24

The woman stared at me with curious eyes. Slater said she wanted to talk to me. He said she was nice, but I wasn't so sure.

"There's nothing to be scared about," The woman told me.

"Not scared," I told her.

The woman scribbled down on a piece of paper. "I want to talk about your parents."

"No."

"No?"

"Gone," the word leaves my mouth as I think about what Slater told me. The woman looks at me as she waits for me to continue. "They are gone."

"What did you mean 'gone'?"

"Don't have to see them again."

"Don't you want to see your parents after everything you've been through?" She questioned softly.

"No," I told her and it was the truth. I didn't want to see them not now, not ever.

"Why?" She pressed and I was quickly becoming tired of the questions. I didn't reply and the woman sighed. "I need you to talk to me, Milo. They're asking to see you and I—"

"No!"

Slater said they were gone. They had to be gone. Gone forever.

"Milo—"

"No, no, no," I shook my head. I didn't want to see them.

"If you don't want to see them, I need you to talk to me," she spoke softly. "Did they do something to you?"

She stared at me and an uncomfortable feeling flooded my body. Was she trustworthy? Slater let her talk to me, so he had to trust her, right?

"Hurt..." I managed to say quietly. "They hurt me."

"They hurt you?" She repeated and I nodded. "Can you tell me what happened?"

...

"Milo!" Mom stormed out of her room with a nasty glare on her face.

My mood immediately dampened at the sight of it. When Mom was mad, she was mean and these days she was always mad.

"I thought I told you to stay away from that damn window! Did I not?"

"You did," I answered, but it was too late. The damage had already been done.

"When will you learn to listen?!" She screamed, hitting me with each word. She turned to Dad who sat there, unbothered by the scene taking place in front of him. "Do you see what an unruly child he is? What are we going to do with him?"

Dad glanced up and hummed in thought. "He is an omega. Our options are not as limited as you may think, honey."

"I suppose we could earn some money off of him," Mom stood up, but not before making sure to throw me a dirty look, telling me to stay down. "But he lacks manners and isn't exactly much of a looker."

"We can try," Dad pulled her closer, acting as if I wasn't there. "We'll see if he's worth anything and if he isn't...well, leave it to me."

He met my eyes when he said that and my heart dropped. The way he stared at me wasn't his typical disinterested, disgusted expression. It was darker, more sinister than I'd seen before.

Mom grinned at him and she gently pulled him down the hall where I wasn't allowed to go, leaving me on the floor. My heart was beating wildly and for a long moment, I didn't dare to move. The way Dad had looked at me filled me with fear. What...what would he do to me?

I didn't want to stick around to find out.

I waited for what felt like hours to make sure Mom and Dad weren't watching me and when I was sure they weren't, I left the house and ran. I ran as fast as I could without looking back. I didn't want to live with them. I didn't want to be hurt anymore.

I ran until the house was no longer in view and stopped when I thought I was far enough away. I took a seat underneath a tree and tried to catch my breath. Tears threatened to fall. Not because I missed them, but because I didn't know what to do now.

As I sat there, trying to gather my thoughts, I heard a rustling in the bushes. My heart raced, and I held my breath, afraid it was my parents coming after me. But instead, a kind face peeked through the leaves.

"Hello," an older man greeted me with a smile, revealing gold teeth. "Are you lost!"

I shook my head quickly. I didn't want to be sent back to Mom and Dad.

"No? Where are your parents then?" He tried again, but I didn't answer. "Are you homeless? Do you not have parents?"

Without really thinking about it, I nodded. If I said I was all alone then he couldn't take me back.

"The woods are no place for a child," the man softly spoke. "How about I take you to the city and we'll try and figure out what to do from there, okay?"

I hesitated. What if it was a trap and he was going to send me back? What if he was one of Mom and Dad's friends? I started to say no, but when I saw the smile on his face and the inviting look in his eyes, I hesitated. Would he really hurt me? He looked so kind...

Noticing my expression, the man's gaze softened. "I just want you to be safe. If I leave you out here then you could get hurt or bad people could find you. You don't want that do you?" I shook my head. "Then come with me."

He held his hand out and I took a deep breath and grabbed it. Anything was better than Mom and Dad.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

"Milo. What's yours?"

His smile grew. "My name is Alfie."

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