of the woman and the bank, but you just had to get in the way, you sick son of a bitch.”
“What’s that? Did your balls just drop?”
He tried to get away, but Trevor pulled him back. “Andy, is he telling the truth?”
Daniel signaled Andy with his eyes to play along, knowing how unlikely that was.
“Hmm, yes. That’s the truth. Are you angry, Trevor?”
“At you? Never. But Danny has a long night ahead of him.” He placed his hands on Daniel’s hips, inches above his pocket, then hurled him onto the bed.
“Bring your toys,” Trevor told Andy. “The ones with the electricity.”
“Really? Oh boy!”
Trevor moved closer with a sinister spark in his eyes.
Daniel hurried to pull down his pants and underwear before Trevor could do so. He let them fall to the floor, hoping his pants with the note would be ignored for the rest of how long this hell was going to take.
The two brothers climbed on the bed, but even inevitable pain wasn’t enough to put out his little flame of hope.
*
“Webster Bank, this is Susan speaking. How may I help?”
“This is Daniel Roberts.”
“And how may I help you, Mr. Roberts?”
“Hmm, I think you were looking for me.”
“Was I? Oh! Daniel! Bella’s grandchild?”
He hadn’t thought of his grandmother’s name for so many years that it took him a moment to conjure it from memory. “Yes, she’s my grandma.”
“You mean was. Right, dear?”
“Was? So she’s dead?”
“Oh, my goodness, don’t tell me I just broke the news to you like that!” The woman sounded like she might cry.
“No, it’s fine. I figured it out myself. Why were you looking for me?”
“I was a friend of your late and wonderful grandmother, and I have it on file that you’re about to turn eighteen in a few days. Excited?”
Depends on what you have to tell me, lady. “Yes, I’m excited. Is there anything that I should know about?” He sounded impatient, but he didn’t know how long he had for this call. He was in Robert’s office because both he and Kim were out playing tennis. Andy was watching TV upstairs, and Trevor was taking one of his long showers.
“Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I do have something to tell you.” He could almost hear her smile. “Bella had a bank account with all of her savings, and she added you as a joint account holder before her passing last year. That account is now under your name. Since you haven’t used it at all, I began to worry you may not be aware of it.”
The discovery of the bank account was overshadowed by the discovery of his grandmother's very recent passing. While he had been suffering at the hands of the Mitchells, she had still been alive somewhere. He wanted to feel angry, but he only felt loss.
“I wasn’t aware of it,” he said. “Is there a lot... I mean, how much money is there in the account?” It felt rude to ask, even though it was technically his money.
“Well, your grandma was never wealthy, and she was sick for many years, which wasn’t cheap, but she took care of things before her passing and even sold her little house.”
He remembered that house, although only in fragments. He had his own bed there, in a small room with a yellow wall. From the window, he could see the small backyard with the orange tree at the center.
Susan cleared her throat. “Your bank account has a bit over one hundred thousand dollars.”
The room began to spin, although Daniel was sitting still, clutching the phone hard enough to hurt his palm. “Are... are you sure?”
“I see the figure right on my screen, dear. How about you pop over to our little branch to sign some forms and make it a bit more official? I’d love to tell you all about how wonderful your grandmother was. I also knew your beautiful mother, but only briefly.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t mess up this crucial conversation by crying like a child, but this was so much to digest.
“Susan, I think I need your help.”
She must have caught something in his voice by the way she somberly said, “I’m listening, Daniel. What is it?”
He took a deep breath and told her.
*
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Daniel, happy birthday to you!”
He leaned forward and blew out the candles on his chocolate cake.
“Did you make a wish?” Andy asked, eyeing the cake with glee.
“I did.”
Kim leaned down and kissed his cheek, her rosy perfume overwhelming. “I’m sure it will come true.”
“He doesn’t need to wish for anything—I’m right here,” Trevor said with a wink.
“Happy birthday, son.” Robert patted his shoulder.
Daniel pushed his chair back and stood, making them look at him in surprise. “Robert, in your office.”
He walked out of the dining room, knowing Robert would follow. Once inside the office, he sat in his familiar study chair. He must have spent hundreds of hours on that uncomfortable thing, filling his brain with information he would likely never need.
Footsteps came from behind, then the door closed. Robert sat behind his desk and rested his hands on it.
“Daniel, turning eighteen doesn’t give you the right to forget how to act in this house.”
He wished to feel stronger and braver, but Robert had a way of sucking up all the power in the room. “I’m leaving,” he said, his throat tight but his words clear.
Robert didn’t look surprised. He leaned back in his chair. “You want to leave?”
“No. I am leaving. Right now. I already packed my things.”
“First, you don’t have things—I have things. Second, where will you go?”
“This is my business.”
“You are my business, son.”
“I’m not your son.”
