Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 472(@200wpm)___ 377(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
When I reached it, I stopped short at the sight of my aunt in the front seat. Because of the way the light had been shining on the windshield I hadn’t been able to see her from the cabin. She was crying.
“Get in,” Uncle Hank called from the driver’s seat.
“Aunt Lacy?” I asked, getting into the back seat.
She turned without a word and pulled me toward her, the seat back awkwardly blocking us from any real contact. Her hand ran down the back of my head and smoothed over my shoulder.
“Enough,” Uncle Hank said gruffly as she sniffled. “Put your seat belts on.”
I felt almost dazed as I sat back in my seat and watched out the window while he turned the car around and left the cabin behind us. The car was silent long after we’d reached the road and I was dying to talk to them, but I didn’t know what to say. It was the first time I’d seen them since I’d told my parents I was pregnant. Were they angry with me? Was there any chance that I could convince them to let me stay with them? My dad was the eldest and the head of the family which meant that Uncle Hank deferred to him on most things, but he’d looked so shocked when he saw me. Maybe he hadn’t known where I was. Maybe he was upset enough that he’d finally stick up to my dad and do something about the ludicrous situation.
“Hank,” Aunt Lacy said quietly, her voice hoarse.
He ignored her.
“She’s skin and bones, Hank.”
My eyes widened in surprise and I looked down at my arm, pushing up the sleeve of my sweater. It looked the same to me.
“You good on supplies?” my uncle asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“I’m getting short,” I replied, almost shocked at the question. Beyond the fact that it was a stark reminder of where I’d been, I realized then that Uncle Hank and Aunt Lacy showing up at the cabin was proof that they’d known where I was the whole time. He’d probably been the one who’d stocked the cabin with supplies.
My dad hadn’t been the only one to abandon me. He hadn’t lied about where I’d gone. Everyone knew that I was stranded in a place with no running water or electricity and they hadn’t come to rescue me. The knowledge was a blow I hadn’t been prepared for.
After so long without any contact, I struggled to make sense of what was happening. The car was too loud, the seat belt too tight, the vibration of the road almost too much for my senses.
“We’ll stock you up before we bring you back,” he said quietly.
My fists knotted in my lap.
“We can’t—”
“Quiet, Lace,” Uncle Hank scolded, his voice not unkind but firm.
It was a while before anyone spoke again.
“We’ll have to stop by the house,” Aunt Lacy murmured, reaching out to put her hand on Uncle Hank’s arm. “We can’t take her in public like this.”
I looked down at myself for a second time, taking in the limp dress I was wearing and the tights that had a couple of holes in the knee from where I’d snagged them on a stump outside. I put my hand on my knee, covering the holes, ashamed for some reason.
“Yeah, okay,” he replied. “Just a shower, or we’ll be late.”
The familiar sights of Eugene were like a balm to my soul. I kept my gaze out the window as we passed my elementary school, the grocery store, the park that Becka and I used to race to in the summer. People were walking their dogs and driving their cars and generally going about life like everything was normal and I soaked it all in. There was still life outside the little cabin. The world was still turning.
I let Aunt Lacy lead me into their guest bathroom and turn on the shower, but when I opened my mouth to speak, she stopped me with a jerk of her head.
“You know where everything is,” she said, handing me a towel. “I’ll just grab you something to wear, okay?”
I nodded and watched wide-eyed as she left the room and closed the door behind her.
I wished I could’ve appreciated the shower more. The hot water and actual shampoo were such a luxury that I really should’ve been marveling, but I wasn’t. I was too afraid of what was going to happen next. What did she mean when she’d mentioned taking me in public? Who was I going to see? Why had Uncle Hank picked me up and not my mom and dad? Did my mom even know that I was back in town? If she did, would I get to see her? Tears pricked my eyes as I thought of her. I missed my mom. She was weak, I knew that. She should’ve stood up for me when my dad told me to pack my things. She should’ve done something. But she was still my mom.