Barricade

RAINEY

“I bet you’ve noticed I’m mixed up in some sketchy stuff,” Alaric starts. “Funny how we have the same enemy. It’s a small world, isn’t it?

“Our dad used to be buddies with Ron. Some wild stuff happened, and everything went haywire. But don’t worry about him. We’ve got your back, okay?”

I smile and nod.

The party’s over, and Ansel and his brothers, along with Riley and me, are hanging out in the living room.

I managed to tell them about Kendra, and they responded with wide-eyed fascination and words of admiration.

Their reaction was a stark contrast to my mom’s.

While she made her disappointment and disapproval clear, the brothers seemed excited, like I was telling them about an action movie.

When my mom got the call about me splitting a girl’s head open, the words she texted me hurt.

They hurt more than the punch that guy at the club landed on me when he tried to assault me.

Her words were sharp, like a knife, cutting through my heart and leaving a wound that might never heal.

Mother

Rainey Slate, you are such a disgrace. You make me sick. Giving birth to you wasted so much of my time! I could have used those labor minutes to make my life a lot better!

Mother

You better not come home tonight. I am on my way to the school right now and I hope for the sake of that poor girl you almost killed that you get expelled!

Leonardo da Vinci once said there are three kinds of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, and those who do not see.

My mom falls into the last category. No matter how much she sees or how much you try to show her, she’ll always be blind to the truth.

She’ll always side with the wrongdoer, and she’ll always think the worst of you. The worst of ~me~.

“But I gotta say, what you did to that girl was pretty badass,” Arden says, and Aiden nods in agreement.

“Totally badass, Rain. Damn.”

I look at my hands. “It’s not something to be proud of, guys.”

“Are you kidding? That was hot.” Alex frowns. “It’s awesome that you can defend yourself. Plus, Kendra had it coming. What she did was messed up.”

Ansel nods in agreement, and Riley shrugs. “I’ve tried to tell her.”

I sigh. “It doesn’t change the fact that people see me as a monster.”

“You’re not,” Ansel quickly says, reaching for my hand. “It doesn’t matter what other people say about you. The ones who matter won’t judge you, and the ones who judge you don’t matter.

“I think you have the most beautiful soul. What ~we~ think is what matters, right?”

I smile and nod.

“He’s right. I like you, Rain,” Alaric adds. “You’re smart and cool. Way more down-to-earth and loyal than Lea.”

“Speaking of Lea, where is she?” Alex asks, scrunching his face. “She vanished after Ansel went after Rain.”

Aiden shrugs. “I saw her staring at Ansel’s bedroom door from the stairs when Shanelle and I were heading to Mom and Dad’s room.

“She must have seen Ansel take Rain upstairs, but when she realized I saw her, she quickly left the party. She looked upset.”

I glance at Ansel to gauge his reaction, but he doesn’t seem bothered. He’s tracing his thumb over my knuckle, our hands tightly intertwined.

“Well, her loss.” Alaric doesn’t sound like he cares. “By the way, did you just say, ‘while you were on your way to Mom and Dad’s room with Shanelle’?”

“Yeah,”

Aiden smirks as he reaches for a leftover chip from a bowl on the coffee table. He’s about to take a bite when a pillow smacks him in the face, knocking the chip out of his hand.

He closes his eyes. “That hurt.”

“Did you really have sex with a girl on our parents’ bed, Aiden?” Alaric asks, furrowing his brows. Aiden rubs his lip where the pillow hit him.

“First, I think my lip is swollen. Second, Riley and Rainey are here, Ric. Watch your language. And for the record, we used the nightstand, not the bed.”

“What the hell is ‘FYI’?”

“It means ‘for your information,’ but people don’t say that anymore. Aiden’s just behind the times.”

Arden props his feet on the table, scrolling on his phone, the light highlighting his face.

Alaric decides not to respond, turning his attention back to me.

“Anyway, Rain, you’ll find out about what happened with our dad and Ron in time. It’s a long story, but you’ll learn it eventually. You’re one of us now, after all.

“But it’s getting late, and you girls need to get home and rest. Alex will drive you. Don’t worry about Ron. We won’t let him hurt you, okay?”

“Yeah, we’ll cut his throat if he tries to touch you,” Aiden adds, sticking out his lip as he tries to look at it cross-eyed.

