TWO #2
Those words were spoken in a firm, calm voice, and from the look on his face, he meant every one of them. They gave me another feeling of relief, but how long that would last, only time would tell.
I stood there in silence, feeling mopey as Kathy spoke in a hushed tone with Mr and Mrs Rook.
They glanced over a couple of times, their expressions slightly pained.
Did they know about what my mother had done to me, to my sister and brother, too?
They’d know about my father’s crime, as it was all over the local news.
I felt relieved that the press appeared to be focusing on the hit-and-run rather than our living conditions.
Thankfully, my siblings' and my name were kept out of the news due to the court order filed to protect our identities.
Even Adam, as an adult, remained anonymous.
Once they had finished, Kathy pressed a business card into my palm.
I slid it into my hoodie pocket—a useless souvenir.
The gesture was well-intended but pointless.
The phone I’d stolen from the house had been taken off me to use as evidence, the night the police picked me up, and so I had no way to call anyone.
The online chats I’d had with my siblings took place over a large TV screen in the common room at the centre.
“OK. So that’s everything. The paperwork has all been filed.
Call if you need anything, the centre is open twenty-four-seven.
Amelie, that goes for you, too. I’ll visit you every Thursday afternoon to see how you're settling in. As we said in one of our sessions, you’ll be staying with your aunt on a trial basis.
We need to know if this is right for you.
” The word ‘trial’ made me feel like a defendant in one of the courtroom dramas my mother would watch.
And if it wasn’t right for me, what happened next?
Was I cast out onto the street or sent back to live in that house?
Maybe once my mother was freed. That thought made my chest burn.
Kathy had explained that she couldn’t imagine either of my parents would be released any time soon.
“Promise me you will give it a go. Your aunt and her husband are good people.”
My reply was swift. “But when I’m eighteen, I’m my own person, right? I’ll have the right to choose who I live with?” I knew that may have sounded rude to Mr and Mrs Rook, but I needed to know.
The pity on Kathy’s face annoyed me, but I hid that feeling.
Getting angry never worked in your favour.
“Let’s not worry about that now, sweetie.
” I didn’t miss the look Mr and Mrs Rook exchanged.
Was that because of the trouble Adam had already gotten himself into?
During our last call, he explained that the police had accused him of shoplifting.
“Right then. Your stuff is in the car, and we’re good to go. Do you have any more questions, Amelie?” Vanessa Rook said with a bright but brittle smile.
“When will I see Sophie?”
You could have heard a pin drop in that hallway, and that silence told me everything I needed to know. Something was wrong.
Kathy jumped in, clearly on damage control duty before the others could answer. Did they even know about Sophie? It’s not like Louise had been close with her sister, and Vanessa had never visited the house. The two sisters were estranged, so I’d been informed.
“Sophie is receiving the best care possible. As you know, she wasn’t in good condition when we found her. She knows you’re safe and that she will see you soon. Please bear with us a bit longer. Can you do that?”
I shrugged, replying numbly. “I suppose I’ll have to.”
“Right then, kiddo,” Cameron boomed, his voice exuding positive energy to change the tone. “Let’s go home. We have so much to show you.”
Let’s go home. Those words should have made me feel better. They didn’t. I felt like I was swimming in a sea of doubt, and someone had just tied a rock to my foot.
I left the children’s centre with Mr and Mrs Rook with my heart in my mouth. Not knowing what to expect.
The air was chilly for September, and I wrapped my arms around my body as we walked outside.
Alex and Wren, two other girls I’d met in care, had their faces pressed against the windows.
They were smiling and waving at me, and I mirrored their actions.
We’d said our goodbyes earlier that day.
Both had been victims of trafficking, whatever that meant.
They didn’t go into detail, but I knew it would have been horrible.
“This is us,” Cameron said, ushering me gently towards his vehicle.
The large SUV with blacked-out windows looked more like a getaway car I had seen in bank robbery movies with Adam. During those small windows when we were allowed to watch the telly.
