Jenalyn: Daring to Defy (#1)[Complete]

Chapter 13: Jenalyn

Saturday, 2:02 P.M.

Evelyn's soft voice pulls me from what I imagine to have been a dreamless sleep, bringing me to a reality that I honestly panic waking up in.

Brophy...

The thought passes my mind for a moment, but quickly falls tired and rests dromant in the back of my head realizing the threat it could cause being present.

"Evelyn!" my raspy voice interrupts her words, and the little girl snaps her head around with a huge smile spread clear across her face.

"You're up!" she cheers, attempting to hop into the back seat before I see Dane's arm restrain her. "And I'm here!" she still continues excitedly.

I pull my aching body from the backseat of Dane's truck, peeping his skeptical eyes in the rearview mirror before going on.

"You're heeeere!" I say as enthusiastically as possible, wrapping my arms around the front seat until they're secure around her. "I'm so happy for ya, kid!"

I've only met Evelyn the couple of times we'd head to Dane's house in Reading for supervised home visits- but she took quite the liking to me since the first time we met. Dane says it's her mommy issues- and that she'd look up to any female in her life because she never had one before... but I like to think it's because I'm cool.

I'm pretty sure she's only excited about this move because she knows I'm around- but hey, maybe I'm just being cocky.

"We're going to eat." Dane's stern voice suddenly fills the car before anyone else can get another word in.

My heart aches in my chest for a moment- probably a mix of hearing his voice after everything that happened with Brophy, and the realization that I'm probably not going to be able to get out of this meal.

"Yessssss!" Evelyn quickly yells, drowning out the sound of 7 days worth of hunger inside of me responding to the word 'eat,' and the thought of food. "Can we go somewhere fancy?! Like the place you took us when-"

Dane inturrupts Ev's excited rambling, shooting her a look even a blind person would know meant silence. He repositions his rearview mirror until it assumingly lands on my face, but he only glances at me before seemingly refocusing his eyes again.
"Where would you like to go, babygirl?" He asks, the intention in his voice masking what I could only describe as a silent apology.

The pangs in my chest and stomach grow stronger under the pressure of his question. Evelyn pipes in again, buying me a second to recalibrate myself and remember that I left part of myself in a slumber for this reason.

"Babygirl?" she says in disgust, turning to the backseat to face me with her face scrunched up before turning back to him. "Ew, that's gross! She's like... 16! You're an old man! Ew!"

I can't help myself from laughing, but quickly grow cautious when I hear the lack of Dane at least playing along with his little sister.

"Food, Jena. What do you want?" Dane quickly fills the silence.