Stay(45)

“Why do you hate Christmas?” I asked, sensing her hidden sadness.

She shrugged. “It’s a dumb holiday, that’s all.”

I just nodded, remembering her telling me about her bad family life. I didn’t think Christmas morning was a joyful time in her house. I felt a stab of sadness in my heart when I imagined Lily waking up after falling asleep watching Christmas specials on TV. Her mom would be passed out and hung over if not still drunk and her step dad…I shuddered. I didn’t want to think about what he might have done to her.

“I’m going to bed,” Lily announced and changed into pajamas. Phoebe did the same. She crawled into bed rubbing her wrists.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Sore,” she told me and held up her hands. The skin around her wrists was red and raw. It was something that had happened to me before.#p#分页标题#e#

“I hate being tied up,” I said with empathy. “Want me to get you a washcloth?”

She shook her head. “Too tired.” She gave me a feeble half smile and straightened out her quilt. “Night.”

“Night,” I responded and lay back down. I replayed my favorite Christmas memories over and over in my head, feeling more homesick than I had in a while.

Eventually I drifted to sleep and had a nightmare about Zane dressing up in a Santa suit and sneaking into my room. I woke the next morning with my heart racing and my forehead covered in a cold sweat.

My body was stiff from being so cold. Lily and Phoebe sat close together on a cot with a blanket draped over their shoulders.

“Want to sit with us?” Lily asked.

“Yeah,” I said and got up. I quickly went to the bathroom and tore a leftover peanut butter and jelly sandwich in half. Lily lifted up the blanket. I sat down and wrapped it around myself, feeling instant warmth. Phoebe shuffled a deck of cards and dealt them out. We spent the morning playing Go Fish.

Sometime in the afternoon, the basement door opened. Lily had a moment of panic because she hadn’t gotten dressed and ready for the day. My muscles tensed at the thought of Nate or Zane. Jackson’s ungraceful footsteps offered just a smidge of relief.

His eyes met mine for a brief second the moment he stepped onto the concrete floor. Blood rushed to his cheeks and he looked away. It was odd, the way his embarrassment seemed so … so innocent. I watched him cross the basement, holding his arms close to his body. He couldn’t be like Zane, could he? I bit the inside of my cheek as I thought about it.

It didn’t matter. He was upstairs while we were trapped down here. He wasn’t a good guy. He couldn’t be.

“I need you to follow me,” he blurted. “Dress warm,” he added and crossed his arms over his chest. Phoebe and Lily got up and went to the selection of clothes, having a hard time finding something that provided warmth. “You too, Adeline.”





CHAPTER NINETEEN





I WAS STARTLED at the sound of my name. I looked at him in question. He frowned and gave a curt nod.

I stood, unease growing, and walked over to the dresser. I put knee-high black socks on and left on the blue pajama pants. I pulled a sheer, long sleeved black shirt over a pale yellow tank top. Lily eyed my mismatching outfit but withheld her comments. I stuffed my arms inside a jacket that was too big and zipped it up to my chin. Phoebe wore a red pea coat with a matching hat and gloves. Her hair was out of her face and tucked into the cap. She was one of those girls with a face so pretty that the unflattering winter hat enhanced her features. I looked like a swaddled skinny troll when only my face was showing. Not that I cared anymore anyway.

Jackson led us up the stairs. The kitchen was full of wonderful aromas. I stopped and did a double take at all the food that was spread out on the counter. It made the gargantuan feast my grandmother prepared look like a snack. The smell of sweet rolls was overwhelming. I reached out to take one. Phoebe grabbed my hand.

“Addie, no!” she whispered.

Jackson turned around. His brown eyes looked from me to the rolls and then to the floor. He grabbed his coat and opened the back door.

“Where are we going?” Lily asked. “I didn’t think the path to the trailer was plowed.”

“It’s not,” Jackson told her. Only about three inches of mushy snow had accumulated in the last two days. He stuck one of his arms through his coat, putting it on as he walked across the patio. Other than putting up the lights, it was the first time I had been outside since Halloween. Now that I wasn’t worried about freezing to death, I took a deep breath and looked up at the cloud-covered sky. Then sun was setting, and an arctic wind caused goosebumps to rise on my skin.#p#分页标题#e#