I smile gratefully. “Thanks, guys.”

~You are a part of us now, anyway.~

I feel a strong sense of comfort since Alaric said those words. Aside from my dad and Riley, the King boys are the only ones who don’t look at me with contempt.

They don’t judge me, and I realize that family doesn’t have to be blood.

It can be a group of people brought together by fate, offering each other a sense of security.

I feel safe with the King brothers.

***

Riley and I got home around one-fifteen last night. Jeff and Mom were already asleep, which was a relief. We tiptoed upstairs, trying not to wake them.

I was beat. The day had been long and I just wanted to hit the sack.

I borrowed Riley’s phone to call Dad.

He was upset that he hadn’t been able to reach me, but when I told him Miranda had taken my phone, he cooled off and directed his anger at her.

He said he’d put some money in my account and told me to get a new phone ASAP.

I wasn’t thrilled about it. I was attached to my old phone and now I’d have to reinstall all my apps.

But the real shocker was that he decided to enroll Riley at Crosshill High School. I’d told him about what happened and how I didn’t want her at Freetown High.

He thought it was a good idea for her to stay with me and said he’d call Principal Cameron to arrange for her to start next week.

He also said he’d send money for her uniform and school supplies.

~Mom would never do that.~

Riley and I spent an hour talking and laughing about Ansel and Alex.

She told me she and Alex had decided to go steady, and when I showed her the promise ring Ansel gave me, she was over the moon.

I had to quickly cover her mouth so she wouldn’t wake Jeff and Mom.

I finally got her to quiet down and told her about the talk Ansel and I had in his room, including the part where he pulled me onto his lap.

We fell asleep with smiles on our faces. I don’t know what she dreamed about, but I dreamed of a certain dark-haired boy with a perfect GPA.

The morning sun was just peeking over the horizon when I woke up. I checked the clock.

8:15 a.m.

Normally I’d still be asleep, but I was hungry and needed to make breakfast for Riley and me. The doctor had told her to take her meds on time and not to skip meals.

Now that she was staying with me, I had to make sure she followed those instructions. I didn’t want Aunt Valerie to regret letting us stay together.

I shuffled to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, pulled on Ansel’s hoodie, and headed downstairs.

Mom usually sleeps until noon on Saturdays. I planned to make something quick so I wouldn’t have to be in the kitchen with her. Peanut butter sandwiches should do the trick.

I reached up to get a jar of peanut butter from the cabinet, grabbed a bag of bread, and set them on the counter.

I turned on the stove, put the kettle on, and got out two mugs.

Riley loves chocolate tea, so I gave her the bigger mug with the I Love Mom stamp.

“Good morning.”

I jumped at the raspy voice behind me and dropped both mugs. They shattered on the floor.

I turned around and saw Jeff standing in the doorway. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of slacks, and had his arms crossed over his chest.

I looked away in disgust and bent down to pick up the broken pieces. He walked over to me, his footsteps heavy on the floor. ~Too close~.

I pulled away, my back against the counter, and looked at him warily.

“Stay away from me.”

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Will you stop acting like I’m a criminal? I just wanted to help you clean up.”

“I don’t need your help. Just stay the hell away from me.”

I was gripping the counter so hard my knuckles were white, and my breathing was ragged. But I kept my face calm. I wouldn’t let this creep see how scared I was.

I tried to put as much distance between us as I could, but then he put his hands on either side of me. I flinched and glared at him.

“Move.”

“Rain, relax.” His voice was low, like we were sharing a secret. He moved closer, his hands on my waist. “I won’t hurt you.”

Those words sent me into a panic. I remembered him saying the same thing the first time he came to my room: ~“Rain, relax. I won’t hurt you.”~ But then he did.

I closed my eyes. “Stay the fuck away from me. If you don’t back off, I’ll stab you. I will kill you.”

“What’s going on?” Riley was standing in the doorway, still in her zebra pajamas and a black tank top.

She looked from me to Jeff, who had backed off and was looking guilty.

I let out a breath of relief and bent down to pick up the broken pieces. Riley was still glaring at Jeff.

She didn’t know everything about my past. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to tell her about the worst parts.

Those memories made me feel weak and vulnerable, and I didn’t want to go back to that dark place.

