Page 43 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

Chapter Fifteen

Kade

Ally is reading a book in the living room when I pass her to go to the kitchen for a drink. She looks really into it, kind of like the way she looks when she teaches her lesson. I force my eyes away, trying to forget how kind I thought she was to me.

It was all a lie.

“Dinner will be ready in an hour and a half, Kade…Kade?”

I ignore her as I make my way into the kitchen, open the fridge, and grab a can of Coke. Why don’t they just toss me into the streets and be done with it?

“Kade?”

Ally steps into the room, but I don’t look up at her. I’d rather pretend she and her hypocrite husband don’t exist.

“There you are. Didn’t you hear me calling you?”

Ignoring her, I take a sip of Coke.

She moves closer to me. “Kade, we need to talk.”

And here it comes. Is Zack not man enough to tell me himself that he’s done with me?

“You’re free to do whatever you want in this house,” she goes on. “But like we told you when you moved here, there are rules that you need to follow.”

I move my eyes to her, then look away.

“I’m asking you to please put on a shirt when you leave your room. My niece is living here and you need to respect her.”

I scoff. Sure, respect her. What about respecting me? When it comes down to it, family always comes first, no matter what.

“She tattled to you?” I ask.

“No. I just saw you now as you passed me.” She places her hand on my shoulder. “We don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. All right?”

I pull away from her, causing her hand to drop. Then I take another swig of Coke and leave the kitchen.

I don’t put on a shirt. Why should I follow the rules when they’re just going to kick me out anyway?

Gritting my teeth, I make my way downstairs to the basement. There’s a gym here with lots of equipment. I think they used to be in Liam’s room before his parents moved them down here.

The only thing that can make me forget about everything is to work out until I can’t feel my limbs. When I was younger and lived in my first foster home, there were a few kids living there as well. I was a very scrawny kid and couldn’t stand up for myself when they hurt me. When I told my foster parents about it, they took the other kids’ side. I was seen as a “problem kid” and they threw me out. The next foster home was a little better, except they pretty much kept me isolated from everyone else. The mom would give me tiny plates of food just to prove I was eating in case there were inspections.

Eventually, I was thrown out of that one, too. I went through a few caseworkers as well. No one seemed to want anything to do with me and I don’t know why. I never caused trouble, but I was seen as problematic.

I knew I was never safe and couldn’t rely on anyone, so I started working out. I had a job at a gym two years ago and they let me use their machines for free. A few months later, I was moved to another town and put into a new home.

In that home, there was a daughter who was twelve and she was obsessed with me. She’d come into my room whenever she wanted. Didn’t let me have privacy. One day she kissed me and her parents came home and caught us. Who was blamed for it? Not their precious little princess. So I got kicked out of that house as well.

Then in my previous home—a group home—I found myself getting into fights with everyone. I didn’t start them, but I fought back, showed them not to mess with me. I wouldn’t allow myself to be hurt like when I was ten.

My caseworker didn’t want to deal with me anymore and then Zack took over. He wanted to know every detail about my home and how they were treating me. I didn’t want to tell him anything because I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust any caseworker because they only cared about their job and not the kid they were supposedly helping.

Eventually, he got me to talk and I told him I was unhappy at the group home. He took me out of there and placed me in his house, promising to find me a good home. Said he wouldn’t give up until he found it.

Yeah, well, looks like he gave up.

As I’m using the machines, the sweat dripping down my chest, I hear the basement door open. Great. What does Ally or Zack want this time? Have they come to toss me away? Why doesn’t he just get it over with?

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