Vincent (Made Men Book 2)(14)
“I just—”
“That reminds me; look what I bought you!” Her mother dragged her into the living room and picked up the bags beside the couch. “I went to the mall this week and had to pick these up for you.”
Great.
“Thank you, Mom. I can’t wait to wear them.” Lake’s face started to turn sore from pretending to smile so much.
“All right, honey; I have to go. John gave me a bunch of errands to run. I’ll see you later tonight.”
No-no-no-no-no.
“Oh, you’re leaving? Already?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. You know how John gets when he wants something.”
Unfortunately, all too well.
Her mother kissed her on the cheek. “Bye, honey. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Mom.” Sadly, Lake didn’t have to fake that. She did love her mom because, at the end of the day, she was her mother.
She squeezed her eyes shut and began to pray again as her mother walked out the front door.
“Get your fucking ass in here!” she heard the man yell in the other room.
Run. Run while you can.
“I said get your fucking ass in here!” That time, the yell was louder.
Lake reluctantly moved her feet and headed for the den. You have to. You don’t have a choice.
She walked into the room and saw the huge TV screen playing football then, all of a sudden, it was paused. Her eyes traveled to the recliner holding a grubby, older man.
“Are you a fucking retard or somethin’? I yelled for you twice.”
“S-sorry, I-I—”
He started mocking her. “Uh-uh-uh-uh.”
She heard cackling in the doorway and turned to see Ashley.
“From my understanding, you didn’t come home yesterday because you didn’t want to be here while your mom was gone, so I made sure she’ll be gone all day,” he said.
Lake shook her head. “No, I had already—”
He sat up in his chair, about to get up. “Don’t you lie.”
Lake nodded, closing her mouth.
He pointed his finger right at her, his face turning evil. “Your mom is gone, so now you’re mine. Clean this fucking house from top to bottom and do what trailer trash does best. Save me some of my goddamn money your mom likes to spend.” He sat back in his chair.
“Daddy?” Ashley sweetly said.
He flipped Lake off. “And I heard what you did to Ashley at school, so once my house is clean, write her English paper.”
Lake swallowed the little bit of pride she had left. “Yes, John.”
Chapter Nine
The Evil Stepsister and the Revolting Old Man
Lake grabbed the bags off the living room couch, holding tightly to the clothes her mother had bought her. She was dripping in sweat, and her body was going to give out at any second. The hardest part of the gruesome day hadn’t been cleaning the huge five bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms. No, it had been holding her tears in. If John or Ashley saw them, they would call her a ‘fucking baby’ and add more work. However, the real reason she refused to let them see her crying was because she was sure they got off on it, and Lake wasn’t going to let them win that one.
She started going up the huge staircase then down the hall to the right. At first, she thought she wasn’t going to make it past all the doors to the end but when she did, she almost burst into tears.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going with those?” Ashley came up behind her and snatched the bags out of her hand so hard Lake ended up falling on her hands and knees.
Don’t cry. Don’t you cry.
“Trashy girls don’t get to wear pretty dresses. You know that.” Ashley began to walk away, cackling. “And don’t forget my paper, bitch.”
Lake watched Ashley disappear down the hall, her eyes finally beginning to water. She looked up at the ceiling through the wetness to see the white string hanging. It appeared to be a million miles away. It might as well have been on the moon, though, because Lake had no strength left.
A tear rolled down her cheek. Get up. She used the back of her hand to wipe the tear off her face. Get up. Now.
Lake used every bit of strength she had left in her body to push off the floor. That time, when she looked up at the string dangling from the ceiling, it no longer rested on the moon, but the Earth. She knew she had only one shot to jump up and grab it; otherwise, the string would become a pendulum, and she wasn’t going to be able to stand up long enough for it to stop.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she jumped up and grabbed the string with a tight grip, opening the hole in the ceiling. She continued to pull the string until the folded, wooden stairs appeared. Then she quickly unfolded them.