Page 53 of We Are Yours
“You worthless piece of shi?—”
“Kraven, guess what?” I distracted him from what was happening in our living room.
“What?” He smiled.
His front tooth was missing. He’d lost it that morning. I made a mental note to leave the cookie I stashed from the lunchroom in my backpack under his pillow from the tooth fairy tonight.
My parents were about to haul ass, leaving us to fend for ourselves. They’d have to go into hiding for a few days. If they owed this guy money, they had others who’d come barreling through our lives soon. CPS wasn’t far behind.
Our parents were in active addiction right now. We didn’t stand a chance against that. We never did.
“The tooth fairy is coming tonight,” I lied to Kraven, making him roll his eyes at me.
“She’s not real.”
“She is.”
“No, she’s not. I’m not dumb.”
“Kraven,” I said with a stern tone. “I’ve seen her.”
He eyed me skeptically as Dad shouted, “Get the fuck out of my house!”
A man yelled, “You pay me what you owe me, or I’m going to break your fucking legs!”
I hadn’t seen this guy before. Ignoring the rambling and thrashing through the thin walls, I spent the next minute trying to distract Kraven as best as I could, but it didn’t matter this time.
Someone must have called the cops.
One second, I’m silently praying this wouldn’t escalate, and the next, I ordered, “Kraven, run!”
My bedroom door kicked open, and all hell broke loose.
The cop announced, “They’re in here! We got two of them!”
“Kraven! Go! Run!” I charged the officer, wanting him to get a head start.
We couldn’t be split up again. We just got our family back together.
What a joke…
Kraven didn’t move an inch, his feet glued to the floor beneath him. Watching the scene unfold in front of his fearful eyes, we witnessed yet another one of our worst nightmares happen all over again.
“Julius!” Kraven screamed bloody murder as the officer held me back.
My body turned inside out, waiting for the man who’d appear next.
I tried to fight off the cop, but it was no use. Once I caught sight of the black SUV through my window, I knew it was over.
I hated that car.
Except it wasn’t just one this time.
It was two.
Which only meant one thing.
We’d immediately be split up.