Vanessa sat in the back seat with me and helped with my seatbelt, the leather squeaking beneath my bottom.
She was almost too nice. Their car was huge and clearly expensive; the interior screamed wealth.
So, my mother’s sister was rich. How ironic was that?
I didn’t care either way. Money meant nothing to me.
All that mattered at that moment was getting through the next few hours.
I longed for sleep; I was so tired I ached.
On the drive, Cameron brought up my brother and sister, explaining how they would buy me a phone so I could keep in contact.
I appreciated his reassurance. No time, like the present, was my thinking.
I wanted to ask why they hadn’t taken Sophie and Adam in, too, but I knew that would sound rude.
No doubt the care system had something to do with that, and I didn’t want to come across as ungrateful.
And then the subject switched to the Rook family, distracting me from my unwanted circumstances.
Sitting there, listening to Vanessa’s cheerful monologue about her loved ones, I felt trapped between two lives.
Behind me was a past full of familiar pain, and ahead, there was just a blank, terrifying nothingness.
I wondered which one was going to kill me first.
KIERAN
I gritted my teeth. I wasn’t prepared for such an extreme reaction to that first real sight of the unfortunate, Amelie Thorn.
What was it Jessa had first called her that had stuck with me: Oh yes, “the stray.” As she stood below me in the lobby of our house, she looked too beautiful to be a charity case; more like a huge fucking threat to my sanity.
The fact that we had basically taken the girl off the streets hadn’t put Jessa’s friends off either.
Word had it that Lexi and Louis had every intention of welcoming her to their folds.
Save me from the wannabe dykes of Northridge Academy.
They spent way too much time encroaching on my fucking territory.
Not that Amelie was part of that. Or at least, that had been my intention initially.
My pulse quickened, as right at that moment, I wasn’t so sure about anything.
Now that she had arrived, it felt like the stakes had changed.
I recalled my thoughts earlier that week; if it didn’t affect me, I wouldn’t give a shit.
Well, this girl had more than affected me; my body had woken the hell up, every nerve ending standing to attention, and I hadn’t even heard her speak.
That photo of her in those grubby clothes had been misleading.
I’d seen that grainy image of Amelie, with that baseball cap covering her hair.
Now it was loose and fell over her shoulders in thick, soft waves.
Beneath that curtain of pale blonde silk was a stunningly pretty face.
Uncertain, wide blue eyes peered up at me, set above a cute, slightly turned-up nose and full, rosebud lips.
They had parted when our gazes first tangled.
Even from my position lurking at the top of the stairs, I could see that the girl was tiny.
Her body was on the slim side, borderline malnourished, but nothing Angelo, our chef, couldn’t fix.
I longed to trace her delicate collarbone with my fingertips, feel if her skin felt as soft as it looked.
Amelie’s hips were slightly flared with a waist I could easily span with my fingers, and don’t get me started on her tits.
They were small but a handful, pushing against the cotton of her top, the outline of her nipples barely visible.
I knew perving over the girl wasn’t acceptable behaviour when we hadn’t even spoken, but I couldn’t help it.
Amelie Thorn stirred something inside of me at first glance, and there was nothing I could do about that.
Lust at first sight.
I’d been sexually active since I was fifteen, and I had never fallen into that horny teenage stereotype so quickly.
Maybe I needed to get laid? The last time I had sex had been at Weston Cavendish’s house party during the summer holidays.
It was a mercy-fuck with Amy Lewis, captain of the netball team, and I’d decided to throw her a bone.
She’d been trying to get me in the sack for the last two years, and I wasn’t the type of guy to play hard to get for too long.
My breath hitched in my throat as my pulse raced. I told my face to remain unreadable, but it was difficult; everything about the stunning female standing in our hallway drew you in: the need to protect powered through me.
Amelie was the perfect feminine vision with her gentle curves and porcelain skin, giving off that ethereal, vulnerable vibe I’d felt from her photo. In person, the feelings she stirred up were so much stronger. Our little stray called out to the alpha male in me straight off the bat.