Page 16 of Gideon

I sighed. “No. Not brushing your teeth can cause bacteria to enter your bloodstream.”

He nodded solemnly. “Except you just woke up.” Which was true. “You can brush them after breakfast.” Which seemed a good idea, and I sat up eagerly.

“Let’s fill your tummy first, baby girl.”

But he was leaving. He’d just said so. And laundry. “But it’s Sunday?”

He didn’t so much as skip a beat. He knew I didn’t mean I objected to eating because it was Sunday, but he knew my mind had skipped back to his meeting and what I needed to do.

“Going forward, I’ll make sure my weekends are free, but this was the only day I could get together with Maddox, Walker, and the contractor.” He forked some eggs, and I opened my mouth obediently. They were good eggs. And they definitely had cheese in them. He even handed me a triangle of buttered toast.

“So. I was hoping you could stay here and relax, draw me a picture for the fridge while I’m gone?”

He wanted a picture for the fridge?My heart bounced. I reallyreallywanted to, but it was Sunday. And I couldn’t go into the basement when it was dark. There were needles on the floor sometimes. And the people who had dropped them might be there. And it was all messed up.

And I wanted to stay here forever. But he wouldn’t keep me. No one ever did.

“Do you think you will have time to drop me at home before your meeting?” I knew if I attempted the bus, he would probably chain me up. I had to appear reasonable, not needy.

“We can call for your things,” he said cautiously and took my hand in his.

And as much as it killed me, I had to be firm. “I need to go home. I have work tomorrow.”

Daddy—Gideon—looked like he was swallowing glass, but he nodded. “You promise to answer when I call you beforebedtime?” He smiled, but it wasn’t the full-on one from a few minutes ago. This seemed forced.

“I promise,” I whispered. And I would until the first time he didn’t call. I was sure he believed he was serious, but eventually he would get sick of me. They always did.

Two hours later I gazed around at the space that had been my sanctuary for the longest time, trying not to feel like it was empty. Daddy had dropped me off a few minutes ago. He’d come inside and checked to make sure I had no monsters under my bed. He’d questioned me repeatedly about if I intended to go out and what I intended to do, and I’d just said I wasn’t going anywhere because I had laundry to do, which seemed to satisfy him. Then he’d gathered me in his arms and said he hated leaving me and I’d bitten my tongue so hard not to admit I agreed. But Monday was one of the hardest days and my longest, so I had to go to bed early. I started at seven and didn’t finish until four. I hadn’t complained when I’d been asked to start an hour earlier, because I was convinced if I couldn’t appear to be flexible enough, I would lose my job, but it was hard. We were supposed to get thirty minutes for lunch, but sometimes we were lucky if we could grab a bite while the kids were eating theirs.

I’d had to lock the door while he stood at the other side and checked, and I had. However, as soon as he left, I had to get my laundry together and go down to the basement. I couldn’t see the parking lot from my window, so I just waited for what I thought was a reasonable time, then gathered everything I needed and crept out of the apartment, hoping no one was gonna notice me. I had my quarters, laundry detergent, and a basket of clothes. I also had a book. Not oneof my new library books in case it got dirty down there, but Black Beauty was a favorite and I almost never cried when I read it now.

I started my first load and settled back in one of the plastic yard chairs to wait it out.

It wasn’t too bad. Mrs. Gallagher from 412 came down, but she was just looking for an errant sock. I wanted to ask about the bruise on her face badly disguised by makeup, but I knew that when I’d asked her before about a different bruise, she hadn’t spoken to me for four months.

“You look happy,” she said after a moment.

I gazed at her. “Did you ever want something so bad you’re afraid you’ll hold it too tight and it will run to get away?”

She met my gaze, which was unusual. “A person or a dream?” Which kind of threw me.

“Both, I think.” Because Daddy was a person, but safety was a dream. She reached out carefully and patted my hand.

“Never stop wanting.”

She reminded me of Poppy, which was silly as she wasn’t a dog, but she still needed rescuing. “You’re in a cage,” I said, still thinking of the dog.

She nodded but a small smile tilted her lips, and she leaned forward. “It’s taken me eleven months to save up enough money, but tomorrow when he’s drunk, I’m on a bus to Carmel.”

I blinked, knowing that was a long-ass way. California wasn’t cheap.

“My sister,” she said in wonder. “Technically half, and I only found her two months ago.” She smiled again. “Shewould have sent me the bus money, but it was important to me that I did it.”

I clasped her hand. “I’m so happy for you.” She nodded and I dropped her hand, then she turned for the door before hesitating. “You won’t stay, right? It wasn’t a lack of money that kept me chained. For a long time, I thought it was all I was worth.”

And carefully, because I knew she was bruised, I walked over and hugged her and promised. Maybe she needed a Gideon, a Daddy. But didn’t we all? Actually, I thought as I folded my clothes, that wasn’t true. I didn’t think Mistress Rachel wanted her juice in a sippy cup and the thought had me giggling.

“What’s so funny?”

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