The Devil Child

Chapter Forty-Four

 Polly held the phone to her ears. The ringing was nearly deafening, but only because she knew she was about to be in trouble. She knew her uncle would yell at her for the disappearance act she pulled.

Her back met the solid wall, and she slid down until she was seated on the hardwood floor of Lennard house. This was a phone call she didn't want to make, but had to. A phone call she never thought she'd be making.

She was a good girl. She wasn't someone who ran away.

"Hello?" Her uncle's voice made her stomach twist. He'll get rid of you just like your own parents did, the voice inside her head told her, but she tried to block it out.

"Uncle, it's me. Polly." Her voice was shaky, worried. Her head was spinning from lack of air, so she took a deep breath to manage the tingling in her fingers and toes, to manage her spinning head. The darkness of the room made her feel more grounded, though.

"Polly? Where on Earth have you been? I've been callin' all around-"

"I went to see mom and dad." Her voice was a whisper, as though she had committed a crime. There had been no reason for her to return home. No reason for her to want to see the very people who abandoned her. But, Kenzie was right; she needed closure.

Her uncle hesitated to answer, and the long pause made Polly uncomfortable. It made her feel again like she did something wrong, like she'd gone behind her uncle's back to see her parents who hadn't cared about her from the beginning. Like she had thrown her uncle's kindness back in his face. Because if it came down to it, and she had gone to see her parents and they had rejoiced and welcomed her back into their home, she may have gone back.

But, then again, she probably wouldn't have returned to them. No matter how much they had missed her.

"How are they?" Her uncle asked, but she knew he didn't mean it. She knew he was saying it to be polite, in the way that he had to be. His voice sounded sad, like he knew how hard it had been for her. Polly didn't know how she'd gotten so lucky.

"They have a new kid. They replaced me after they'd gotten rid of me." The tears came fast, and her voice crumpled in the way that she knew her uncle heard her crying. It was painful for her, painful to think about how her parents hadn't missed her, not even a little bit. As soon as she left, her parents had moved on.

"Polly, when are you coming home?" Her uncle's voice was urgent, because he wanted to see her. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and hug her tightly to show that someone cared about her. He cared about her.

Her shoulders shook with her sobs. She didn't know the answer to that question, because she was needed here. She needed to help, because this wasn't about her anymore. This was about the broader world, the people who needed her to be strong and stand against Minny's father.

"I don't know," she hiccuped into the phone, "my friends need me right now. I'll talk to you when I do come home, but I'm doing something bigger than me. Bigger than my problems."

She didn't know how to explain it to him. How to tell him she was fighting the hate of those who were different. Fighting the hate directed at people like her.

When she looked up, Tanner stood in the doorway, his arms hugging himself tightly. His face was sad, like a lost boy that Polly once knew at his camp. He looked forlorn, like despite his older age, he was just like her: lost and frightened.

She hated that she empathized with his expression. He was a monster, the person who had ruined her life. When she looked at him, she saw the pain he inflicted on her. She saw the whips, the knives, the tears mixed with the blood on her body. But, she also saw a boy trapped. A boy forced into a job he didn't want. A boy blindsided by the love for his gay mother and the nightmare that followed her death.