Page 3 of Wicked Riddles & Bitter Heartbeats (Till Death Do Us Part #1)

Chapter Two

Atticus

Sixteen years old…

I’ve been with Lisa and Ed for exactly a year when it all goes to shit. Looking back, I don’t know how I was blind for so long.

They’re nice enough, have some ridiculous rules, but what adult doesn’t?

I don’t always do what they say, they get pissed and call my case worker, who then shows up and scolds me.

But of course they keep me here. I’m not sure why.

I wonder if they get bonuses for dealing with me.

Hush money from the state or some shit to keep me since I’m so “troubled.” Guess I’ll just have to work harder to make them earn that money.

A whoosh of cold air caresses my skin, causing goosebumps and pulling me from my half-awake state.

“Shhh…” someone whispers.

I force my eyes open, wondering who the hell is in my room.

Trenton aged out, so it’s just my room now.

Has been for about two months and it will be that way until they fill it.

The only person who ever sneaks into my room is Violet, but she doesn’t wake me up when she does it.

She silently slips into my bed, and that’s where I find her in the morning when I wake.

She’s the closest thing to a friend I’ve ever had, and I like talking to her. She’s the only person in this world I’ve found that is easy to talk to. She doesn’t judge me, no matter what kind of crazy shit comes out of my mouth.

I think she’s like me. I also think she’s as crazy as I am, but she’s smarter about keeping it quiet.

I get this feeling deep in my gut that we connect on a level other people can’t.

We understand each other, and I’ve never gotten that from someone before.

I know all that soulmate stuff is bullshit.

I don’t believe in it for a second, but something about Violet…

it’s just different. Maybe I’d be sad if I never saw her again—or if she died.

She’s the only person I’ve met that I haven’t thought of killing. So that’s something.

But this isn’t Violet standing beside my bed. It’s Lisa. What the fuck does she want this time of night?

The clock in here is broken, thanks to Trenton throwing one of his fits and then throwing the clock.

Only half of the red letters show up, so I can tell when we’re in a three-digit time or a four-digit time, but that’s about it.

The way my head feels tells me I was only asleep for a couple hours, and I fell into bed around ten.

“Happy anniversary, Atticus. You’ve been with us for a year now, and that means you get a special surprise.

” Her voice is low, weird. The smell of alcohol wafts in the air around us.

It’s not unfamiliar to me. Drinking is her favorite pastime.

A creak has me looking toward the door. Ed, her husband, stands there like a fucking creep. What the fuck is going on?

She puts her hand on my chest and settles onto her knees beside me on the mattress.

“What the fu—”

Her hand presses over my mouth and I try to jerk up, but she applies pressure on my chest with her other hand, using her whole weight and making it hard to breathe.

I could fight her off, get her the hell away from me, but it’ll cause a scene.

And if there’s anything these people hate, it’s a scene.

I don’t love living here, but it’s not the worst place I’ve been.

Better than most other places and I only have a couple years until I can be out on my own.

Me and Violet have plans that are worth waiting for.

It makes sense to chill out here until I age out.

Violet and I agreed we would be on our best behavior so we can stay here until it’s time to go.

I’m older than her by a few months, but she plans to leave when I do.

I don’t think she’s my girlfriend or anything, and we don’t have plans to get married and make a family together, we’re just helping one another because we get one another.

“Just relax, Atticus. Take your surprise. All the other boys love it,” Lisa whispers, lifting off me so I can breathe. I regret it when my lungs fill with stale alcohol. “And if you’re good, you’ll get more surprises.”

I frown into the darkness, my gaze going to Ed who is still standing in the doorway, watching us like it’s his favorite movie.

There’s a faint light from somewhere in the hall, causing him to look like a giant looming shadow.

He’s a big guy, bigger than me. Tall and a little overweight, but not exactly fat.

He used to play football in college, but now it looks like he drinks too much beer and eats too many cheeseburgers.

He could fuck me up if he tried. I don’t eat the way I should, since they feed us fucking rabbit food half the time.

I miss those cheap one-dollar frozen pizzas the group home bought for us.

Surprisingly, I am pretty calm, despite what’s going on. Alarm bells go off in my head, telling me I should fight, that I should be afraid. But I’m just… not. Nothing new there. I don’t react to things the way other people do, and the worst part of this is how close she is.

Lisa’s hand slides down my chest, tugging the blankets down as she goes. She slips her fingers into the waistband of my sweatpants. I jerk up, whacking my elbow on the wall and slapping her hand away.

“The fuck are you doing?” I growl as she catches herself from falling off the bed.

I can tolerate a lot of shit, but this is not something I want. Not with her. Not with anyone. Some guys may be into the mommy thing, but not me. No fucking way.

Ed steps deeper into the room, closing the door behind him and standing in front of it like a fucking barricade.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Atticus,” he warns. “It’s best you lay there and let Lisa give you what you want.”

“I don’t want this,” I shout. “I don’t want you touching my fucking dick.”

“Of course you do,” she coos. “You’re nearly seventeen. Boys your age need this.”

“I don’t need shit except for you to get the fuck out of my room.”

“This isn’t your room, Atticus.” Ed’s voice is low but calm. “This is our room, our house, our roof over your head. We are being kind by letting you stay. Now stop arguing and be a good little boy.”

A good little boy.

Those words have me sick to my stomach, my eyes squeezing shut. It was said to me all the time at the orphanage, and though I’ll never go back there, I can’t help but react.

It’s a shock I’ve gone this long without getting fucking molested in my life, damn. Maybe this is karma for not caring about all those girls who were raped by that worker in the group home. I don’t believe in karma but not believing in something doesn’t stop it from biting you in the ass, I guess.

“Look at you ready for me,” Lisa says, looking down at my dick that is, unfortunately, hard.

It happens when I sleep. It’s just… normal.

That’s what Violet said. She said it just happens to guys, and I trust her.

She doesn’t lie to me or to anyone else.

She’s brutally honest in a way that’s almost artful.

Ed chuckles as his eyes stay on me.

Lisa’s fingers wrap around me, and even with the material of my sweatpants between her skin and mine, it’s too much. It’s disgusting. But with Ed looming over us, there isn’t much I can do.

There have been times in my life when I’ve contemplated death.

I’ve never had the will to kill myself, though if someone were to try to kill me, I’m not sure I’d fight to live.

That all feels like too much work. But right now, stopping this isn’t worth the beating I’d get or being thrown out on the street, or worse.

.. killed. Because then I’d never see Violet again.

She’d be stuck here with these awful people all alone.

The other kids in this house don’t care about her like I do.

They won’t protect her. What if they try doing this to her?

What if they already have been doing this to her?

With that thought, I do the only other thing I can.

I cover my face with my hands and let Lisa use my body to her liking.

It’s the first time it happens, but it’s not even close to being the last.