Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86177 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Yeah, Leith must’ve seen Jordyn leave. As a result, his gaze rested slightly away from mine. Couldn’t look me in the eye. It was the same as childhood. Rarely did my family dare to look at me when, on those infrequent occasions, I peered from beneath my long hair. They never saw a human. What they saw was that creepy little thing that came after a child was born. A placenta. Yeah. That. Something to discard.
“Why’d you let the lass run off?”
“I’m not like you people.” I scrubbed a hand in my hair.
He sighed, leaning against the doorframe. “Knowing you, you gave that bitter girl all your money.”
“Yes! Now, shut your mouth. She didn’t have a solid foundation. Good parents who loved her.”
Leith held up his hands. “You’ve got a point there. While you’re so busy playing the saint”—he sniggered the name—“how about you turn an assessing finger back on yourself? There comes a point in life where you’ll have to cut the crap, Jamie! Aye, our family is not normal. We’ve bust our butts for you in the past. So-so, what?” Leith asked. “You’d not need us after the rigorous training you’ve gotten. That doesn’t matter, Jamie! We are still your family, and we love you.”
“That girl needs me, and she just walked out, Leith. How about you give me time before you initiate phase two of the intervention of Jamie Mack?”
“It’s MacKenzie! And this is that broken bird scenario all over again. Jordyn isn’t an animal. She’s human. Clearly, she doesn’t want saving!” Leith turned around and dropped his head. Despair tightened his features. I hadn’t seen that look on someone since I’d spent three weeks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina while swimming in full military gear. All while under food restrictions.
What do I do? I couldn’t untwist the harsh look on my face. Couldn’t get past how my family hadn’t been there for Jordyn. After all these years, I’d brought her out of captivity to lose her the second we had a chance to talk? I thought surely that my willingness to set fire to pretty much my last penny of savings would get her to stay. To at least hash things out with me.
Drowning in desperation, I heard Leith’s disappointed dismissive. “Alright, I suppose we’re done here.”
Many hours later, I hadn’t spoken a single word, not even to activate the blinds in my house. I hadn’t felt this spaced out in a while as I sat on the custom couch in the living room. I debated whether I should’ve just chloroformed Jordyn, then thought better of it. She’d never trust me. The lights from the television reflected throughout the open space and onto the dark glass walls. In no time, a nightmare of the past held me under.
Mam had always given Camdyn the usual reprimand about the public bathrooms at the park. At eight years old, almost nine, he was larger than life. With Jake concealed beneath a nursing blanket, she glanced over at my other two toddler brothers, then wagged her finger at Camdyn. “Keep an eye on your bràthair.”
I knew I was safe with my big brother Camdyn at my side. We darted past where Lachlan and Rory played on the little slides. I wasn’t no bairn anymore and had gone down the big kid slide a few weeks ago. Happy about the accomplishment, I’d even told our eldest brothers, Brody and Leith.
But that didn’t stop me from staring up at the climbing rope ladder. Seems like it extended a mile high. “I’ll—”
“No.” Camdyn had clapped a hand onto my shoulder. “You went up the stairs the last time. Are you a wean like Jake?”
“No!” The shout burst from my chest like that auld Braveheart movie Brody loved. When he was a teenager, he said the movie taught him clan business. But, see, he was mean, brutal, just like that movie I watched with my palms over my eyes, for the most part. By the time the actor—with the funny voice, pretending to be a Scot—saved the day, I’d thrown up.
“Alright then!” Camdyn had slapped my shoulder.
I reached for the rope, tugged myself up, and gulped. No fear. Laughing and climbing, we went up the jungle gym. The sunlight streamed down on us as we went through tunnels and made our way to the castle that led to the largest slide.
I was doing this.
I was now a man—
Giggling, I scrambled into the dusk playground castle on my hands and knees. My eyes flicked up from the holes in the concourse—the ground sat almost two stories beneath me—and straight into the eyes of the devil.
“Ye wee …”—the man’s voice sounded far away as fear gripped me—“… from Clan MacKenzie are gonna die!” But he was so close, his breath assaultive.
Behind me, Camdyn scrambled backward on his butt. He slammed his head on the tunnel ceiling. “Jami—”