“I don’t want any more of your money. I want you to grow up and take care of your daughter.”
I stood up, rubbing my damp eyes with the back of my hand, and slowly descended the steps. My grandmother looked me over, her eyes sad.
“Come say hello to your mother, Mikaella.”
I walked across the living room and into the kitchen. Grandma took her glasses and held out the beige phone. Reluctantly, I took it from her hand, twisting my body in the long cord as I cleared my throat.
“Baby, are you there?” My mother’s voice sounded rough as if she was fighting a cold.
“I don’t want to start school,” I whispered.
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ll be coming for you real soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I’m really sorry I missed your birthday. Nine years old! You’re practically a grown-up. I got you a present.”
“You found Daddy?” I asked as I twisted the phone cord around my fingers.
“No, baby. A new magic shield just like your old one. Are you still having those nightmares?”
“Sometimes.” I shrugged as I thought about the sleepless nights.
“Baby, I have to go.” Her voice was panicked, and it sounded like she had moved away from the phone. “I have to go. I love you.” The line went dead before I could respond. That was the last time I’d ever heard from my mother.
Loyalty
Chapter 4—Rellik
Loyalty: a strong feeling of support or allegiance
Humans by nature are pack animals. We take comfort in those around us and value our worth by how many others deem us important. We struggle to fit in, to be like the others.
I now had a few that I would call family, but our loyalty came from understanding the true depravity of human nature, not from blood. Although blood had been shed to bring us together, and more would be shed when we were torn apart.
“We have to go.” Phantom kicked my leg, and I groaned, rubbing my hand over my stubbled jaw as I stretched.
“Fuck you,” I growled as he clicked a button on the remote and dropped it on the table in front of me, causing Trigger to startle awake.
“You fucking prick!” Trig was on his feet, alert, but his eyes were vacant, and it took a few seconds for him to come back to reality. He turned and rammed his shoulder against Phantom’s as he shoved by him. Phantom was twice as wide as the rest of us but built out of pure muscle.
“You know you can’t fucking do shit like that when he’s sleeping.” I stood and stretched, my muscles tight from a night of drinking, wishing I could fall into a perpetual sleep so I’d never have to leave Katie behind for the harsh reality of everyday life. No matter how many people thought I was a fuckup, she always saw something good in me, even if it wasn’t really there.
“It’s time to go, man.” Much like Trig, Phantom’s problems began early, but it wasn’t about who he was, but who he wasn’t. Sometimes there are worse things than being beaten and abused. Abandoned and neglected, he saw the world in black and white. Compassion and empathy were things he didn’t possess. Only good or evil. Misery loves company, and that is why we all gravitated toward one another.
I nodded and gathered my things before following him out into the harsh sunlight and into the large black SUV parked just outside the door. We didn’t travel in a bus because it was a luxury we couldn’t yet afford.
I climbed in the driver’s seat as Hangman got into the passenger side of the black Durango, talking about his night. I adjusted the rearview mirror.
“Them twins had some tig ole’ bitties, man. I’m surprised they didn’t give me a black eye.”
“You’re lucky the boyfriend didn’t give you one either.” Trig laughed as Hangman turned around to glare at him.
“How the fuck was I supposed to know the dumb one had a boyfriend?”
“The dumb ones always do,” Phantom said as I pulled out onto the road.
“Then why is Trig single?” Hangman laughed as Trig smacked him in the back of his head.
“Fuck you, you fucking prick.”
I ignored them, drowning out their conversation with heavy rock blasting from the radio as we headed down the road, the GPS navigating us to Orlando, Florida, the place I used to call home. The idea of stepping foot in my hometown made my skin crawl. This was our life. Every day was the same. Most thought what we did was glamorous, but in truth it was long nights filled with highway and strangers. The hours rolled by, weeks, months, and it felt like we never really went anywhere. My mind was lost in my past, an endless loop, much like my life now.
* *
“Why aren’t you answering my calls?”