Page 4 of Where We Began

Kara grips my hand. This whole time, we haven't let go. We pull apart as Dad stands between us, guiding us up the steps. The men move aside so we can enter, and I think,this is our home, not yours. Don't act like you're allowing us inside!

Mom is waiting on the couch in the living room. Dean is sleeping in her arms. I wonder if he woke up from his nap, or if he did, then went back to sleep. It amazes me that he can be so peaceful with all these strangers in our cabin.

She watches us as we enter. She hides her fear better than Dad. Enough that I wish I were stupider, because then, I could believe everything was fine. Even if it were only for a few seconds, I'd relish those seconds.

“Sit,” Mom says, patting the couch beside her. I go to her, leaving tearstains on my father's sleeve. When I get close my stiff steps become a leap—I land with my arms around her neck. “Shh, shh,” she murmurs in my ear.

I lift my head and see that Kara isn't sitting. She stands over Dean, her fingers perching on his swaddled blanket by our Mom's wrist. That blue striped blanket hides his still too-skinny limbs. He's really small. Hannah, the midwife, told Kara and me that preemies are like that. I thought it was a funny word, “preemie.” Especially the way Hannah drawled it out.

Then I understood that it was short forpremature.No one said it out loud, but I got the impression Dean's lucky to be alive.

He stirs; his little face scrunching, then he falls back to sleep. Dad is fidgeting near us, unable to sit, barely able to stand. “Girls?” He chokes the word out. I look at him; Kara doesn't. “I—I'm trying to think of how to begin.” His hands are wringing. “I love you both so much.”

Of course he loves us. Why is he saying it suddenly?

Tension sways over the room. He stops talking, his jaw slack. “For God's sake,” my mother snaps. She fixates on the tall, sharp woman. “Don't make us do this, Annie.”

Annie is too sweet of a name for her. Her pale face is smooth and still as a buried onion. “It's the only way to keep him in check, Violet. You and Joseph both know it. Now choose, or I'll do it for you.”

“You cold hearted bitch,” my mom growls. I gape up at her. She's never been one for cussing. What is going on?

“Please,” Annie sighs. “I'm being as kind as I can be. Or did you want me to take the baby?”

I jump off the couch, arms thrown wide to shield Dean behind me. “No one is taking my little brother!”

The strange woman gazes down her nose at me. “She's got your fire, Joseph.” Crouching gracefully in her heels, she levels her eyes with mine. They're brown like molasses. She's smiling sweetly, curiously... but I know better. “What's your name?”

I don't blink. “Laiken.”

“Well, Laiken.” She cocks her head, the tight bun of hair not moving. “I'm here to take either you or your sister back to my nice big house.”

It takes me a second to register her words. In that time, Kara grabs my shoulder. “You're going to take us away?” Her voice cracks as she speaks.

“One of you. That's right.”

“But why?” I demand, my arms falling to my sides limply. Annie glances past me; I follow, noticing how my Dad's hands are balled in red fists. His mouth is quivering. He's upset but I'mfurious.“Daddy! Why is she taking us?Howcan she take us?”

Kara's hand leaves me.

Our father is grimacing now. Mom is sitting there looking at Dean. Her chin trembles, large tears dampening the baby's blanket.

But no one is talking.

No one has answers.

“I won't let you!” It's Kara—her outburst shreds the awful silence. She retreats to the kitchen entrance, where the back door is. One of the men starts to reach for her but she's already running.

“Kara!” I cry, dodging the man as I chase my sister. As I run, I hear Annie say, “Leave them. Just wait a minute.” The door is open and I shove my way through. Outside, the last ray of sun is gone. The gray clouds and dampness makes our property feel like another world.

I scan the flat dirt with its stacked logs. Kara is easy to spot - she's crouched behind the wood with her hands over her ears. “Kara,” I say, kneeling on the cool ground. I grab her shoulders, hugging her fiercely. “Oh, Kara.”

“This isn't fair,” she sobs, putting her forehead to mine. “It doesn't make any sense!Oneof us? And where to?”

“She said a house,” I whisper lamely. I know it won't help to say it.

“It could be anywhere.”

“I know.”

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