Eye of the Storm -SAFE HOUSE BOOK 2-

26

 Austin stared at the door that had just taken his best friend away from him until the car was out of sight. Tears brimmed in his eyes, but he pushed them back. He couldn't break... not when Briana needed him to be strong. Lewis Channing didn't seem too thrilled to be having another teenager to look after, so Austin did his best to stay quiet and unnoticed. It was nothing new. He had lived with Mitchell for fifteen years; what if this man was no different? Lewis just marched off, muttering to a boy, who stood rock still with his eyes on the floor. Dark hair fell over his dark eyes when Austin noticed something. There was something familiar about this, about him. "Drew?" Austin breathed, trying to stay quiet.

The coach blew his whistle as Austin and ten other boys gathered around him. His skin roasted in the summer sun, and Austin felt bad for ignoring his father's warning to wear sunscreen. As one boy with dark brown hair and tan skin came to a stop beside him, they shared smiles.

Austin hadn't seen the boy in the worn-out black shirt since he was ten years old. He wasn't sure what had happened to him until now. All he knew back then was that one day, he went to the same elementary school and played on the same team, but then Drew Barrett's parents died, and he disappeared. Now, in this house, Austin knew why. The boy only nodded in response, seeing their foster father approaching. "What are you just standing there for? Get in here, boys. Eat this shit before I throw it out." Drew flinched, obeying the order without hesitation. Austin deemed it wise to follow suit and walked into the kitchen after setting his bags down on the stairs.

A TV dinner sat on the table, growing cold. Two plastic forks were beside it, along with a glass of water for each boy. The man stared down at them, with his haunting eyes, motioning for them to eat before sitting down at the table with a beer. Austin flinched, thinking he was staring into Mitchell's eyes. Heart racing, he only moved when his foster brother did. He didn't know this man, this discount version of a father that he was supposed to trust just by looking at him.

"How many foster homes have you been in," Lewis Channing demanded, taking a long drag of his dark beer before reaching in his pocket to grab a cigarette. He looked so high and mighty, standing above them with fury in his eyes. The knuckles on his right hand had a few scrapes and bruises, but Austin didn't care to ask how they got there. He had a pretty good idea as to what the truth was, and he didn't trust this man to give it to him.

"Sir," Drew began, "maybe not...". He fell silent as the man stepped forward, his chair squeaking back as he flinched at the raised fist. Drew bit his lip and motioned for Austin to answer, keeping his gaze low. Swallowing hard, Austin dared to look Lewis in the eyes. His heart felt like it was about to break out of his chest, but he would keep this man happy, if he could.

"This is only my second since my biological father was arrested. I was at the Carmichael safe house before that, but my social worker said that doesn't count, since I was technically still in my birth father's custody." He tried not to say too much, afraid of how the man would react. Something wasn't right in his dark brown eyes, but Austin couldn't pin-point what from all of this newness around him. He was too scared. There was a switch sitting on the counter, and his foster brother hadn't stopped staring at it. A lump grew in Austin's throat, but he swallowed it quickly. He couldn't break here, not when he knew he needed to be strong. He would be- if not for himself, then for Briana and his new foster brother. "I've only been in the system for about six months."

Lewis stood still for a moment, deep in thought, as he touched the switch with one hand. Would he pick it up? Would it feel any different than Mitchell's belt when it hit him? Drew seemed just as concerned, shaking whenever he laid his eyes on the weapon. "Almost three home in less than a year... well, that's just too many," Lewis argued, a slight laugh in his voice. "Do you really think your other foster parents would want you back after this?" What did this man, this stranger, know? Austin had been in his home for a matter of minutes, and already it seemed that Lewis was trying to show that he knew his entire story. He didn't know the half of it, not even close, but Austin wasn't going to be the one to make that known. He knew better.