Jane's Surrender(2)

The Parkers never fed us much; they just bought food and told us to do it ourselves. Usually, they preferred to spend everything on their drinks.

Adrian took a big bite from his sandwich and grumbled, “Fucking hate this.”

“Adrian,” Colt quickly said, looking at Erin and me.

“What?”

“Watch your language! We would be in trouble if Charlie and Merry heard it.”

Adrian snorted, which made half of his food spill on the table.

“Close your mouth,” I complained. It was hard to keep my mouth shut when he did something disgusting.

He frowned at me. “Yeah? Or you’ll do what, ugly?” He was a big bully. The only person he was afraid of was Charlie. In places like this, you became older than your age, and knew how to use some of the fear to your advantage.

“Or I tell Charlie about your F-words.” It was a bad idea to antagonize him, but he was as bad as our foster parents.

He narrowed his eyes and swiftly stood up.

“Adrian,” Colt started, but stopped with Adrian’s cold stare at him.

Adrian grabbed my hair painfully and gave me a slap with his other hand. My cheek burned. “You won’t do it, ugly, or you’ll deal with the consequences.” He tugged harder, which made my eyes fill with tears. “You got it?”

I nodded, he let go and went back to his seat.

“Fucking whores.” For some reason, he used those words to Erin and Me, and we had no idea what they meant.

None of us said anything, but I didn't miss the strange light coming from Colt’s eyes when he glanced at me.



The following night



I heard the creak of the door opening and immediately opened my eyes to look at the bed beside me. Erin was sound asleep, curling her body into mine. She had some issues. She had her own bed, but she always ended up with me.

The house was dark and quiet, so the footsteps were exceptionally loud to me.

The silhouette was unclear, although the moonlight coming from the window was bright enough to show it was one of the boys. As much as Charlie liked to squeeze hands, he was harmless and never came to our rooms.

“Who’s there?” I whispered.

The person froze, and then ran to me quickly and covered my mouth with his hand. “It’s me, Jane,” Colt slurred, and he had the same smell coming from him that I associated with Charlie.

Beer.

“Don’t scream. Jane, be a good girl, yeah? Take off your clothes for me.” His words made me shiver in fear, and an uneasy sensation filled my stomach.

What was he doing? He removed his hand from my mouth, and before I could say anything, covered it with his mouth.

It was sloppy, and it sent me into deeper fear.

I tried to push him, but he was so strong and big that my tiny hands couldn't do anything.

“Colton, let go.”

He didn't listen, and his hands moved under my pajama shirt. I wanted to throw up, and no one heard my muffled screams.

Suddenly, Erin stirred beside me, opened her eyes, and saw what was happening, and then her screams filled the house.

In a few minutes, Charlie, Merry, and Adrian rushed into room, and Colt was pushed to the wall.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Charlie shouted.

I covered myself with the blanket. My body shook, and Erin was whimpering at my side as all eyes looked to me. “He came here…to-to meeee and tried to…” It was hard to find the words, and I started sobbing.

Merry’s eyes narrowed, and then she moved to Colt and slapped him hard. “Stupid boy, couldn't even do it quietly.”

What?

Her words made my stomach flip, and my fingers clutched the blanket harder.

“We can’t have this boy here, using the girls to satisfy his urges,” Charlie said, grabbing Colt and Adrian by their necks hard. “No touching the girls in the house, got it? Not ‘til they are twelve, anyway,” he added.

Under the covers, Erin’s fingers grabbed mine. Her hands were trembling; she was more afraid than I was. “Look at his boner. He has it bad for her.” Merry pointed at Colt’s pants, and something was standing up there, like he put something inside, and it made me scared. What did a boner mean?

“I won’t get rid of the boys. I fucking don’t want to do all the work here,” Charlie spat and shook the boys more.

Merry shrugged her shoulders, moved her cold eyes to me, and smiled evilly like those cartoon characters. “Let’s get rid of the girl then.”

A few days later, I was out of the house, and the only thing I tried to erase from my mind was that awful night and the look on Erin’s face as the car drove away.



Ridgewood, New Jersey



Jane, 13 years old

“Mom!” My yell was enough to wake the dead, but I couldn't control it. Quickly running to the kitchen, I found Mom cleaning the dishes, and to my surprise, Dad reading the newspaper. The minute I entered, both raised their eyes to me.