Bruised Knuckles and Empty Lies

Chapter 18

Alex's POV

The social worker, Janine, stood behind me with one hand firmly placed on my shoulder, her fingernails slightly digging into my shirt as we waited on the front porch of this foster family's house. I didn't blame her for holding me in place, although I really didn't want to be touched right now. I get it though. When I was packing some of my stuff at my house, I tried to make a run for it. Little did I know, Derek assumed I would and had a cop outside just in case. Bitch.

I was jarred out of my thoughts as the door swung open, revealing a middle-aged, bleach-blonde woman with a fake smile.

"You must be Alexis!" she exclaimed.

"I actually prefer Alex, ma'am," I respectfully corrected her. Her smile wavered.

"I will have you know that I do not tolerate back-talk of any kind in this home, but I understand that you've had a long night, so I'll let it slide just this once. Thank you, Janine, for going through the trouble of bringing her here."

"No problem. Alexis, I'll see you soon!" My social worker gave my shoulder one more squeeze, implying I better not screw this one up, before she turned around and walked back to her car.

"Come on in, Alexis," my temporary foster mom said, stepping to the side. I tugged once on the strap of my duffle bag before walking inside, taking off my shoes at the door and using my foot to nudge them over next to the pile of shoes already there. "Since it's past bedtime, I'll just show you straight to your room, if that's okay." I nodded, knowing that I didn't have much of a choice.

As she led me up the staircase and down the hall, she kept talking. "Now, Alexis, whether you're here for a day or a year, we do have certain rules and expectations that we uphold in this home. You will meet the other kids tomorrow at breakfast, which is at 7:30, but don't worry, someone will wake you up, so you don't need to fret about not waking up in time. Going into each others' rooms after lights out is a big no, and lights out is at 10 every night. After 10:30, you are not allowed out of your room. I will go over the rest of the rules with you tomorrow morning, but for now, you should get your sleep." She opened the second to last door in the hallway, revealing a bland, colorless room. The bed had white sheets, the walls were white, the dresser and desk were both wooden, and the curtains were brown. Great. This should be fun.

"Thank you," I simply replied, moving to the bed and dropping my bag onto it. She held out her hand, palm up, waiting for something. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"You're not allowed to have your phone after lights out," she smiled. Oh my fucking god, this woman has lost her mind.

"I don't have one," I lied easily. Her smile dropped, and so did my stomach.

"Hand it over." Something about her eyes warned me not to push her, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dropped it in her hand, meeting her harsh eyes with my angry ones. The smile returned to her face, but it didn't reach her eyes this time. "Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" I didn't reply. I knew if I did, there'd be hell to pay. "Is there anything you need before bed? A drink? A bathroom break?"

"No, I think I'm good. Thanks, though."

"Sleep well, then. I'll see you in the morning." She pulled out a keyring and sifted through them as she started to leave my room. Was I getting locked in?

"Wait, actually there is something I need," I quickly said. "Can I call someone real quick?" My heart was starting to pound. I needed to talk to Derek. He could calm me down.

"You know the rules. No phones after lights out."

"Please? I'm sorry, it'll just take a minute," I tried to plead with her. Her expression softened, and for a second, I thought I'd done it.

"Sleep well!" She slammed the door shut, locking it behind her.