Page 120 of Unravelling The Beast

"Yeah, I'm fine; first and foremost, I just wanted to apologize for the other night."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Trust me, we rarely have normal fucking birthdays or dinners in my family."

She laughs, and I push myself to laugh in response.

"Okay, so I was wondering if you were busy right now?"

"Erm, I'm not really; why? What's up?"

"Well, Arlo isn't here, and I don't want to bother him, but I have a family emergency, and I need you to come and get Cree until Arlo or myself can come and collect him later."

She takes a brief pause before responding.

"Okay, no worries. I'll be there in thirty minutes; is that all right?"

My shoulders ease slightly.

"Perfect, thank you so much."

She speaks cheerfully before hanging up, not suspecting anything.

"Okay, see you soon, bye!"

I tuck my phone in my back pocket and open the front door. I drag my heavy suitcase down the path, then open the trunk and set it inside. I then swiftly lock my car and head back to the house.

When I walk in and close the door behind me, I go straight to the kitchen, open a drawer to get a notepad and pen, and start writing.

Arlo.. Please don’t think I’ve given up on you or Cree.

I scribble it out, rip the paper from the pad, and start over.

Arlo.. I'm sorry for doing this, but I don't have a choice.

I scribbled that before ripping the paper off again, frustrated with myself and welling up in my eyes.

Tears fall onto the paper as I write, and I brush them away as I finish the note. When I'm done, I rip it out of the pad, set it on the counter, and discard the other paper.

My heart bleeds as I take a big breath and stare down at it, laying there for him to see. This is extremely unfair, but what other option do I have?

I have no idea what Arlo's father is capable of, but Arlo himself has warned me twice about him now. I can't risk something bad happening to my baby sister; I don't care about myself, but nothing can happen to her.

I step back from the note, wiping tears from my eyes, and turn around to head up the stairs to get Cree.

As I make my way to his bedroom, I try to fix myself so he doesn't see or pick up on my emotional state. I stand outside his door for a bit, completing a breathing exercise, before carefully pushing the door handle down and entering his bedroom.

He stirs as I walk in, and I talk softly.

"Wakey, wakey."

I smile down at him as he rubs his eyes, then reach into his bed and lift him out. I place him on my hip, trying not to groan from the pain in my stomach, and I speak enthusiastically.

"Did you get enough sleep?"

“Mmmhmmm..”

As I reach into his drawer and take out a coat, shoes, and his bag, he speaks.

"Are we going somewhere?"

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