Candle in the Dark

Chapter 6

"You can drive?"

Ben glanced in the rear view mirror of the black car to see his small, annoying passenger. "Of course I can drive," he replied. "I'm seventeen."

"My sister's sixteen and she doesn't even have a permit," the kid said with a small smirk.

"That's nice," Ben said. "What's your name again?"

"Kyle. This is all to help my sister, right?"

Ben nodded. "But you can't tell anyone. Especially not my dad."

"Why not?" Kyle stared at Ben confusedly.

"He's... not a good person." With a darkened expression, Ben glued his eyes to the road.

Kyle looked at the floor of the vehicle sullenly. "At least you have a dad."

An uncomfortable silence permeated the air, broken as Ben added, "You probably won't see him anyway. My dad."

Kyle looked up. "Where are we going?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

Ben smiled, attempting to hide his uncertainty. "My stepmother's house."

Kyle seemed vaguely interested. "Do you have any siblings?"

"One. Her name is Charlotte. She's ten."

"Oh." Kyle frowned, disappointed. "It's only fun to tease older kids." He looked out the window. "Can you drive faster? This is boring."

"No way." Ben shifted uncomfortably. "Not getting a ticket."

"Aww," Kyle whined. "But it it would be fun to get pulled over!"

Ben turned the car into a small driveway. "Too bad, we're here."

Kyle jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving, although slowly. Eyes wide, Ben quickly parked the car and got out. "You have to be careful. Do you want to kill yourself?"

"I'm fine, honestly. You're as bad as my sisters. And mom. I just wanted to have some fun."

Ben was not okay with that comparison, but he tried to stifle his response. What if my plan doesn't work? What if they're glad he's gone?

Kyle was looking at the two-story house, unimpressed. "Looks a lot like ours," he commented. "Does it have any secret passages?"

"No. Now follow me." Ben shivered as he headed to the front door, looking behind to make sure Kyle was following. Satisfied, he knocked.

Before long, a tall, blonde woman opened the door. "Ah. Ben. Back again?" Her tone was completely disinterested. As her gaze fell on Kyle, her expression became intrigued but wary. "Who's this?"

"Uh, yeah," Ben said uneasily. "This is Kyle Baker. Can he stay here for a bit? Not long."

"Did you kidnap him?" the lady asked dryly.

"No..." Ben replied.

"I wanted to come," Kyle supplied.

"Mm-hm." The lady turned and walked away, sighing, "I suppose. Come in." As Ben and Kyle followed her in, she continued, "Kyle, my name is Alicia Hardin, but call me Ms. Alicia. I would prefer to not be reminded of my husband. I suppose you would like to see Charlotte, Ben?"

"That would be great; she's in her room, right?" Ben felt a bit excited to see his sister again.

"Yes; go on. I'll show Kyle his temporary room." Kyle waved as he followed Ms. Alicia up the stairs, and Ben headed to Charlotte's room, which was on the first floor.

He knocked softly and the door was promptly opened by a small girl with dark, straight hair and a wide smile. "Ben!" she exclaimed, immediately hugging him. "You're back again!"

Ben laughed, happier than he'd felt in days. "Yeah, but not for long."

"Aww. Can't you stay?" The girl looked up at him with a pleading expression.

"No, sorry, I have things I need to get done." He smiled down at her. "But I can spare a few minutes."

Charlotte grinned up at her older brother as they entered her room.