The Safe House

Chapter 7

It was six o'clock in the morning of the third day here and I had not left my room. I was embarrassed about what I did when I first met the boys, and I didn't want any more of those sympathetic looks. I was so exhausted because I had not slept in three days. I couldn't. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my dad's limp body or the man cutting me and hurting me. I had to get up and do something. I couldn't hide in my room forever. I got up and took a shower. I made sure to wear a shirt that covered my scars.

I went downstairs to the kitchen and saw a pile of dishes in the sink. "Ugh boys, they're so messy." I whispered to myself. I loaded the dishwasher and started to find ingredients to make pancakes.

At nine o'clock the boys came down. Is it weird that they all got up at the same time? I think so but I shrugged it off.

Once they saw that it was me in the kitchen flipping pancakes, their eyes widened.

"Hi." I said.

"Um hi. You're up." Carter said surprised.

"Yep. I thought I would come down here and make you breakfast."

"Yes! Real food! Can I have some?" Theo said. He was the first one to the counter. I giggled at him and dished up their plates. I assumed they liked them because they were silent the whole time. I really wanted to ask who Kenna was. I couldn't stop thinking about who she could be.

"Who's Kenna?" I asked. They all looked at me then to Jason. He sighed, got up from his chair, and started walking around the kitchen island to where I was. Oh crap. Maddie you idiot! Why did you ask that? I started to get scared. "I-I'm sorry." I stuttered. I started to back away from him. "I-I shouldn't have asked." He stopped and his eyes softened he gave me a sympathetic look. "Please, I didn't mean to upset you." He kept walking towards me and my back hit the counter. Oh shit nowhere to go. He stopped right in front of me.

"No one here is going to hurt you. If anything, think of us as protection." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and nodded my head with a small smile. The look on his face changed like be noticed something. "What?" He stepped closer and said." have you slept at all since you've been here?"

I looked down and stepped around him to flip more pancakes. "What? Yes of course I have. You think I could stay awake for three days straight?"

They all gave me a sympathetic look. "Don't look at me like that!" They were shocked that I yelled at them and honestly, so was I. They stayed silent and went back to eating.

"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you, but ever since all of this has happened, it seems like everyone looks at me like that."

Caleb spoke this time, "I know you don't like being looked at like that, but think about what you have been through. How would you look at someone who has been through what you have? Probably the same way."

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"Ok, that's enough apologizing. Geez, what is this? A soap opera?" Carter said.

We all giggled. He must not be a morning person. I already felt closer to the boys I'm really glad I came down and got to talk to them today.

After they were done eating, I took their plates and put them in the dishwasher and started to clean up my mess. They all just sat there and watched me. Ugh, boys. I mentally rolled my eyes at them.

Jason took a deep breath and said," Kenna is my niece."

I looked at him for a second and nodded my head in response. I didn't know what to say.

"Her mom died in a car accident over a year ago and I took Kenna. I was the only family she had left." He continued. I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. "I was not going to let her go to a foster home. I fought like hell to keep her. Being undercover in the gang was part of the deal. I was afraid it would put me and her in danger. We only have each other. That's why the boys came with me. So that if something happened they would be there to help."

"Wow." Was all I could say. It was silent for a moment. "Oh my gosh!" They all looked at me "I never thanked you guys. You were the reason for the police raid right? You saved my life."

Caleb said, "Remember when you saw us whispering in the back of the warehouse?" I nodded. "That's when we were trying to decide what to do. Whether we should blow our cover or not. But when we saw you and the way he was treating you, we knew. We knew exactly what we needed to do."

A tear came to my eye as I remembered. I took a deep breath and wiped it away before they could see it. "Thank you," I said.

They nodded and went to the living room. All of them except for Jason. He said, "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's ok," I said. "So, when is Kenna coming?"

"Actually she should be here sometime this afternoon."