Read Online Betrayed (The New Yorker) by M. O. Kenyan - Free Book Online Page A

moments with his siblings made up for the years they were
apart, and softened the disappearance of Rhyne .

 
    * * * *

 
    “Where is your family, Reno?”
Rosalinda asked.
    Reno was taken aback by the
question. He chanced a glance at Dennis and they locked gazes. They are here. He wanted to shout, but
he didn’t. Instead he decided to tell the truth and watch Dennis squirm when
reality slapped him in the face. “My mother died a few months ago, my sister
disappeared when she was two. Actually she was the same age as DJ and they even
have the same birthday.” He watched as Dennis tugged on his polo collar. “My
father abandoned us when I was six and my sister was two. I have been alone
ever since then.”
    He heard Daniela say, “That’s so
sad.”
    “I’m strong because of it.” Reno
gave her a reassuring smile.
    “If you want I can talk mum into
dropping DJ off at an orphanage and you could be my new big brother.”
    “I’m too old to be a ward of the
state, princess.”
    Reno laughed as he watched Daniela
and DJ go back and forth. When he felt Lisette’s hand squeeze his thigh he
turned toward her and realized two things—she had once again gone unnoticed
when he was in the presence of his siblings and she would always be there for
him.
    “I think I like you even more, with
every passing second.” He brushed his lips against her ear as he whispered to
her. With one arm he pulled her in to his side and kissed her temple.
    “You’re growing on me,” she said
with a smile as she looked up at him.
    “If Brian is staying, he and Reno
cannot be on the same team tomorrow.” Catalella pulled him out of his love bubble.
    “Why? Do you play?” Brian asked
excitedly.
    “I do.” Reno tried to block out the
pride Dennis had when he brought up football.
    “I think we should wait to draw up
teams when AJ gets here tomorrow,” Adrian said.

 
    * * * *

 
    He was back
in that small stinky apartment. The air was thick and stagnant, the smell of
smoke and alcohol septic in the air now. Reno could hear someone calling him
from afar. It was a small tiny voice that sounded so much like Rhyne .
    “ Rhyne ?” Reno scrambled out of bed. He shot a
glance at his sister’s bed in the far corner of the room. It was empty. Jumping
out of bed in a mad dash he followed Rhyne’s desperate cries.
    “Reno!”
    “ Rhyne !Rhyne !” Reno called out as
he tried to make his way around the sparse furniture in the thick darkness.
“I’m coming Rhyne , I promise, I’m coming!”
Desperately he yelled out. The thick feeling of dread weighed his heart down
sending it crushing into his stomach.
    Reno’s feet
froze; he stood rooted to the ground as he watched the darkness shaped like a
man, pulling his sister with him. “No!” he shouted. “Let go of her!” Reno
launched his body into the dark figure and all his tiny hands could grab was a
thick cloud of smoke. He landed on the ground head first, and when the darkness
subsided, Reno watched as his sister was dragged outside and tossed into a
waiting car. Pushing his battered body to his feet, he begun to ran after the
car. But no matter how fast he ran or how hard he yelled out for their mother’s
help, it was useless.

 
    Reno woke up at the darkest hour of
the night, drenched in sweat, and the bedding pulled out of their neat corners
as if someone had been thrashing around in the bed. Although it was just a
dream, his body seemed to be working just as hard as his mind. He got out of
the bed and headed to the kitchen for a glass of cold milk. Staring out the
glass doors, he saw the light shimmering and bouncing off the waves of the calm
ocean. How he wished he could be so tranquil.
    Reno sat on the grainy sand beach
looking out into the still waters, hoping he would be able to absorb its
peacefulness. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, how he would get his
revenge from Dennis without hurting and alienating his siblings, or how he
would find Rhyne . As