Page 1 of Little Child Gone

PROLOGUE

Rebecca closed her eyes and leaned back against the smooth leather, listening to the heavy rhythm of the drums. She ran her hands along the decadent leather of the red and black seat. Rebecca had never been in a car this expensive. She glanced at the guy in the driver’s seat, trying to remember his name.

He turned up the volume as the next track started. The subwoofers made her ears itch. “What’s this song called?”

“‘Breaking Skin,’” her new friend answered. “It’s about being miserable and trapped in it. You can’t escape your thoughts, so you’re constantly scratching at the itch. Like your body needs to purge the pain, but all you can do is scratch.”

“I get that.”

“Me too. I’m so sick of my parents making me feel shitty just because I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I’m working at least. Who knows what they want at twenty?” He smacked the steering wheel. “It’s not like it’s inconveniencing them for me to still live at home. They can afford it.”

Rebecca caught herself before she started laughing. He knew nothing of hardship, much less the real world. “What kind of car is this?”

He sat up straighter in his seat. “Nissan GT-R. Almost 600 horsepower. It’s not just a generic coupe with a big engine either. It can compete with the Porsche 911, maybe even beat it. Spent over 100k on this baby.”

Rebecca was glad he couldn’t see the disgust on her face. Her family might have survived with that kind of money. Still, the car was beautiful, with leather black and red seats that were actually comfortable for bucket seats. Rebecca hadn’t been in a car with a touchscreen that had so many options. “It’s yours?”

“Yep.”

She thought about asking how he afforded something that expensive, but he’d already told her his parents were wealthy.

“My parents have kept me down for so long,” he droned on. “That’s why I relate to the lyrics so much. I walk around anxious half the time because I know they’re going to rag on me again.”

She bit her lip against the tirade of emotions. This spoiled boy knew nothing of actual hardship, much less real life. But Rebecca did. She knew what it was like to have your entire world shattered over and over again until every last bit of hope had been extinguished. Some days she thought she’d rather die than continue carrying on like this. But she had people depending on her.

He switched lanes, barely making the exit for Stillwater. “Sure you don’t want to come to mine for a while?”

Darkness prevented him from seeing her recoil. “Maybe another time. I have to get back before my mom figures out I’m gone.”

“Don’t worry about that,” he said. “I can sneak you in.”

Rebecca wasn’t really worried about her mother. What could she do at this point? But the younger kids would be scared if she didn’t get home until the crack of dawn.

“I’ll take care of your mom if she finds out.”

Rebecca nodded. “Just drop me off at the drive. I’ll sneak into our apartment.”

Rebecca sat up in bed, still in the shirt she’d worn out last night. She looked at the clock on her bedside table. How could it be this dark at nine a.m.? She peered out of the blinds. Storm clouds decorated the sky, lightning flashing through them. Her brother’s bed was already made. He’d been asleep when she snuck back inside the dark house, just like everyone else.

She’d better get up so her mother didn’t question why she’d slept in so late. Rebecca changed into a clean shirt and pajama pants and then wandered through the tiny apartment to the bathroom, where she washed her face and brushed her long, dark hair. Hopefully her mother didn’t question the circles around her eyes. She grabbed a clothes basket and tossed last night’s clothes in, along with several other dirty items.

The main house door was unlocked as usual. She balanced the basket on her hip and headed towards the door where her brother Jason now stood.

“Does she suspect that I was out last night?” Rebecca whispered.

“Don’t think so.” Jason squeezed by her. Her fifteen-year-old brother’s peach fuzz needed a trim. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Rebecca quietly closed the door behind her. Wind rattled the picture window in the living room, and she could see the dark clouds moving closer. She snuck past the master bedroom and then crept down the hall. Her mother and Bailey’s room was right before the kitchen, and Rebecca could hear her mother talking to the toddler about making their bed. The room had no door, only heavy drapes that blocked the room from the hall. Rebecca tiptoed past the closed drapes, careful not to stumble on the two steps down into the kitchen.

She glanced to her right. The table and built-in booth had already been cleared from breakfast. Lightning flashed outside the large window behind the table, the oak tree’s limbs straining under the force of the wind.

Rebecca snuck into the laundry room on the other side of the kitchen. It looked like a closed-in porch, and she loved how the scent of fabric softener seemed to make the whole house smell fresh. The washer was empty, so she jammed her dirty clothes inside. She dug through the pockets of last night’s jeans in search of the ticket stub. It fluttered to the floor, but before Rebecca could grab it, her mother snatched the ticket.

“What the hell is this?” Bianca demanded.

“Exactly what it looks like.” Rebecca shoved the jeans into the washer, turning her back to her mother. Bianca’s rough hands closed around her arm, forcing her to turn around. Anger flashed in the sultry dark eyes Rebecca used to envy.

“You are not to go anywhere without my knowing.”

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