Page 6 of Fall onto me

FOSTER POV

I’m thankful Kate and Brett wanted to whisk Skyler away tonight.

I may watch her like a hawk, but I know she’s safe.

Plus, I asked them to.

Sky just simply needs to be happier, to not be so scared. She was trapped in that fucking mansion her entire life, and now she’s trapped with me. We made a pact to not separate, and technically I’m not doing that, but I’m also not going to bring her to my first meeting with the fucking Keeper.

This morning, while I was putting Sky’s streak back, a text was on my phone. It never chimed, it just … appeared.

UNKNOWN: H. 11.

It only tooka second for me to decipher the cryptic message.

Harbor. Eleven tonight.

I immediately texted Brett and told him Skyler needs a night out so I can do something special for her. It’s a lie, but I need her busy.

I was going to shower with her, make her morning a little more … euphoric. But when I saw that message, a sinking panic filled my chest and wouldn’t allow me to capture a full breath.

I couldn’t let her see what I was becoming.

Everything I’ve worked so hard not to be.

Being the bitch for some suit-wearing rich fuck.

But I’ve strung myself into a web of destruction for her.

And I would gladly do it all over again.

This is what I was worried about, what so many people from my side of town end up doing. It’s why I went to college, to show Sophie that you can escape the rut that a place like this drags you into. And Grandma, she wants a better future for me. She works her ass off to provide for Soph, and one day I hope to have enough money to do the same for her.

I’m not driven by luxury things; I want a simple life. Enough money for a safety blanket in case Soph needs more medical treatment, or if Grams needs something. I don’t want much out of this life, besides time with my girls. Skyler is at the forefront of everything I do. She is my driving force for every decision, big or small.

Except this, anything but this. I need to pretend that I didn’t make that pact with her when it comes to the Keeper, just like she pretends that everything is okay.

After school, when Sky is out somewhere having fun, I’ll be meeting the Keeper to finally know my fate at that cesspool they call the harbor.

Will he own me forever, make me do his bidding until I’m old and gray?

Normally, I would fight to the fucking death for something like this, but his reach is too far, and I have way too many fucking women I care about involved in my life.

Sky, Sophie, Grandma, Rita … If something happened to them, it would be my fault, and I would join my parents in the banyan from the guilt.

I grab my helmet and keys when I see Skyler crawl into Brett’s jeep. I’m going to ride my worries away until night seeps overhead.

Then, I’m going to meet the Keeper.

* * *

The harbor is smotheredin a thick, constant fog. It lays over the ocean like an ominous blanket as I round the corner of the building.

I’ve dubbed this part of town The Loop.

Because I feel like this is where my life begins and ends, right when I open this door to enter the lion’s den and become their slave. I’ll be in an endless Hell loop.

Everyone else is planning their futures, while I’m having my downfall mapped out for me by someone who doesn’t even have a fucking face.

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