Read Online Break of Day by Mari Madison - Free Book Online Page B

standoffish. When he was pissed off he could be downright violent. But it wasn’t his fault. His records showed he’d been born to a heroin-addicted mother who had used drugs during her pregnancy. At one day old, the kid was already going through withdrawal and at one week Mom had been sent back to prison. His father’s parents took him in for a bit and when they couldn’t take him anymore, he bounced around from relative to relative for a few years. Finally, at age seven, he’d been dumped here. Where he would likely remain until he became legal. If he lasted that long.
    â€œCan I take him some cake?” I asked, remembering the leftovers in the fridge from Toby’s birthday celebration earlier in the week.
    Toby snorted. “You spoil him,” she scolded. But she smiled when she said it and I knew that was a yes. After all, she’d been the first to spoil me back in the day, and she knew she didn’t have much of a leg to stand on.
    After raiding the refrigerator, I headed upstairs, taking a left at the landing and stopping in front of his door. Balancing the cake in my left hand, I knocked with my right. There were no locks on the doors at Holloway, but I liked to give the kids some semblance of privacy anyway. I remembered, after all, how it had felt to live here, surrounded by so many people all the time, never having that feeling of personal space.
    â€œGo away,” came the voice from the other side of the door.
    â€œJayden, it’s me,” I called to him. “And I’ve got something I’m pretty sure you want.”
    The resounding silence spread out so long that I startedwondering if I’d need to come back later. I didn’t want to force him to socialize if he wasn’t ready, though I was pretty sure it would help if he did. But just as I was about to walk away, the door opened—just a sliver.
    â€œWhat do you have?” Jayden demanded, sounding both suspicious and curious at the same time.
    â€œLet me in and I’ll show you.”
    He sighed loudly, but, to my relief, opened the door. I stepped inside his room, frowning as I did. It was trashed. Chairs knocked over, clothes ripped from the dresser, a shattered photo on the floor. My brow furrowed. Where did he even get a photo like that? Glass picture frames were contraband here—for obvious reasons.
    He looked around the room, his cheeks coloring. Obviously embarrassed at the aftereffects of his tantrum. Then he turned back to me, giving me a defiant look, as if daring me to say something about it. To scold him. To tell him he was no good. Just as people had been telling him his entire life.
    Just as people had once told me.
    And so, instead, I ignored the mess. I held out the slice of cake. I watched as his eyes widened a little before he turned away.
    â€œI’m not hungry,” he growled.
    â€œI was hoping you’d say that,” I replied, not missing a beat. I reached down to right a chair so I could sit. “I’m starving myself.” I set the cake on the nightstand and stabbed it with my fork. “Have you had any of this?” I asked. “It’s, like, the best cake ever.”
    He shrugged, but I could see his eyes traveling back to the cake in question. He shuffled from foot to foot. I ignored him, taking a big bite, groaning in pleasure as the sugar hit my taste buds. I wasn’t exaggerating to get him to eat—not entirely anyway. This cake was truly fabulous.
    â€œI was so glad when I came in and saw there was some left,” I continued, my mouth full of icing. “I missed the cake at the wedding I went to yesterday, since I had to leave early.”
    He slumped down on the bed. “Why’d you have to leaveearly?” he asked, sounding curious despite his best intentions to stay aloof. Which was what I’d been counting on when I’d sat down. Jayden was a naturally inquisitive kid—something I loved about him.