Page 17 of Wolf

Once we step outside, the cool air soothes my raw cheeks, and I sniffle back more tears as Miriam says, “I shouldn’t ask this of you, but I can’t make it.”

“What? It’s okay,” I say, as she moves along the side of the house.

At the corner, she peeks around it before disappearing and I follow crouching before her as she sags against the side.

I can’t see the extent of her injuries, hidden beneath her clothes, but I hope her baby is okay. Thoughts of which send rage burning through my soul. How dare Daddy beat her knowing that she’s pregnant.

“You could get in trouble,” she warns, and I wave her concern away. I’ll do anything to help her. She’s my sister, after all.

“What?”

“Duke is waiting for me at the edge of the woods. Go. Bring him back.”

I glance back at the house, worried about leaving her here but she crawls toward the bushes where she hid the bag of contraband clothes and collapses to the ground.

“Go.”

As soon as she says it again, I take off down the street, running as fast as my legs will allow. The fresh air sobers me up a bit as I step into the woods and race along the path. My lungs burn and my side aches, but I don’t slow until I see Duke’s idling car.

He glances up, his smile fading when he sees me. After sliding into the passenger seat, I point down the road and gasp, “Go.”

“Miriam—“

“Go now. Please.”

He frowns but pulls away from the curb before following my fingers as I lead him through the neighborhood and down our street.

Two houses from ours, I raise my hand and say, “Turn it off.”

He puts the vehicle in park and turns it off before I wave for him to follow.

The only sound is our feet on the pavement as we go down the street and around the house.

At the bushes, I kneel in the dirt and whisper, “Miriam?”

When she groans, Duke drops to his knees and barks, “What the fuck?”

“Shh,” I hiss, glancing around with my heart in my throat. From here on out, Miriam will hopefully be safe, but god knows what the repercussions will be for me if I’m caught helping her.

“You have to go,” I say.

Duke makes a weird choking sound, his chest rising and falling rapidly before he half rises and says, “I’ll kill him.”

What? Oh shoot.

“No! Go, just go,” I say, grabbing his arm as he looks at me in the moonlight, his mouth in a snarl. For a moment, I don’t think he heard me and panic clenches my chest before he finally nods and drops back to his knees.

Silently, I watch as he gently picks Miriam up. When she groans, he flinches and pauses, staring hard at the house.

Please, just go, I silently plead, relieved when he carries her back around the side and toward his car.

Once she’s gone, I sag against the wall, holding back a sob. Will I ever see my sister again?

I pray the baby is okay as I back away. I can’t quite process what just happened, but I know that with my parents' rage and Miriam taking off everything has changed.

My spine prickles and I rub my hand down my face. If they find out that I helped her go, their rage will turn to me.

Surprisingly, I don’t feel fear, just a sense of rightness. It may be a small act of defiance and if I’m lucky, they will never know. However, I finally found the strength to stand up to them and the notion fills me with hope that I too can someday escape this nightmare.

---