Chapter 2: Prologue, Part 2

I hear glass break, and my eyes snap open. I yawn and find myself in complete darkness. My body is pressed together like a pretzel in a small space. I’m not under my bed anymore. My heart beats fast, my ears ringing from the silence. Standing up on tingly legs, I feel around in the darkness.

“MOMMY!” I scream in panic, but I hear nothing in reply. I feel a knob on what I think is a door and push. Light blinds me, and I realize I’m in my closet.

Blinking confused, I step out and stare at the bed, then the closet. I wonder how I got from under my bed into the closet. This isn’t the first time I’ve blacked out before. I’ve been waking up in odd places a lot lately.

“Where is she?” The familiar voice of Daddy sounds through the small trailer. My eyes light up, a smile spreading across my small face. Dad!

“Why are you here?” Mom’s hatred heavy in her voice

“Jesus, look at this fucking place, do you ever clean, Kelsey?”

“Maybe I would have if I knew you were coming over!” Mommy hollers back. The walls are so thin it sounds as if she’s right in the room with me.

“The fucking neighbor called me, I gave her my number in case Harley needed me. She said Harley asked her for food late last night?” I stiffen, Mrs. Boomer promised she wouldn’t tell anyone. I was sitting on the front steps, and a pizza man delivered her food. The smell was so good, I couldn’t help but ask for a slice.

“She’s fine, Grudge! Just give me the money so we can get some groceries or something, and leave!” Mommy snaps. She won’t spend it on groceries though. I don’t know where the money goes, but it’s not on food.

“Daddy!” I cry happily, running down the dark narrow hallway. He’s so tall his head tickles the ceiling, his lips slowly pulling into a smirk as he watches me run to him.

He turns, his green eyes falling upon me. They’re so warm, so loving. Like green vines wrapping me so tightly, I know nothing could cut through them.

“Baby girl!” he states in a low rugged voice. He hunches down and scoops me up in his big arms in a cheerful manner. His hand firmly tucks behind my head pulling me in closer. The familiar smell of leather smothers me, and I nuzzle my nose inside his neck. When I’m scared or hiding under my bed, I often think of this smell. I tell myself one day I will be just like Daddy and ride a motorcycle.

He sniffs me, and I feel his body tense beneath me as he gently pulls away.

“Hey, why don’t you go get your things. Hmm?”

I give Mommy a quick look before agreeing. He slides me to my feet, and I hesitantly head to my room.

He seemed so happy to see me, now he looks angry.

“Don’t you look at me like that! You can’t take her!” Mommy screams, flying at my dad in a fit of anger. I stop where I stand, frozen to the floor as I watch my parents fight.

“What have you been doing with the money I’ve been giving you, Kelsey, because you ain’t feeding her! When was the last time she even bathed?” Daddy roars.

“She’s had lots of friends over, Daddy,” I try to defend Mom. His eyes widen and he scowls at Mommy.

“You’re tricking again?”

Mom sucks in a breath, looking at me horrified.

“Do you know how dangerous that is for Harley? What if one of them—” As if he can sense me standing here watching, his head whips in my direction.

“Harley, don’t make me repeat myself. Get your shit and get it now!” he barks in an angry tone causing goosebumps to break out against my skin from the chill in his voice.

Blinking rapidly, I turn and run to my room, grabbing my mermaid and leather jacket from under the bed. I look around, silently hoping I’ll never return. Shutting the door behind me I say goodbye to the bugs, and take in a deep breath before heading back to the living room.

“All ready.” I smile. Mom and Dad look at me with red faces, I can tell they’re still fighting.

Dad slides his hand through his dark hair and plasters a fake smile on his face.

“Go with Roadie.” His hand swings toward the door, where Roadie stands. I didn’t even notice he was in here with all the excitement. Roadie is tall and skinny. Blonde and black hair flopping in his face. “I’ll be at the clubhouse in a bit, baby. I have some shit to take care of first,” Daddy informs, glaring at Mommy. She must be in trouble.

I look to Roadie with a nervous smile. I’ve only seen him once before when Daddy took me for ice cream. He didn’t talk much but would always smile at me when he caught me looking at him. He seemed friendly.

