Page 14 of Deceit

“You always say that,” she counters slowly, meeting my eyes with shock and…worry? “Bubba, get off of my son.”

He snorts like a hog. “Teaching you a lesson. When IsayI’ll be here, I want you here.” His palm releases my forearm and lands on my spine. “And your boy is tight…unlike your old pussy.”

“You like little boys?” There’s a tremor to her tone but what she said gets Bubba to pull out of me, leaving behind discomfort and pain I’ve never felt before.

“What did you say?” Bubba leers, followed by a loud smack of skin. I don’t turn to see what he did to Mom. I need to get Scarlett out of here, and then I can come back to help.

I sprint for her bedroom when I hear Bubba’s voice ask the question I always dread.

“Where’s Scarlett?” I practically freeze when I feel the heat of Bubba’s gaze on my back as I stagger the rest of the way and slam the door shut behind me.

I hear the hard thudding of boots against the old tiled floors as I yank the heavy dresser Scarlett and Hardy share to cover the door. I’m barely able to get it all the way when I’m reaching for my sister under the bed, still safe with her headphones in her ears.

“Is the game—” I cover my sister’s mouth as she said that way too loud.

With my index finger hovered over my lips, I grab her with my other hand and move towards the window. A violent thud sounds through the room, making us jump and pivot around.

Half of Bubba’s face appears through a small, dark crack of the door, an evil smirk glazed over it as he sees my sister standing next to me.

My heart lurches with adrenaline, and the first thing my palm lands on goes right through the bedroom window.

“Kace!” Scarlett scolds. “Mommy is going to get really—” I lift her from under her armpits, my own shaking under her weight as she automatically climbs up the plastic three-drawer organizer.

I push a headphone off of her ear. “Bubba found us. We gotta run, or we’re it.”

The dresser drags eerily against the tiles sending a hysterical panic through me that Bubba is getting inside.

Scarlett’s bright blues flick over my shoulder, but I jerk on her arm to get her to focus on me. “Watch the glass and jump down,” I order.

Her little brows furrow in unease. “It’s too high.”

“You’ll be okay.” Another scrape of wood squealing at me to hurry up. “C’mon, Scar.” She looks at me hesitantly then behind me again.

“Kace,” she mutters. “Bubba looks mad.”

Fear continues to thrash against my whole body, but I don’t bother to turn around.

There’s no time.

“Scarlett,go!” I snap. She blinks once then proceeds to carefully swing a tiny leg over, but glass is everywhere. She’s going to cut herself, and I won’t have anything to clean up her wounds.

All of a sudden, my t-shirt is jerked from behind, my back slamming into the smushy chest of the goblin we’re trying to get away from.

“Kace!”

I glance at my sister and point outside. “Get out, Scar.”

“You stupid motherfucker,” Bubba growls, spinning me around just to slam his large fist into my face.

I see stars, like how they do in cartoons. They circle in my vision as my balance begins to give out.

“I’m gonna kill you!”

“Get off my brother!” My eyes widen at how close Scarlett’s voice sounds, and I find her with my wooden baseball bat in her tiny palms.

She swings weakly and hits both Bubba and me in the process. And like a blood-thirsty shark, Bubba’s focus narrows in on her, and I take the only chance I’m given. Ripping our lamp out of the wall, I crash it over Bubba’s head.

It doesn’t break like it does in the movies, but it gets him to back off and haunch over while streams of curse words flow from his lips.

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