The next morning,Skull sat next to Chase under the window. The boys sat quietly, watching over the other children as they slept.
"That couple really took you like their own."
"Yeah."
"Think they'll take Boots?"
"Probably not."
"I have to tell Togo you're here."
"Will he let you guys go for handing me over?"
"Let's hope."
"You guys should leave L.A."
"We barely have money for winter."
"The ring. You can get a couple grand for it." Chase advised.
Skull nodded thoughtfully, and the boys sat in silence again. As the morning wore on, the other children woke up one after another. Even while awake, Boots refused to let go of Chase.
When Skull left, Boots hurried to a corner and picked up an old cookie tin box. The girl excitedly opened the box and pulled out little playdough figures one by one, showing them the Chase. Boots was good with her fingers and loved making figures.
"For Shred!" The girl excitedly held up a figure, waiting for Chase to take it.
"I can't take it now, Boots." He held up his hands, showing they were tied.
"MMM!" The girl angrily shook the figure in front of Chase's face.
"Knock it off Boots. He's not one of us." An annoyed girl the same age as Chase said
When Boots kept pushing the figure in Chase's face, the other girl snatched it from her and threw it across the room. Boots flew into a rage and attacked the girl, screaming and bombarding her with closed fist blows.
"Boots!"
Three other children grabbed hold of the little girl, restraining her. However, she kept flailing and trying to bite them.
"Kay, get out! Guys, bring her here." Chase said with his hands raised.
The children followed Chase's direction begrudgingly. They manoeuvred Boots closer to him, and he dropped his arms around her, pulling her closer. Boots flailing around bit into his arm, with tears running down her face as she let out a shrill. Chase made popping sounds with his mouth against the little girl's head. Gradually, the girl calmed down and let him go.
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"Skull's coming, and he's got company." The lookout said hurriedly.
The children scurried about the room, scampering to stash cash and trinkets in secret spots. A boy, a year older than Chase, took Boots and her tin box out of the room to another down the hall.
Skull gave three slow knocks on the door before entering. He looked at the faces of the children in the room, and understanding passed among them. Behind him was a woman who looked older than her age. She was dressed more modestly than Chase remembered, in jeans and a t-shirt.
The woman pushed past Skull, pulling out her cellphone. She then took a picture of Chase and made a call.
"It's him." She said to the person on the line. "Yes. I will."
Following her phone conversation, the woman hugged Chase, apologising for the things she had said and done in the past, saying that she didn't mean anything and that she loved him.
"Come, let's go home. Things will be better, you'll see." She said. "I promise to be a good mother. You'll forgive me, right? You know, I didn't mean those things. Togo thinks you snitched, but I know you wouldn't, right? He's out of town for a few days; let's go home. It's been a while since you had a proper home-cooked meal."
She turned to Skull and ordered him to let Chase go and return his things. Skull quickly gave out orders, and the children repacked Chase's bag and had him untied and dressed again. Though they kept the money and the ring,
The woman attempted to take hold of the bag and the boy's hand, but he quickly withdrew from her, swiping the bag before she could. Sadness crossed her face, but she smiled through it and invited Chase to leave with her.
The two walked to the bus stop, and along the way, the woman talked ceaselessly. It was all empty talk, as she kept bringing up events from his childhood that he had no recollection of or vaguely remembered. Even as they sat on the bus, she continued talking.
Chase thought hard about the woman's change in attitude. He couldn't find a reason for her to be nice. Perhaps Togo wasn't going to kill him. Even if he wasn't, she had no reason to be this sickeningly nice.
The bus pulled up to their stop, and the boy got up, but the woman gently pulled his hand. "We're not getting off here." She smiled at him. "I told you, things have changed."
They sat on the bus until it pulled up to the stop near a half-decent neighbourhood. Chase walked behind the woman, his mind still in a mess. She had moved to a better neighbourhood. Was his father sending money again?
As they walked through the neighbourhood, the woman waved and greeted several people they passed on their way. Even pausing at an elderly woman's house to introduce Chase as her son. The boy didn't greet the elder woman; he only stood stone-faced as the younger woman made excuses for his foul mood. The woman's cheerful attitude annoyed the boy the longer he spent with her. He had grown to hate her because of what she was like; now she was different. It disgusted him.
The house was a snug two-bedroom dwelling. While it was nothing like the Jordahl's house, it was bigger than the place they lived before. A spare bedroom, a full kitchen, and a water closet separate from the bathroom. The house even came with a sizeable backyard.
Chase didn't get comfortable, despite the woman's insistence. He kept his bag and board with him. The spare bedroom had some of his old things, but the boy refused to touch anything in the room.
Concerned, the woman put her hands on his shoulders and reassured him that he was safe in the house. But Chase only shrugged away from her touch. She even tried to attend to his cuts and bruises, but he shunned her every attempt.
"Is it so hard to forgive me? I want us to be a family again." She said softly.
Receiving no response from him, she left for the kitchen to make breakfast. His favourite, she promised, just like old times. The woman put together pancakes, eggs, and bacon and happily set a stacked plate for the boy. But he did not eat.
For three days, the woman tried again and again with dishes that were his favorites. Once happy memories to Chase but soured by the last five years. He could never look at this woman and call her mother again. The boy slept lightly, willing himself to take light naps, always alert and waiting.
Finally, her facade broke on the third day after he refused lunch.
"You worthless little shit!" She grabbed Chase by his hair and slammed his head against the wall. The boy fought to push himself free, but to no avail. "You want to screw my life up even more!"
Chase watched the woman cry and scream at him. She spat and cursed at him, occasionally throwing kicks at him. None of it was new; he felt no remorse or even hatred for her in this state. This is what he knew her to be. But her pretense over the last few days caused a small fire to burn in his veins. Shocks rippling through him. Thoughts of squeezing the life out of her screamed in the boy's head.
Suddenly, the woman stopped attacking him. She reached for his bag and emptied the contents.
"Where's the money?" she shouted.
She snatched the ATM card as Chase tried to hide it. "He was right." She chuckled.
"Give me the password." She said holding up the card.
Chase stared silently at her. This annoyed the woman, as she slapped him around several times. "Give it to me!"
"You shouldn't be so rough with your child, Ms. Williams." A familiar voice spoke from the doorway.
Through half-open eyelids, Chase saw two familiar figures.
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