Carolina Wren

Chapter 43

Wren's POV

If I had stopped for a moment to let the reasonable part of my brain take control, I'd be able to admit that there was no way North, Silas, and Nathan would let me out of the house with or without the kids. My anxiety wasn't allowing any room for logic, though. An animalistic part of my brain refused to entertain any thought other than taking the kids and running as far as possible.

Still, it wasn't a surprise when a hand latched onto my arm halfway up the stairs. I twisted, fully expecting for it to be North or even Gabriel but I stumbled when silver eyes clashed with mine. "Let me go," I pleaded weakly. "We won't be your problem anymore. Please, just let us go!"

"I can't do that, Miss Nelson," he responded, gentle despite the steel in his eyes and in his back. Sean was a few steps behind him, his eyes wild as he glanced between the two of us. None of the others had followed us.

"Yes, you can!" I argued. "You've done it before, just... let us go."

Sean's the one who answers. "You were only ever as alone as we leave each other, Wren," he tried to explain. "Even when they weren't talking to you, the boys were following you in the halls. We were trying to keep track of you getting called to the office. The boys were keeping an eye on the house, just in case your mother came back but it's not enough. We can't let you go back there, Flower. Not alone and not with the kids."

The urge to lash out is overwhelming, no matter how unfair it is, and I just barely manage to keep from screaming. "Does it matter that you were there if I didn't feel it? You weren't there when I got pulled into Hendricks' office at school, you weren't there when I was in detention with Mr. McCoy, and you weren't there when my mother came home. We're handling it! I'm handling it!"

My words are hurting him, but Sean remains calm, begging me to see reason. "You can't be everywhere, Wren. Sooner or later, she's going to do something that you can't prevent."

I sink onto the steps, knowing they're talking logically while knowing that they're not seeing the big picture. Wordlessly, they lower themselves to the stairs, too. Looking at Sean pleadingly, I try again. "I'll run away. I'll take them with me, and we'll find somewhere far away."

Mr. Blackbourne shifted so he could settle against the wall. "And how do you plan on feeding them? Keeping them sheltered? Getting them into school?"

"I had a plan for when I got a bit older and Dylan could be left alone for a while. I'll just push it up a bit. I'll make it work." But the words don't even sound convincing to me. My plan had hinged on still being able to rely somewhat on the money coming from Sheila for groceries, a roof over our heads, and paying for daycare for the little ones. I can drop out of school, though. I can do whatever it takes.

Sean's still trying to make it work, trying to find the balance. "Why don't you come back downstairs, and we can all talk about it? Possibly find a solution that works for all of us."

I glare at Sean. It doesn't need to work for them, it only needs to work for me and my siblings. "Because you'll just bully me into whatever plan that you guys' think is best because you don't understand. You don't want to understand, you want to be right."

"Miss Nelson." His voice shouldn't sound so velvety and controlled. Reassuring. Confident. "We can't understand if you don't explain it to us. We've gotten off on the wrong foot, but I am willing to hear you out and take your concerns into account. It wasn't our intention to try and make decisions without you this evening. We were waiting for you to finish putting the children to bed and we veered off course and I apologize for that."