Page 1 of Where the Stars Heal

PROLOGUE

HALLE (AGE 10)

Eleven Years Ago…

I’m scared. The yelling is so loud it hurts my ears. My hands won’t stop shaking, and my pencil keeps slipping, making it too hard to keep drawing. I don’t want to be here anymore.

I hope Hunter comes in soon and says we can go on an adventure. We haven’t gone on one in a long time. We used to every day—we’d climb trees, we’d swing on the jungle gym in the park, and play games. But now, he’s always too busy with school or work, so I just hide in my room a lot. It’s safer here. Ray doesn’t like it when I draw in the living room. He says I take up too much space, and I don’t like making him mad. His mad is scary.

Momma says I should do whatever it takes to not make him mad. She says that’s how I won’t be scared. If he tells me to do something, I’m supposed to do it no matter what. But sometimes it’s really hard because his mean words hurt, and I don’t like doing things for people who are mean.

I wish Momma would just tell him to stop.

I flinch as something crashes into the wall, the sound so sharp my ears ring and I scramble off my bed, grabbing my favorite pen and book. They make me feel safe. I dart behind the closet door, my hands shaking as I slide down the wall, keeping my knees pulled up tight to my chest. The quiet and the shadows here make everything feel safe.

“Hey, Hals.” Hunter opens the closet door, smiling softly at me.

“Hunter!” I leap at him, wrapping my arms around his neck so tightly that a puff of air escapes him.

He’s here. Everything will be okay now.

He chuckles, ruffling my hair, and sets me back down on my feet. “How about we play a game of hide and seek?”

Excitement bubbles up, pushing out all the bad feelings. I love playing this game with Hunter. I’m so good at picking my hiding spots that sometimes it takes him hours to find me. Sometimes, when I stay so quiet, Momma finds me instead.

“Okay,” I say, bouncing on my toes. “But I get to hide first.”

“You got it, kiddo.” He ruffles my hair again and I swat his hand away, grinning at him.

I run out the door, heading for my favorite spot in the shed out the back, but as I pass the kitchen, I slow down.

The broken plates catch my eye, little shards and big shards scattered across the floor. My heart in my chest feels tight and I bite on my thumb.

“It’s okay, Hals.” Hunter’s voice comes from behind me.

He spins me around gently, kneeling so he’s in front of me. His smile is full of excitement but his eyes seem sad.

“I’m gonna count to twenty and then come find you.”

“Okay,” I say, “but I bet it’ll take you forever to find me.”

Hunter laughs. “You’re too good, Hals,” he says, drawing me into a tight hug.

“Love you, lil sis,” he murmurs into my ear.

I pull back and smile so wide at him. “Ready, set, go!” I squeal, spinning away and taking off to hide.

My legs are sore from sitting and waiting for Hunter to find me. It’s been hours, or at least it feels like hours, and I’m getting cold. Goosebumps make the hairs on my arms stand up and my tummy growls loudly, making me wrap my arms around it. He has to find me soon. He always does. And if he doesn’t, Momma will come and find me. They always do…

“Halle…”

A soft voice calls from the door. My eyes feel heavy and I push myself up from the cold floor. Dust clings to my pretty purple shirt. I try to brush it off and frown, watching it get dirtier.

It’s dark in here. When did it get dark?

“Honey,” a voice calls again. I blink rapidly, trying to get my eyes to adjust to the shadows.

“It’s me, Sarah,” she says gently. “Hunter told me to come find you.”

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