Page 46 of Covenant

I had the perfect childhood.

But then Mom got sick.

Too sick to catch us sneaking past.

Too sick to bake.

Too sick to get out of bed.

Until, one day, the sickness took her.

All laughter stopped after that. Wylder and Samson eventually went off to college, and Cade started attending sleepaway camp for the summers.

That left just me, Dalton, and Harley with Father. Father who’d lost his anchor, the person who smoothed his rough edges. The one who took his cruel nature and softened it.

He’d never been a great dad, but without Mom…

He became my worst nightmare.

My older brothers didn’t know what he’d become. Dalton had suggested on more than one occasion that we tell them, but what was the point? It wasn’t like they could do anything. None of them liked being here anyway, not now that Mom was gone.

Instead, I took the brunt of Father’s rage. I stood between him and my younger brothers, allowing myself to be his punching bag. I did whatever it took to protect them.

I’d spent two summers stuck in the house with just Father. Dalton and Harley were signed up for sports programs, but since I wasn’t athletic myself, I was left behind at home. Summer represented months of boredom, fear, and torture.

But then I met Wyatt.

My summers are now filled with laughter again. With him, I’m a kid. I’m not worrying about what’s awaiting me at home. I don’t care if Father scolds me for dirt on my knees or refuses me dinner because there are twigs in my hair.

I don’t care.

Being with Wyatt makes everything worth it.

I’m running through the woods to our meeting place. I always run. Not because I enjoy it, but because it gets me to him quicker.

As the trees pass me by, I wonder what we’ll get up to today. It’s hot, so maybe the lake? Or maybe I can persuade Wy to go into town. To let me treat him to an ice cream.

Not that he’ll let me buy it. That’s an argument I haven’t won yet.

Mind abuzz with ideas for the day ahead, I skid into the clearing. Wyatt is already there, sitting on the floor, back against a tree.

Immediately, I know something’s wrong. He doesn’t look up at my approach. There’s no welcoming smile or witty quip.

His head hangs low, his hands gripped together so tightly that his knuckles are white.

Panic floods me as I rush to drop beside him. “Wy? What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

He doesn’t answer straight away. I know he knows I’m here from how he leans to the side.

“Wy?” I ask tentatively. “Has someone hurt you?”

If they have…I don’t know what I’ll do. There’s no way I’ll let them get away with it though. I’ll call one of my older brothers. I don’t see much of them anymore, but they’ll help me, right? They have to. I can’t have Wyatt getting hurt. It makes my stomach upset.

It makes me angry.

He shakes his head, and my shoulders loosen. Not all the way. Not when I see the tear track down Wy’s cheek.

“Mom’s pregnant,” he says finally. My stomach flips at the flatness in his tone. That’s not my Wy. He’s not emotionless. He feelseverything.

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