Inferni

Chapter 1

My head rolled back from the blow to my nose before a kick landed on my ribs, and I wanted to go forward but was held back by two females that I didn't care about. A small groan of pain escaped my tight lips, but that was the only indication that I was hurting.

"So, are you going to give us back what you had stolen?" one of the girls, Clareana, spat, glaring at me. Hatred filled her brown eyes while her blonde hair fell perfectly down her back. There was a sneer on her face, making her look just as ugly as her personality. "Or do you want the worst punishment?"

I looked at the ground in front of her and spat at her feet. A small smirk appeared on my face when I saw blood mixed in with my spit and felt a bit satisfied. I bit back a groan of pain when she punched me in the eye, and I knew that I was going to have a black eye. I kept back a pained scream while all of them started to attack one by one, trying to get me to cough up what I had taken for my friends.

"What is going on here?" someone screeched. "Clareana, let her up. Blaire, go get cleaned up and leave to go to your room. I am so sorry, Mrs. Kingston; I do not know why they had done this to each other. All the girls are treated equally, and they learned how to treat everyone nicely."

I looked up to see a female with brown eyes looking at me with a curious gaze in her eyes. She stood at probably 5'7 and had a muscular form. A small scowl was on her face, and I didn't know if it was at me or at the situation.

I knew my eyes tend to shift to a different color by the warning gaze in her eyes. I bit back a huff because I had no idea as to why my eyes changed from their normal light gray to an almost silverish white.

"Blaire!" the annoying voice exclaimed, and I looked towards the owner of the voice. She had a scowl on her face and was tapping her high-end shoe that she had bought with the money that she was supposed to be spending on the kids she had been fostering. "Are you paying attention to me?" she asked.

"Yes, Mrs. Garnes," I replied. "I can't really move right now." I tapped one of the girls on their wrists, and she tapped back a response, indicating that she understood what I was telling her.

"Girls, let her up so she can leave. We want to look nice for Mrs. Kingston, yes?"

"Actually, I would like to talk to Blaire," she said, and I blinked in surprise because no one ever wanted to talk to someone like me. She studied me and offered me a warm smile that sent me on edge because I was not used to this. "If you don't mind."

Mrs. Garnes looked as shocked as I felt. Fear flashed through her eyes before it turned to worry. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, we have younger girls, fresher for your needs. Blaire is almost eighteen. She will be a waste of your time."

Mrs. Kingston folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow. There was this warning gaze in her eyes, and I couldn't help but tense. I had no idea what she was going to do, nor why she wanted to adopt me. "I think I know who I want to adopt," she said. "Blaire..."

"Farley," I interjected. "Blaire Farley."

"...Farley looks like a good choice for my family." She glanced at me apologetically. "And, I am sorry for making her sound like a dog, but I was just trying to give you an analogy."

"But, she is unadoptable," Claerana said. "That is what all potential adopters say."

I kept my face blank of any emotion. I felt a bit hurt that she brought that up, but the girl was just like her mother. They both loved to destroy my life.

"I think I will take the chance. Now, be a dear and let her up." She looked at Mrs. Garnes. "I would like to speak to her first, but set up the adoption papers, please. I will be taking her home with me today."

I was a bit shocked as Mrs. Garnes listened and left, with almost all the girls except one. Why was she taking me home and not someone else? I didn't know, and I was sure that I wasn't going to like it.

***

"Oh my God, Blaire, are you alright?" the frantic voice of my friend and confidant asked. Worry filled her green eyes while I stood.

"Relax, Sky," I grunted out in pain. I clutched my ribs and grimaced, waiting for the wave of pain to stop. "It wasn't the worst hit I had received." I offered her a small smile while I started to go towards the bathroom that most of us shared.

Skylar, Sky, relaxed a bit, and nodded. "Are you going to be alright?" she asked, still worried. "And did you get everything?"

I nodded in confirmation. "I did, and I'll be fine." I went into the bathroom, where there was a broken mirror and broken windows that have been covered up with tape and garbage bags. I tried to pull off my sweatshirt, groaning in pain. "Help me out."

Sky couldn't help but scoff and started to pull my sweatshirt off of my body. "I don't know why you are wearing this indoors," she grunted as I let out a slew of cuss words. "I mean, no wonder you got stopped."

"Wait... what is happening here?" Mrs. Kingston asked. "Why are you wearing a sweatshirt in the middle of the summer?"

"I'm a thief, and I hide stuff in my sweatshirt," I replied, getting out of my sweatshirt. Scars and bruises littered on my skin, and she let out a small gasp that I ignored. "I take things to make sure that the others have enough to live and medicine." I grabbed the pills that I had taken and tossed them to Skylar. "Once a day until the sixth day and then do half. It's some strong stuff."

Sky nodded and cleared her throat. "Gracias," she whispered, her voice quivering. She cleared her throat and blinked back tears, knowing that I hated seeing them cry.

"What is that for?" Mrs. Kingston asked. There was a warning in her voice, and when I looked to see her, I could tell that she wanted to take what I had given the younger girl.

"Her sister is what we call "Other,"" I said bitterly. "She isn't taken care of by Mrs. Garnes. She gets sick easily, which makes her not a good choice to be adopted." I glanced at Sky when she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I take care of those that can't be adopted out. I have been counted as unadoptable since I was about ten." I took food out of my pockets and where I had hidden them before handing them over to Sky, who placed them in a spot where we kept everything from blankets, clothes, and rags to weapons that I used.

"But you are going to be adopted now. Who will look after them?"

I glanced at Sky and raised an eyebrow. "You ready for it?"

Sky scoffed and placed a well manicured hand on her hip. There was a smirk on her face, which caused me to raise my eyebrow higher. "Hun, I have been ready to be your prodigy. You just make sure you can make this business go out of business and get the orphans "real" homes. My sis needs a better place to stay."

I nodded my head, trying to come up with a plan as to how I wanted to take this business down. I knew that I could probably talk to my adopted family about it, and if they knew someone important, then I could try to bring the information to them. I was scared, however, because I didn't know what would happen if I did tell my adopted family what happened to me. I didn't know how they would react.

However, when I looked at Sky's green eyes filled with hope, I knew that I had to make sure that they all were safe and loved. So, with a heavy heart and a deep sigh, I nodded my head. No matter what, I was going to try to give them a better place to live and grow.

"Deal."