Read Online Brighter Than the Sun by Darynda Jones - Free Book Online

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    If I could, I’d materialize right then and there and see to her needs. Make her writhe. Make her explode. Since she’s terrified of me, I decide against it and leave her to her own devices.
    I have to see to my own needs when I get back before picking up Kim from school.
    This is a golden time for us. Earl doesn’t bother me so often. He goes through spells, and as long as I can survive them, as long as I’m breathing at the end, I endure for Kim’s sake. Every once in a while, his dark side rears its ugly-ass head, and I get more than I bargained for. He is more violent now. The drinking and drugs are slowly eating away what few brain cells he had, and his moods turn on a dime. There are a few days that I look so bad, I can’t even walk Kim to school or meet up with Amador. But not many.
    One day after school, Kim is shaking. Amador is with us, but he doesn’t notice the state she’s in. He gives her a hug and jogs off to catch a bus back to the war zone. When he’s gone, I ask Kim what happened.
    “I had to go to the office today.”
    I’m instantly alarmed. The blue under her eyes is darker. The white of her skin paler. I put my hands on her shoulders and force her to face me. “What happened?”
    “Nothing. They just called me to the office.”
    “Why?”
    She lifts a shoulder. “It was the counselor. She was nice, but she asked a lot of questions.”
    Dread creeps up my spine. It feels like when ice is so cold, it burns. “What did she want to know exactly?”
    “She—” Tears flood between her lashes. “She asked me if I felt safe at home. If I get enough to eat. Stuff like that.”
    I turn away from her and curse under my breath.
    “I told her I was fine. Everything was okay.”
    If they take her away, I won’t be able to protect her anymore. Some foster homes and children’s homes are no better than what we already have. At least with Earl, I can keep an eye on her. And he doesn’t touch her. His tastes don’t lean in that direction.
    Before I came along, he was all about boys. He would go through a boy every two years, and then he’d sell the kid to one of his friends. But he kept me. He never tired of me, even when I got older than his usual demographic. Even when I got much older.
    So I know that as long as we are with Earl, she’ll be safe from that type of attention. If the authorities suspect anything, they could investigate. They could take her away from Earl. From me. They could put her in a much worse situation.
    I grab her arm and we hurry away from the school. I can’t help but look over my shoulder.
    “That’s not all,” she says as I drag her behind me. She is out of breath, and I slow down a little.
    “What do you mean?”
    “She asked about you, too. And then the principal came in and they asked— They asked if you’re safe.”
    I stop and stare at her. “Me?”
    She nods.
    “What the fuck?”
    She lowers her head.
    “Kim. What? Did you say something?”
    “No!” She rushes to assure me, and I know better than to even ask. “I swear. They just— I think a teacher saw you last week.”
    I bite down. She missed three days of school because of last week. Earl got fired from his part-time job as a janitor at a warehouse, and he took it out on me. I waited three days before taking Kim to school. She refused to leave me, and I couldn’t risk being seen as torn up as I was. I thought I’d waited long enough. I thought the bruises had faded enough. Apparently not.
    We hurry home. We knew what was coming anyway. Earl lost his piece-of-shit job. He couldn’t pay the rent. He would either rob someone, kill someone, or we would sneak out in the middle of the night.
    Two days later, we do just that. We sneak out in the middle of the night. Sometimes it takes the landlord days to figure out we’ve gone. Vacating during the wee hours buys us time.
    Earl knocks a hole in the wall and dumps all the pictures. I can breathe again when he does. These are bad. The worst