Chapter 50

    Chapter 50: I had to find him

LYRIC SPENCER POV 

    According to Principal Holloway, we were to start our punishment at the drama clock at five after school. I had rushed home to prepare lunch for the kids.

    When I arrived, my aunt was sitting on the floor in tears, her clothes torn, and the house was a mess.

    Water leaked from the sink, broken shards of glass covered the floor, and the stench of cigarettes filled the air.

    I dashed to her, falling to my knees beside her. My skin scraped against the glass, but I ignored the pain.

    I tapped her softly, urging her to meet my eyes.

    << What happened here, Aunt? >> I signed, desperate for answers.

    No reply. She stared blankly at the other side of the room, lost in a daze. Then, I remembered the kids. My heart pounded as I scrambled to their rooms, nearly tripping over the curtains at the door.

    I pushed the door open—empty.

    My heart sank. I clasped my palm over my mouth, my stomach twisting at the thought of something happening to them.

    I rushed back to my aunt, falling to my knees once more. Grabbing her face with both hands, my throat tightened. Fresh tears ran down my cheeks.

    << Where are the children? >>

    Still no answer. Frustration surged through me. I shook her, my pupils dilating.

    "I sent them to my mother's place," she finally yelled, pushing my hands away.

    << Why? >>

    "Alessio's men came here looking for your uncle. I told them I haven't seen him in months. I was worried, but they didn’t believe me. They took everything—my jewelry, my money, the TV, the microwave. I don’t—"

    What?

    I fell back with a thud, my vision blurring with tears. My chest heaved as the realization hit me.

    Alessio's men were after my uncle.

    But what about me?

    I was definitely in trouble. He was going to kill me. My hands trembled as fear took hold. I crumbled emotionally.

    This was all my fault.

    I looked at my aunt. Finger-shaped bruises marred her face. They had hit her. They had hurt her—because of me.

    Because of me.

    I should have just let Alessio have his way with me that night. None of this would have happened. I was no longer a virgin. Nothing felt right anymore.

    << I am so sorry, Auntie. I am so sorry. >>

    "Yes." My aunt’s furious eyes locked onto mine. She stood up and walked toward me slowly, her teeth clenched. "You are the reason for all this. If you hadn’t refused that man—if you had just given him that thing between your legs—we wouldn’t be in this mess. I was just paid today, and now I have nothing. Nothing."

    << I’m sorry. >>

    "I don’t need your apologies!" she snapped. "We have nothing left in this house—no pots, no stove, nothing valuable!

    "How am I supposed to start over? No couch? Are we supposed to sit on the floor to eat? What are we going to eat— that box of cornflakes on the shelf?"

    I couldn’t say anything.

    I just cried.

    Tears streamed down my face, my throat dry, my body trembling uncontrollably.

    I pulled my knees to my chest, my body shaking as I sobbed. My aunt’s words cut deeper than any wound. I wanted to tell her I never meant for this to happen—that I never wanted to put her or the kids in danger—but the weight of her rage crushed any words I could form.

    She let out a bitter laugh, pacing the room, her hands running through her hair. "Do you know what it feels like to be helpless in your own home? To watch men rip apart everything you worked for? To be hit like I was some worthless—" Her voice broke, and she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

    I wiped my tears and signed weakly, << I will fix this. >>

    She scoffed. "Fix this? With what? Do you have money hidden somewhere? A magic wand to make everything reappear?" She shook her head, eyes full of resentment. "You ruined us, and now you're talking about fixing things?"

    Guilt churned in my stomach like acid. I didn’t know how, but I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit here.

    I pushed myself off the floor, my legs unsteady, my head spinning. I needed to think. I needed a plan.

    I turned toward the door, but her voice stopped me.

    "Where do you think you're going?"

    << I have to go. >>

    "Go where?" She laughed bitterly. "To Alessio? What, you think giving yourself to him now will fix everything? That man doesn’t just take—he destroys. And if he finds out you’re still here, he won’t stop until he gets what he wants."

    A chill ran down my spine. She was right. Alessio wasn’t just after my uncle. He had wanted me that night, and I had refused him. That kind of rejection wasn’t something a man like him forgot.

    I took a deep breath, my fingers shaking as I signed, << I need to find Uncle. If I can get to him first, maybe— >>

    "Maybe what?" She stepped closer, her eyes dark with exhaustion and fury. "Maybe you can convince him to come back and face the men who want him dead? Maybe he'll magically fix everything?" She exhaled sharply, rubbing her temple. "You’re naive. He ran because he knew what was coming, and he left us to deal with it."

    I swallowed hard. She wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t just do nothing.

    I turned back to the door, determination hardening inside me.

    "Don’t you dare walk out that door," she warned, her voice crumbling. I could see her resolve weakening.

    I hesitated for just a moment, then stepped forward. My stomach in knots about what I wanted to do.

    "If you leave," she said, her voice shaking, "don’t come back."

    Her words hit me like a punch to the gut, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

    I grabbed my phone and a jacket and walked out into the night. My arm and leg stinking from pain. And blood staining my shoes.

    The cold air stung my skin as I pulled my hoodie over my head and started down the street. I had no plan, no idea where to start—but I knew one thing for sure.

    I had to find my uncle before Alessio’s men found me.