Roadie clasps my hand gently, whispering for me to follow him outside.

I struggle, wanting to wait for Daddy. I want to ride on his motorcycle, not ride in a car with Roadie!

“Go, Harley,” Dad insists. My brows furrow, my lips pinching together in anger.

Jerking my hand from Roadie’s, I frown and lead the way outside. Roadie sighs loudly and follows me outside onto the old porch. The same one that shoved a splinter the size of a pencil in the bottom of my foot last summer. I was crying and bleeding so badly the landlord across the street pulled it out with some tool from his garage and taped my foot up with duct tape. I showed the girl down the street the scar and she ran to her house crying. I’m the toughest kid in this trailer park.

In a shiny black car parked right out front of our ugly green trailer, I see a little boy with dark hair looking out the backseat window, his breathing fogging the glass. I stop on the bottom wooden step and look back at him. I haven’t been around kids my age much, especially boys. I’m homeschooled, which consists of me watching discovery channel every day, and the flashcards Mom bought at the Dollar Tree. I know every card, but I still quiz myself every day.

“Keep moving, Harley.” Roadie presses on my back. Swallowing the sudden lump forming in my throat, I make myself move off the bottom step.

Getting closer to the car, the boy in the back seat smiles a crooked grin, and my cheeks warm. I bet if I looked in a mirror they’d be pink.

He waves, and I hesitantly wave back. My heart grows a mind of its own, beating faster than I’ve ever felt before as I wipe my sweaty palms on my dress.

“Come on, you can sit next to my boy, Benjamin.” Roadie opens the door for me, and the boy now known as Benjamin smiles at me like nobody has ever smiled at me before. He has dark hair falling in his face, and bright blue eyes staring at me with excitement. Wow, his eyes look just like the color crayon I use to fill in the ocean in my old coloring book.

He’s wearing a long-sleeved Captain American T-shirt and camouflaged shorts. His knees are bruised and scuffed up, and I can’t help but notice his black boots are untied with the laces dangling down the sides. I really like those leather boots, they’d go well with my jacket. Climbing into the car, I slide along the leather seat and sit as far away from him as I can.

“You can call me Benji!” Benjamin says, scooting closer to me. I swallow harder, my teeth pinched together at his closeness. My spine is straight, my shoulders stiff. My eyes flick back and forth from the seat in front of me to him. Why is he so friendly? He hardly knows me. Are all kids this nice?

“I’m ten, how old are you?” he asks, not catching on to my unease.

“I’m- I’m six,” I reply quietly. My hands clench onto one another in my lap, my chest feeling like someone released a jar of butterflies.

“I’m older, so you have to listen to me.” He crosses his arms, his chin lifted high. I scowl, the butterflies going up in flames.

“No, I don’t,” I snap, my face twisted in anger.

“Yes, you do. I have to protect you. That’s how it works, the boy protects the girl, duh.” He rolls his eyes. Huffing, I cross my arms.

“That is dumb, who says the girl even needs a boy to protect her? Maybe the boy is the one who needs the girl to save and protect him.”

His blue eyes turn a shade darker, and he looks confused.

“Wait! Come back, Harley!” Mommy cries. I look over Benji’s shoulder, just as Dad steps out onto our broken porch and stands behind Mommy, his face hard and unfriendly. Dad grips Mommy by the arm, pushes her inside the trailer like a ragdoll.

“Say goodbye to Mommy, Harley.” Dad gives me a hard look.

“Bye, Mommy…” My words are lost on my tongue. Fear for her knotting in my stomach.

“What is Daddy doing with Mom?” I ask Roadie who is now behind the wheel.

“Oh, things are just getting heated is all,” he informs with a bored tone.

Lifting up on my knees I look out the back window at the trailer. Will I ever see Mommy again? I know my mom is not the best mom in the world, but she’s still my mom. The idea that I’ll miss her surprises me, and my eyes begin to well with tears.

A cold hand rests on top of mine, and my head whips down to Benji looking up at me with sad eyes.

“It’s okay, you got me.”

Swallowing the tears back, I slide back into my seat as Roadie pulls the black car away from the trailer.