Page 1

Chapter 1

Mine

What the fuck was she doing?

As I walked by my neighbor’s house on my way back from the convenience store with a sack full of junk food in one hand and a slushie in the other, someone started banging on the window from inside to get my attention. Lucky for them and unlucky for me, I was mute, not deaf.

The sun glared against my sensitive, green eyes since I forgot my sunglasses before I left, making them difficult to make out, but the person was clearly pounding on the glass to the point I was worried it would shatter at any moment. I knew it wasn’t my neighbor, Lucinda, and she didn’t usually have visitors as far as I saw, but her car was gone, and everything besides the banging person was quiet and normal.

The banging stopped, and we stared at each other in silence. I could make out her sad eyes and frown from here. Her fingertips trailed down the window pane as hope left her due to my lack of movement. I thought about walking away, leaving this problem for the next person because trouble always found a way into my life. She saw that in my eyes as they held hers, but I wasn’t an awful person even if karma had dubbed me one from the moment I was born.

I waved at her and held up one finger, signaling that I would be there in a minute. I set my bag and drink on my porch and jogged back over, climbing the steps to Lucinda’s porch, and stood in front of the window.

A teenage girl, who looked around fifteen, with green eyes and red hair greeted me with tear-stained eyes and panic lacing her features. She looked exhausted and broken, but the hope was returning.

What the fuck was Lucinda doing here? She was a bit of a recluse but in the odd way where you always thought they were keeping someone trapped in the basement for experiments and not the I enjoy the quiet life way. I wanted to be wrong, but if this looked how it felt, then I was spot-on in my assessment and cursed my gut for knowing better.

The girl started talking at warp speed, but between the glass muffling the sound and her mucus-filled throat from crying, I could barely make anything out. I did however catch “help me” and “my aunt,” so that explained who she was at least.

I pressed my lips together in thought, trying to decide the best way to go about this. As long as we didn’t leave the property, it wasn’t kidnapping, right?

I mouthed “key” and mimed opening a locked door, hoping she got the idea. It worked, but she just shrugged and started talking again. I held up my hands, needing her to slow down and breathe.

She did as I asked, and her words were much clearer, shedding some light on the situation.

“It’s magic. I don’t know how.” I rolled my eyes and sighed. Of course it was magical. An area I had no business meddling in. “The door won’t open, and my cell isn’t working, so I can’t call my dad.” The last part ended on a sob, and a piece of me broke. I knew what it was like to not be able to reach a parent.

After a second of letting myself feel the pain, I buried it away again and figured trying to kick in the door or shatter the window was the best bet. Lucinda could bill me later, not that I would pay it if she was planning to do some sick shit to her niece. Maybe I shouldn’t do this, but if Lucinda was a fucked-up woman…

I signed to her, hoping some of it came through. Most people I ran into got the idea if I went slow and half acted it out. Due to situations like this and an understanding that sign language was, in general, a more inclusive language, more and more schools taught their students from a young age. Not many carried it on into their teenage years, but the basics helped me a lot in life when I went to the store or the movies and apparently, saving teenagers.

Stand back. I’m going to try and break the window. I held my hands up, motioning for her to step back when she didn’t immediately follow my instructions.

“Break it?” she asked, and I huffed before repeating myself.

This time, I didn’t sign. I pointed to the flower pot, then mimed chucking it at the window, doing a version of jazz hands to signify the glass shattering and falling all over the place.

The girl held back a bit of laughter but finally did as I instructed.

Typically, this would not be my first choice, but if I had to guess, the door was spelled to remain shut until her return. I was hoping the rest of the house was left as is because who was crazy enough to throw a potted plant through a neighbor’s window to rescue some kid they just met who could be lying through their teeth?

She did as instructed, and I heaved the stone pot into my arms and chucked it at the window, surprised by the strength I had found out of nowhere. There was a moment of regret, but as soon as the window shattered and my thoughts were proven correct, relief took over mixed with worry that I did this for no good reason.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she squealed through happy tears as she climbed through the window, avoiding the broken shards and bits that still poked up through the opening.

Her arms wrapped around me, nearly knocking us both over. I awkwardly patted her back, then she pulled away and looked around. She was a little shorter than I was and wore a simple pair of dark-wash jeans; an oversized, gray sweater; and white tennies.

“We should probably get out of here.” I cut her off with an arm swiping through the air.

No, I signed.

“No? Why save me, then?”

Explain to me.

She sighed and glanced around nervously as if Lucinda would show up out of thin air.

“Fine, if it will get us out of here, then fine. My father is the aid to the Primarchy council, and Lucinda is his sister. I’m here while he’s off doing whatever for them, but I overheard her talking on the phone to someone. She plans to sell me.”