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CAIN
Fourteen Years Ago
Life was a series of disappointments,one after another. If there was one lesson I’d learned, it was that.
And the biggest one?
The man sitting across the breakfast table glaring at me.
His wife, Jackie, was talking about her plans for the day. She had a lot of clients in her hair salon in the center of town, and she had to leave early to get to them. The salon was new and was a passion project of hers. Donny despised the fact that she worked at all.
I wasn’t sure why he hated her being out of the house so much, but I had a feeling it was because it meant he was forced to watch me.
To be fair, I also hated being watched by him. My other foster parents had left me by myself since I was ten. But he insisted on it, saying I would steal something if left alone.
I was already dreading the day, and it hadn’t even begun.
He didn’t like me, that much was obvious. The feeling was mutual. Since I’d come here three months ago, I’d been thevictim of his yelling fits more times than I could count. And I’d thrown it right back.
He’d threatened to kick me out once a day, but whenever my social worker would come to check on me, he stayed silent while Jackie told them how good of a kid I was.
I tried to be. For her. She was the nicest foster mother I’d met.
Donny, on the other hand?
Worst foster father ever. And that was saying a lot.
I was a difficult kid. No one would say it to my face, but I didn’t do well in any of the homes I had been put in. Some were fine, but I was packed in with too many others to focus on my schoolwork. Others were only in it for the money, and it was obvious. With one mess up after another, my options dwindled.
My social worker thought that getting into nature would be the key to me finally assimilating somewhere. When I first saw the tiny trailer amidst a sea of green grass, I thought I would hate it. But there weren’t many sounds outside. Only birds and wind.
I kind of liked it.
Which meant it would all end soon.
“I need to get on the road into town,” Jackie said. “It’s such a long drive.”
“Can I go with you?” I asked it all the time. “I can be helpful.”
Her gaze flicked to her husband and then to me. “I have a job for you.”
“A job he can do?” Donny mumbled. “I doubt it.”
I opened my mouth to snap that I could do a lot of things, but Jackie’s hand landed on my shoulder, and I focused only on her.
“Bennie is our neighbor up the hill. He owns a lot of farmland. He’s getting old and needs some help around the farm.”
“Can’t believe he even said yes. I told him this little punk was a thief.”
“I don’t steal! You’re the one who smoked through your last pack.”
“No, I didn’t. You took ’em. I know you did!”
Jackie glared at Donny, but her eyes softened when she looked at me. “Do you wanna go there today?”
“I’ll do it,” I said. I would do anything if it meant getting away from Donny. She smiled and grabbed my arm.
“I’ll walk you there and introduce you. Then I really need to get going.”