Chapter 21 (iii)

Muffled as it now was, the conversation was difficult to ignore. Whether my mother decided to keep me or pass me on to the man who bore equal disinterest depended on two factors; how much would she miss torturing me and how badly did Matt want me to stay? My fate lay in the hands of the woman who was as likely to take me as she was to leave me. The home I once felt secure in was dissolving beneath my feet and brought me back to an earlier conversation with Jayden.

Even in the middle of my panic about the future, there was a certain comfort in knowing it was still far enough away that it could be ignored. Now it clawed at my door, more terrifying in this new form that offered less certain outcomes.

I would have to run away. If my mother relinquished me to that man’s care, I would have to liberate myself earlier than I’d initially planned. Jayden wouldn’t be an option; his parents were unlikely to feel comfortable with a runaway minor hiding under their