Robert’s eyes narrowed as he drew in a breath. “Like it or not, you are my son, and this is your family. You don’t get to live under my roof, eat my food, and enjoy my education, then get up and leave. It doesn’t work like that.” He leaned forward, resting on his arms. “Since I do understand you are officially a man, I am willing to grant you more freedom. I will speak with Trevor about backing off with his silly games, and I will speak with Kim about taking a break from her exhausting parties.” He smiled. “God knows I’m also fed up with those. You may return to your old room, and—”
“This is not a negotiation. I’m leaving.”
“Daniel, you are not leaving this house.”
He reached into his jacket and placed his ankle tracker on the table. He had found a way to deactivate it by watching a tutorial online when Trevor forgot to lock his laptop.
Robert eyed the tracker, the anger in his eyes glowing brighter by the second.
“Before you think of trying anything, I have someone waiting outside to pick me up,” Daniel said, proud of himself for withstanding Robert’s chilling glare. “If I’m not out in five minutes, she’ll call the cops. Even your friends at the sheriff's office won’t be able to help you; kidnapping is kidnapping.”
Robert glanced at the family portrait that hung on the wall. Daniel stood in the middle of it, surrounded by the monsters he was never going to see again.
Robert quietly said, “You are my greatest achievement. I have two failed sons; I can’t have another one.”
“You won’t. I never have been, or ever will be, your son.”
“Daniel, please.”
Robert had never seemed more human than he did at that moment. Daniel hardened his heart and tightened the walls protecting it. “You and your family are sick. Every one of you. Don’t ever try to find me.”
He got up and walked out of the office, his heart thumping in his ears. The three other Mitchells were waiting outside. By their intense looks, he assumed that they had heard at least part of the conversation.
Kim took a step toward him. “Daniel, honey, don’t be rushed. It’s a tough world outside, and you have everything here.”
He walked past her, not even wasting a glance. A bag of his things was hidden behind the couch in the living room, but Robert had been right in saying that those didn’t belong to Daniel. He would leave here with nothing but the clothes on his back, and if needed, he’d walk out buck naked. The only thing he would never leave behind was his childhood photos, tucked in his back pocket.
“Stop him!” Robert’s booming voice echoed between the tall walls.
In a heartbeat, Daniel sprinted toward the entrance. He almost made it past the living room when Trevor tackled him down to the ground.
“Let go!”
Andy hurried to pin down his legs.
“Kim, bring the syringe,” Robert said. “Don’t be cheap with the doses.”
“No!”
Kim hurried away, and Robert strode toward the entrance door. “Hold him down, you two. I have a nosy bitch to pay off.”
“Trevor, let go!”
“Not gonna happen, Danny boy. Calm down and let Robert take care of your mess.”
They held him tight enough to bruise. He should have never risked speaking with Robert, but he’d wanted to make him understand that it was over, and that they should never try to find him.
Robert stepped outside and shut the door behind him.
“Trevor, stop. You can’t keep me here!”
“Watch me.”
“Daniel, please don’t leave us,” Andy whined. “I’ll miss you!”
He kept trying to break free and call for help, exhausting himself but unwilling to give up so close to freedom. The sound of Kim’s approaching footsteps froze his blood. He gingerly looked up and almost fainted at the sight of the syringe in her hands.
“Hold him tight.” She got down on her knees, her face looming above him.
“Stop!”
“It’s you who should be stopping.” Trevor held him tighter. “If she sticks it in the wrong place, you’ll die in less than a minute.”
He didn’t know if that was true, but fear stopped his struggle. He anxiously watched Kim raise his sleeve and lower the syringe to his arm.
“Stupid boy,” she snarled. “So ungrateful. I told Robert to be stricter with you.”
Hot tears slid down his face. His hatred toward these people was strong enough to scorch the earth.
Kim stuck the needle deep into his flesh. He gasped at the sudden pain. The liquid inside the syringe quickly flowed into his vein. In a few minutes, he’d be a vegetable, sure to wake up hours later locked and bound.
The entrance door opened. “Stop. Let him go.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kim snapped at her husband, absently jerking the needle inside Daniel’s flesh. The pain made him nauseous. Beads of blood slid down his arm.
“That woman has brought two of her coworkers, and they aren’t going anywhere. Let him go.”
Kim pulled the needle out with half the substance already inside Daniel’s body. But it would take a bit of time for the effect to take over, and he only needed a minute. He slid away from Trevor and Andy, then clumsily got up to his feet, hurting all over.
He was about to reach the entrance when Robert grabbed his arm. “If you tell anyone about your time in this house, I’ll end you. There won’t be anywhere for you to hide. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
Robert let go. “A fucking disappointment you are.”
He opened the door as Andy cried from behind, “Don’t go, Daniel! Mom, he’s leaving!”
The car waited at the end of the short path, with Susan watching in concern from the driver’s seat. The sun felt too bright, hurting his retinas. He hurried toward the car as the sedative sent sneaky fingers into his brain, making the edges of his vision blurry and the ground unstable.
But he was going to make it.
He would leave this hell behind.
He would start a new life.
And he would even change his goddamn name.