ran to the window and looked outside. I groaned. You gotta be kidding me . Sure enough, my perfect sister politely was backing of my driveway without a word. Gone again, but this time she left her kids behind.
My heart pounded. What in the world was going on?
I raced out the room, down the hall, and slid down the banister. It wasnât pretty and it chafed. Despite the discomfort, I yanked the front door open and stumbled onto the porch. But I was too late. She peeled off into the night just as I hopped off the last step.
âAvalyn!â I screamed at her taillights speeding down my normally quiet street. âI canât take care of three kids and Whitney.â
5
Friday, 12:35 AM
Â
I stood on my porch for thirty minutes, waiting and praying for Ava to come back. My hands shook. My head swam. My mind raced. My sister had me bent with few options.
I called her cell phone; she didnât answer. I wanted to call her house, but there was no way she was there so soon, and I wasnât sure if my calling would cause trouble. I wanted to call Mom, but then I remembered that if I did that, then I should also prepare for her to kill me, or worse, tell me how I continue to fail her as a daughter. Or, I could travel to Avaâs place in Decatur to find out what was going on and, if need be, kick Dâs butt. Sounded good to me, except I had to tell Whitney what just happened.
I took a slow walk to her room. Our little sister was no joke. Unlike Ava and me, she grew up in Atlanta instead of the country. Because she had always lived in the city, she had very little patience, except when it came to Bella. Her whole logic about life was different than Avaâs and mine, too. Although I learned to develop a thick skin, I believe Whitney was born to fight. At least thatâs what Mom said when she made her come live with me.
I knocked on her door.
She flung it open. âWhat?â
âYouâre awake.â I hopped back.
Whitney didnât look like Ava and me, not because of the obvious. We had different dads. She was longer, leaner, darker, and oozed sexiness. Even with her hair in a ponytail and wrapped in a bandana. She looked like Atlanta.
âI couldnât help but be after all that jumping and running Bella was doing in the house. Do you know when I went to her room, she was sound asleep? How does a kid make all that noise, then look so innocent and quiet in the next minute?â She shook her head, then tilted her head at me. âHow much do you know about her daddy?â
âWhitney, it wasnât Bella making that racket, it was me, Ava, and her kids.â
Her eyes widened. âAvaâs here?â
âNope, not anymore. She left about a half hour ago.â
âWhy was she stopping through this late? Did she and Devon just come back from a road trip or something?â
âAva came here with the kids without Devon. She was dressed in a froufrou nightgown looking sad, real sad. I went to check on Bella, and before I knew what was happening, she left us with the kids and disappeared.â
She grabbed me and pulled me inside. âWhat in the world? Whatâs up with her? Let me call her.â She reached for her cell phone.
âWait.â I caught her hand. âAva has a bruise on her face. She says it was an accident, but it looked like a handprint to me.â
Whitney reached for her shoes under her nightstand. âLetâs go.â
âHold on!â I snatched the shoes from her. âIf it is what we think it is, we have to be careful. I think we need to call the Dekalb County Police first.â
âBump the police. Pack up the kids. Letâs go. I got some hurt for him.â She ran out the door and down the hall. âMeet you in the garage. I need to get some tools.â
âWait . . .â Maybe I should have asked her to be my heavy last night when I needed it. âDonât you wake up those kids.â
The phone
Erich Segal
Logan Rutherford
Ellis Peters
Amber Kell
Bernadette Marie
Kresley Cole
Rashelle Workman
Jenna Burtenshaw
Meghan Ciana Doidge
Delaney Joseph