living quietly in the far back of the trailer – hoping to be avoided like a plague and forgotten – had come undone. Now I had a target on my back, one that Russell had made clear to me just the other day.
“You’ve just turned eighteen, Leah,” he’d said to me. “And it’s best you realize at this point I’m not going to be taking care of you all your life. You gotta work to have a roof over that head of yours. You gotta contribute like the rest of us, or maybe I’m gonna have to show you the door. Being on your own is a scary thing, and I’d hate for you to be on the streets doing something you could have just done here under my protection. Think on that.”
Oh, I did.
Obviously.
Did the asshole think I wouldn’t or something? I thought about that every minute after he opened his mouth and said those words. I suppose I always knew it was coming. I just preferred to have my head stuck in the sand and keep living in denial. I think in some naïve part of my mind I thought I always had more time.
I didn’t, though, and reality had become a tragic thing.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Carter. I wrapped the covers around myself as the icy wind tore into the room. “And shut the window, will you?” Winter in the Pacific Northwest was a bitch filled with buckets of cold rain and heavy winds.
“I’m not shutting shit,” he retorted, getting off the bed. “I’ve come to get you, and we gotta go now .”
My brows pinched together. “What are you talking about?”
“Ron kicked me out,” he simply said. He picked up my backpack off my dresser and emptied it on the floor. All my textbooks and homework assignments fell out in a heap.
“That’s my winter break’s homework,” I hissed. “Put that back inside.”
“Where are you going to put your clothes then?”
I was so confused. My head was spinning. “Why do I need clothes?”
He sighed and shook his head at me like I was being dumb. “What did I just say? Ron kicked me out, and you’re coming with me.”
I paused. “Your father’s kicked you out ten million times before, Carter.”
He kneeled down to my level, and my eyes widened when I saw his lip was busted up.
“This time it was different,” he told me flatly.
My hand reached out to him, and my finger lightly brushed his lip. He was stoic about it, like my touch did nothing to him. Of course, I was used to this.
“He hit you,” I whispered in shock.
“I hit him back,” Carter replied evenly. He pulled away from me and resumed what he was doing, which was opening drawers and shoving whatever clothes inside. I cringed when he grabbed a handful of my underwear, and I leaped out of bed to stop him, taking my blanket that was wrapped around my body with me.
“Enough!” I went at him. “Put that back, Carter! You’re being ridiculous! We have nowhere to go!”
“I’d rather we have nowhere to go than be here in this shithole!” he fired back, pushing me back so he could resume.
I was panicking at this point. He couldn’t just decide this for the both of us. I stepped away and watched him fill my backpack to the brim with clothes. I was a little disturbed by how well he’d sorted through them, knowing which ones I wore and which ones I didn’t. Carter was a lot more mindful than I’d given him credit for.
“Carter,” I said quietly, my back resting against the door. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Yeah, you are.”
“No, I’m not. It’s crazy! Where are we going to go?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“I can’t jump into something this deluded. Are you hearing yourself right now? You need to stop and just think, alright?”
He exhaled and shook his head like I was annoying him. Zipping up my backpack, he tossed it to the ground beside the window and turned to me. I had to crane my head up now to look at him. Carter was nineteen then and he was broad and big. One of the very few guys around at his age that actually looked manly, and I
“You’ve just turned eighteen, Leah,” he’d said to me. “And it’s best you realize at this point I’m not going to be taking care of you all your life. You gotta work to have a roof over that head of yours. You gotta contribute like the rest of us, or maybe I’m gonna have to show you the door. Being on your own is a scary thing, and I’d hate for you to be on the streets doing something you could have just done here under my protection. Think on that.”
Oh, I did.
Obviously.
Did the asshole think I wouldn’t or something? I thought about that every minute after he opened his mouth and said those words. I suppose I always knew it was coming. I just preferred to have my head stuck in the sand and keep living in denial. I think in some naïve part of my mind I thought I always had more time.
I didn’t, though, and reality had become a tragic thing.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Carter. I wrapped the covers around myself as the icy wind tore into the room. “And shut the window, will you?” Winter in the Pacific Northwest was a bitch filled with buckets of cold rain and heavy winds.
“I’m not shutting shit,” he retorted, getting off the bed. “I’ve come to get you, and we gotta go now .”
My brows pinched together. “What are you talking about?”
“Ron kicked me out,” he simply said. He picked up my backpack off my dresser and emptied it on the floor. All my textbooks and homework assignments fell out in a heap.
“That’s my winter break’s homework,” I hissed. “Put that back inside.”
“Where are you going to put your clothes then?”
I was so confused. My head was spinning. “Why do I need clothes?”
He sighed and shook his head at me like I was being dumb. “What did I just say? Ron kicked me out, and you’re coming with me.”
I paused. “Your father’s kicked you out ten million times before, Carter.”
He kneeled down to my level, and my eyes widened when I saw his lip was busted up.
“This time it was different,” he told me flatly.
My hand reached out to him, and my finger lightly brushed his lip. He was stoic about it, like my touch did nothing to him. Of course, I was used to this.
“He hit you,” I whispered in shock.
“I hit him back,” Carter replied evenly. He pulled away from me and resumed what he was doing, which was opening drawers and shoving whatever clothes inside. I cringed when he grabbed a handful of my underwear, and I leaped out of bed to stop him, taking my blanket that was wrapped around my body with me.
“Enough!” I went at him. “Put that back, Carter! You’re being ridiculous! We have nowhere to go!”
“I’d rather we have nowhere to go than be here in this shithole!” he fired back, pushing me back so he could resume.
I was panicking at this point. He couldn’t just decide this for the both of us. I stepped away and watched him fill my backpack to the brim with clothes. I was a little disturbed by how well he’d sorted through them, knowing which ones I wore and which ones I didn’t. Carter was a lot more mindful than I’d given him credit for.
“Carter,” I said quietly, my back resting against the door. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Yeah, you are.”
“No, I’m not. It’s crazy! Where are we going to go?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“I can’t jump into something this deluded. Are you hearing yourself right now? You need to stop and just think, alright?”
He exhaled and shook his head like I was annoying him. Zipping up my backpack, he tossed it to the ground beside the window and turned to me. I had to crane my head up now to look at him. Carter was nineteen then and he was broad and big. One of the very few guys around at his age that actually looked manly, and I
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