Page 75 of A Foster Fling
“Good! Hurry up and clean up. We got Chinese!”
Turning away from Jaiden, I look around my side of the room just realizing I don’t know where I left my bag. Something hits me and I stumble. My backpack is next to my feet and I’m about to cuss him out when I see him take off his shirt to get changed. The yellow of the bruise is fading to the point of almost melding back into his light skin.
My eyes burn again when I see the light stripes on his back from our father’s ‘teaching sessions’ when Jaiden didn’t follow the rules.
WhendoesJaiden follow the rules?
I turn and chuckle at the thought. A drawer slams so hard, I can almost hear the wood splintering as it bounces back open.
Taking off my own shirt, I turn to scowl at him.
He bares his teeth at me as he pulls the rest of his shirt down and leaves the room. Closing my eyes, I let out a long, exasperated breath. Now that the tension in the air is gone with its owner, I’m left confused. I should be glad he’s far away from me.
But why does my chest still hurt like this?
Chapter Five
Jaiden
These pleasantries can bury us alive, and no one would be the wiser at how our souls slowly withered away in the lies.
“How was school?”
“It was fine,” Melanie replies.
Dad gives her a smile.He loves that bitch.He’s always loved her the most. Hisperfectchild. When his eyes stray to me, they harden. I haven’t even said a word yet, and he already hates me for what I might say.
“Jaiden, honey, how was school?” My mother tries.
“Fine.” I shove some of the broccoli into my mouth, so I don’t have to suffer through any more stupid questions.
I’m sure all the teachers have all informed my parents of my current situation. Then again, they’re barely home enough to even check the mail daily.
Out of nowhere, my mother drops, “So, we’re thinking about going on a missionary trip with the church.”
I choke. My eyes water from how hard I’m coughing, and someone’s hand is on my back. I slap it off me as I regurgitate the broccoli that tried to relieve me from this living hell into a napkin.
Mom’s worried look, Dad’s disgusted look, and Melanie’s scowl only add to the rocky emotions I have simmering under my skin. I can almost physically feel my mental walls go up as anger, hate, guilt, shame, and indifference start to make a dangerous concoction. My skin prickles and I’m on the verge of something that scares me. I can’t contain it.
Pushing the chair back with a loud screech, my head ticks from the sound as I grind my teeth down, almost popping my jaw. “May I please be excused?”
Dad stares at me hard. He’s probably whipping me mentally by this point. He’s stopped since I turned sixteen, the scars needing to heal before child services come around questioning. Grinding my teeth again, I stare right back at him. I’m tired of all this bullshit—all the lies of this perfect life they want to portray.
“That’s fine, honey. I’ll save you some leftovers. Make sure you come back down to eat before you sleep, okay?”
The temperature in the room rises as I watch Mom move around the kitchen in my periphery. Dad’s nostrils flare, but Melanie steals his attention.
“A mission trip? Where are you guys headed?”
The moment he breaks eye contact first is when I turn and stomp up the stairs. His dominating alpha act doesn’t fool anyone. He’s a master of mind games and manipulation. But I’m no longer that little boy that was tossed in the middle of a premade life. No. He made me this way. He’s going to have to deal with it.
“It’s going to be two weeks in Brazil…”
I slam the door, not wanting to hear their voices anymore. My skin still itches, and I want to rip my own flesh off to stop this feeling. Grabbing some clothes and a towel, I open the door and walk towards the upstairs bathroom. Making sure to lock it behind me, I start the water. Closing the toilet lid, I drop my stuff and stare in the mirror.
The face that stares back makes me jump. Slapping the side of my head and shaking it, I look again. The image wavers, but it’s me. I’m going fucking nuts. Ofcourse,it’s me.
It’s me.