Be Careful in the Dark

Chapter 4

I fell asleep in the trunk. I woke up to sunlight filling the small area.

"We're here but there is still a little driving until I get to my parents house." Braden said.

"Can I get out now?" I smiled.

He nodded and helped me out. "I just illegally crossed the boarder... What if I get caught?"

Braden hugged me. "One of my old foster brothers is now an immigration agent he can do it for us."

I smiled from ear to ear. "I'm so glad that we made it and it'll all come true. All I've ever wanted was a family. Now I can have it."

He looked away from me. "Yeah. We should go, Mother's making dinner and we can't be late."

"Alright." I got back into the car and fastened my seat belt. "Let's go."

Braden drove off and we took the highway to his parent's house. I turned up the music, but Braden turned it down. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"If my parents adopt you, you will be my sister. I'm not sure if I can handle that." He sighed. "I love you Mack."

"Braden, even if I wasn't going to be your sister we couldn't date." I explained.

"Why not?"

"You're too old." I frowned.

"What about when you turn 18?" He asked.

"I'll have moved on." I closed my eyes. I really didn't want to hurt him but it was the only thing I could do. "We'll still see each other. It'll be rough, but I know we can do it."

"It's just so hard Mack, I want you. I don't want you to be my sister." Braden frowned.

I sat there in silence not wanting to start a fight with him. All Braden wants from me is something that won't last. It's obvious. He'll get me in bed and never talk to me. I'll get kicked out of the family with a story that I came onto him. It's all happened before...

I fell asleep shortly after. I slept for an hour, but woke up because we hit a dirt road. I looked around and all I could see was forests and fields. I smiled at the nature. Where I was mostly located was on beaches in Florida. Canada is like a whole new planet. I learned from geography class that Canada is the second biggest country in the world. Thousands of Canadian tourists will come to Florida to visit Orlando and Miami. They're always in shorts while we're freezing our butts off. I never really understood why, but I guess I'll find out. I looked out the window watching millions of trees pass by.

"Hey, you're awake." Braden smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah until we hit this road." I laughed.

"I'm sorry but we're almost there." He explained.

We drove along the road for what felt like hours. I held my breath when we started driving passed a cemetery. It's just something one of my foster sisters taught me. She said that if I don't hold my breath, the souls will try to take mine with it. We lived in a place with a lot of cemeteries, so I could hold my breath for quite a while. I kept practicing with cemeteries and the many, many smoking foster parents.

Instead of passing by the cemetery, Braden turned into the driveway. "We're here."

I looked from him to the large yellow house in front of us. Letting myself breath in I smiled. "You live here?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "It's pretty big but it's home."

"You didn't feel like telling me that it's a cemetery?"

"You're not scared are you? The dead don't bite Mack." He smirked.

"I know that." I said sticking my tongue out at him.

A man and a woman appeared at the door. The man must have been at least six feet tall and the woman a little over five. He had short brown hair and she, long black hair. I awkwardly got out of the car. I went to get my suitcase, but Braden beat me to it. I glanced at him, and together we walked over to his parents.

"Hello." Mrs. Jason smiled at me.

"Hi." I mumbled.

"Mom, Dad, this is Mackenzie." Braden smiled.

I forced a smile. We went into the house. "Come with me dear I want to show you your bedroom." Mrs. Jason said taking my suitcase from Braden. We walked up the large spiral staircase and reached a bedroom at the top.

"This is your room." She said opening the door.

I peered in and gasped. The whole room was covered in my favourite things. The comforter was zebra print with purple, the walls were green and purple. One of the walls had zebra wallpaper. My eyes filled with tears.

Behind me, Mrs. Jason said, "Braden told me your sizes and preferences for clothes so I went out and bought you some."

I looked at her, "Where's the closet?" She pointed to a door in the far corner of the room. Opening it, I started to cry. Behind the door was my own walk-in-closet. I examined the clothes after wiping my eyes on my wrist. They are all exactly what I would have picked. Mrs. Jason came up behind me.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

Turning around, I wrapped my arms around her pulling her into a hug. I sobbed into her shoulder for a bit. "It's beautiful. Thank you so much. I've never had my own room, or my own closet, and when I did none of the clothes were nice, or my size."

"You're very welcome Mackenzie." She said pulling back and rubbing my shoulders.

"People call me Mack, it's easier." I laughed.

"Nice to meet you Mack, I'm Anne."

"Hi." I smiled.

"Now wash up," she said, "dinner's ready."

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I sat down at the table across from Braden.