But Riley was smarter than I gave her credit for.

She kept glaring at Jeff, like she wanted to say something, but instead she came over to help me clean up.

“Be careful, Rain. I’ll help you.”

I nodded, not meeting her eyes. My hands were shaking a little.

Riley noticed, but she didn’t say anything. She just looked back at Jeff, who was staring at her defiantly.

“You’re back from wherever you disappeared to, and already you’re making a mess of my kitchen.”

My mom’s voice grates on my nerves as she sways into the kitchen, her hips swaying against her burgundy robe with each step.

She plants a kiss on her boyfriend’s lips, murmuring a “good morning.” Jeff barely mumbles a response, but she doesn’t seem to mind as she sizes up Riley and me with a disapproving look.

“The cleaning lady can’t make it today, so make sure you clean up every bit. By the way, when did you get out, Riley?”

“Yesterday,” she replies, continuing to pick up the broken pieces.

Riley knows my mom doesn’t really care about her release, and her response after Riley’s answer confirms it.

“And your mom made it sound so serious. She called me in tears, like you were in some life-or-death situation. Some people are so dramatic.”

Her words sting, and I lose focus, a shard of glass piercing my finger, causing blood to well up.

Riley reaches for my hand in concern, but I’m already on my feet, ready to confront my mom.

“How dare you! How dare you say that when you didn’t even tell me Riley was in the hospital! You have no right to talk about this after what you’ve done.”

She looks at me in what seems like surprise as she rests a hand on her hip. “Why argue? She’s not dead, is she? She’s right here, so stop complaining, child.”

~How can she be so heartless?~

I shake my head in disbelief. “You’re cruel. You’re thoughtless, and all you care about is fancy clothes and hairstyles.

“You have no idea what your daughter is going through, and I’m almost sure you don’t care. Sometimes I wonder if you’re even my mother.

“You keep telling me how upset you are that you ended up with a daughter like me, but the feeling is mutual, Miranda. I’m so upset that I ended up with a mother like you.

“You call Aunt Valerie dramatic, but at least she cares for her child. That’s something you’ll never do, and she’s someone you’ll never be!”

A heavy silence fills the kitchen after my outburst. My mom looks hurt as she opens her mouth to retort.

She decides against it and snaps her mouth shut, taking a few steps back before exiting the kitchen.

A twinge of guilt washes over me, but I try to shake it off. What I said was harsh, but she’s said far worse to me. Those words are nothing compared to her constant verbal abuse.

I let out a sigh as I press a hand to my forehead, noticing that Riley has already cleaned up all the shards and is now looking at me sympathetically.

“Thanks for helping me, Ry. Let’s go, we’re having breakfast at the mall.” I avoid Jeff’s gaze and lead the way out of the kitchen, assuming that Riley is following close behind.

RILEY

“Why are you still here?” Jeff glares at me, his eyes narrowed. “Your friend told you to follow her, didn’t she?”

His expression is pure hatred, and the feeling is mutual. If he thinks I didn’t notice what just happened, he’s got another thing coming.

I cross my arms. “Were you trying to harass my best friend?”

He raises an eyebrow as if he suddenly can’t understand what I’m saying. The first stage of denial is playing dumb.

“What did you just say?”

“I saw you. You were standing way too close to her. I need you to stay away from my friend.”

He laughs, and I narrow my eyes, wondering what he finds so amusing.

“You should mind your own business, little girl. Curiosity kills the cat.”

“Rainey ~is~ my business. She’s my sister. You’re the one who should mind your own business, because Rainey is definitely ~not~ your business.

“And just so you know, I’ll be telling her boyfriend about what you just did, you sick pervert.”

His face twitches at this, and he takes a step toward me. I stand my ground, matching his glare as he lowers his voice.

“If I were you, I’d go paint my nails and stay out of other people’s business. You might get a taste of what you’re poking your nose into.”

“Screw off. I don’t paint my nails, but I’d gladly paint them red with your blood if you don’t stay away from her, jerk. I’ll be telling, and you’ll get what’s coming to you.

“Her boyfriend won’t sit still. And when you get your ass kicked, you’ll learn to stay away. Creep.”

He glares at me with pure venom, and deciding I’ve said all I need to, I turn away and leave the kitchen.