Page 23 of Reclaiming Home

We decided to put the bedding into the washing machine with the unscented liquid detergent I’d bought. That way nothing would smell like the store to me, or the old liquid Carys would’ve had to smell before. Kye got rid of the rest of the old bottle, while Carys tried not to show how much it meant to her.

At least I could thank my wolfy senses for that; scents were important to us, and I knew how visceral they could be in various ways.

The levity from earlier vanished as soon as we all sat on the couch. Carys was between Kye and me, the bookending feeling important for support.

Kye brought out his phone. “Okay. Here goes.” He made the call.

Chapter Six

Kye

Iput the phone to my ear and held Carys’s hand with the other. As I waited for Dad to answer, I looked at Brodie, wondering why we felt so safe with him. Safe enough to not only have this conversation with him present, but believing that hehad tobe there for it.

“Kynan?” Dad sounded confused.

“Hey, Dad,” I started. “Do you have a few moments? I need to talk to you about something.”

“Uh, well let me go in the spare room, just a second.” I heard him call out to Theresa, but I couldn’t tell what was being said. Then, I heard a rustling and heard a door close. “Okay, son. What’s up?”

“I’m going to put you on speaker. There’s someone here who wants to talk to you.”

“Okay…?”

I held the phone between us and swiped the speaker on.

“Hi Dad,” Carys said, her voice shaky but strong at the same time.

“What? Carys?” We could hear him choke on a sob, and then a sound of the springs of the old bed that had once been mine creak as he sat down. “W-what? How? I….”

She took in a deep breath, then calmly said, “Long story short, I ran away and I got trafficked. I got saved by Brodie—say hi, Brodie.”

He snorted softly and rolled his eyes. “Hello, Mr. Rossi.”

Dad sputtered a little but waited for Carys to continue.

“I called Kye and he came to us immediately. That’s about it. I’m safe.”

After some sniffling, Dad cleared his throat. “That’s… that’s good to hear. Uh….”

“It’s been rough. I’m gonna need a lot of therapy, I think,” she continued more quietly. The teenager who had gone for shock value with her cavalier attitude about delivering the news only moments ago was simmering down.

“Well if you come—”

“No. Absolutely not. I won’t step my foot into that house as long as Theresa is there.” The emotion in her voice was so firm I felt my eyes widen a bit.

“B-but—”

“I’m an adult now. I don’t want anything to do with Theresa.”

I nodded, even though Dad couldn’t see it. “Me neither. We’re good where we are. We feel safe here.”

“Where are you, exactly?”

“Pennsylvania,” I said, not willing to give him the town name.

Carys gave me an approving look. “I’ve been here for seven months. Before that I was all over the Southwest.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come home?” Dad asked.

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