Tomorrow's Lies (Promises #1) (16 page)

But Allison stops us.

Or rather, she stops me. “Hold up a minute, Jaynie.”

I am so damn tired and hungry that I want nothing more than to go up to my room and fall asleep.

Flynn, noticing my crestfallen expression, whispers, “You want me to stay with you?”

I shake my head. “No. Go get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow in the craft barn.”

“Okay.” He smiles sadly. “’Night, Jaynie.”

When I turn around, Allison is smiling at me. It’s an act; there is venom in her grin.

“What do you want?” I ask weakly. I am so tired I can barely stand on my feet.

Zoning in on the bouquet of lilacs I almost forgot I was holding, Allison says, “I want you to stay put for a sec so I can give you a vase to put those pretty flowers in.”

I don’t trust her, or her pretense of good intentions. “Um, thanks, but that’s okay. I was planning on putting them in a cup of water up in our bathroom.”

Allison walks toward me. “Don’t be silly, Jaynie. You definitely need a vase. But you look so tired. Maybe it’d be best if you leave your flowers with me. I’ll put them in something, something nice, for you, okay?”

“Uh…” I absolutely do not want to do that.

“Jaynie, earth to Jaynie, are you listening to me.”

“Yes, I hear you.”

Allison laughs. “I bet Flynn picked those flowers for you. Am I right?”

I don’t answer, and she comes closer, stopping mere inches from me. A stir of panic threatens to bloom, especially when she hisses, “Did you hear my question, Jaynie?”

“Um, yes, yes.” I nod like crazy. “Flynn picked them for me.”

“Uh-huh. I thought so.”

There’s a flash of something like hatred in her eyes, and I take a step back. “I’m going to go upstairs now, okay?”

“Not yet, Jaynie.” Allison’s tone is firm, and I know better than to move. “Since Flynn gave you those pretty lilacs, I’m sure they’re very important to you. Surely, you wouldn’t want to stick them in some old, crusty paper cup up in a bathroom.” Allison mock-shudders. “No, no, we can’t have that. Give me your flowers and I’ll put them in a vase. I’ll even place them nicely on the home-schooling table later tonight. That way your flowers will be there for you tomorrow morning. You and the others can enjoy the lovely aroma of lilacs all day. How nice will that be?”

She wants an answer; this is her game. Playing along, albeit reluctantly, I say, “Sure, that sounds really nice.”

“Of course it does. Because it is nice,
I
am nice, Jaynie.”

Yeah, right
.

With a wolfish grin, she reaches for my flowers. I have no choice but to relinquish them.

And just like that, Allison takes away what Flynn has given me.

Flynn

W
hen I arrive upstairs, I stop in my room briefly to retrieve two nutrition bars I’ve been saving for an emergency. Cody is fast asleep, exhausted from the day of play. I’m glad the twins and Mandy got dinner, but it still irritates me that Cody and Callie don’t have normal days like this more often.

After placing a blanket Cody had kicked off back on him, I use the system for getting into the girls’ bedroom undetected to drop off the nutrition bars for Jaynie.

When Mandy lets me in I fill her in on what went down in the kitchen after Jaynie and I returned from the forest.

Mandy is outraged. “I can’t believe those bitches didn’t give you guys
any
dinner.”

“Nope, nothing,” I place the nutrition bars on Jaynie’s pillow.

“Did you have anything at all to eat today?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Nothing since breakfast. But I’m good.”

Mandy lifts one end of her mattress up off the floor. She reaches under and pulls out a candy bar in a faded wrapper.

“It’s kind of old.” She checks the expiration date. “Still good, though.” Holding the chocolate bar out to me, she urges, “Go ahead and take it, Flynn. I know you want Jaynie to have both nutrition bars, but you need to eat something, too.”

“Thank, Mandy.” Accepting the candy bar, I tear the wrapper off and take a bite. “Best candy bar ever,” I say around a mouthful of chewy chocolate-covered caramel.

Mandy smiles smugly. “What makes it even better is that I stole it out from under Allison’s nose a couple of months ago. She left it on one of the work tables. Dumbass kept looking around for it later that day, like she knew she’d left it somewhere, but couldn’t remember where.”

I chuckle as I finish the chocolate bar. Little victories mean a lot when you’re tired, hungry, and your life is dictated by the whims of others.

Licking my fingers, I nod to where Callie is sleeping, wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets. “At least both kids had a full meal.”

Mandy rolls her eyes. “Burgers and fries. How nutritious.”

We both know it’s still better than nothing, and the subject is dropped.

Mandy shifts from one bare foot to the other. “Where did you and Jaynie go anyway? How far did you take her?”

“I took her all the way up to the cliff’s edge.”

“Oh.” Mandy’s appears surprised. “You took her there.”

“She can be trusted, Mandy.”

“I know. I already mentioned the cliff to her before.” She sighs. “I guess I just can’t envision Jaynie ever jumping.”

Mandy and I have discussed the same escape plan I shared with Jaynie. However, like I told Jaynie, there’s no chance of Mandy leaving before she turns eighteen. She’s not about to jeopardize her good record of late. Mandy is really committed to fostering, and eventually adopting, Cody and Callie.

Though that doesn’t mean she’s averse to helping me.

“I think she would jump if she needed to,” I say. “She’s stronger than you think, Mandy.”

Mandy eyes me curiously. “You like her, Flynn, don’t you? Like,
really
like her.”

“I do,” I confess in a soft tone.

Exhaling resignedly, Mandy says, “Guess that means you want me to provide clothes for Jaynie, along with the stuff for you?”

Since Mandy is out of here at the end of July, the plan has always been for her to stash a backpack containing a change of clothes for me at a public park that’s by the river’s edge down in Lawrence. The contingency plan, if I ever have to run, involves exactly what Jaynie and I discussed—jumping into the water from up on the cliff’s edge.

There are lockers in the park in Lawrence, for when the weather’s good and people go there to swim in the river. Mandy knows the area well, and she has a good hiding place in which to place the key. Up in the branches of a hundred-year-old oak is a carved-out nook, perfect for a small item, like a locker key.

“Yes,” I reply. “If you could throw some clothes in the backpack for Jaynie, that’d be great.”

“Consider it done. Once I’m out of here, I’ll get those things set up for both of you. Did you tell Jaynie about the guy I know, Bill Delmont?”

“We didn’t really get that far,” I tell Mandy. “But I’ll get Jaynie up to speed.”

According to Mandy, her friend, Bill, is a good, trustworthy dude. He was once homeless, but turned his life around big-time. He now runs a sandwich shop in Lawrence and can set me up with a job if I ever need to run.

“I’ll check in with Bill before I head to Morgantown,” Mandy says. “I’ll make sure he knows to give Jaynie a job, too.”

“I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.” I run my hand through my hair. “It may never come down to running.”

Mandy gives me a look like the likelihood in this life of it coming down to running is far higher than if we were normal kids.

At last, she says, “Hey, even if you just leave at eighteen, go look Bill up. Remember, his place is called Delmont Deli. You’re going to need a job, Flynn. Jaynie, too, since it’s looking like she may end up with you no matter what.”

Mandy is smiling like she has some great insight. Is it that obvious that I’m falling hard for Jaynie?

In a serious tone, I say, “I’d be okay with Jaynie and me ending up in the same city.”

“Of course you would.” Mandy smacks my arm. “Jesus, dude, you need to lighten up. It’s cool that you two like each other.”

I give her a wary look. “Other people in this house might not have the same warm, fuzzy feelings as you.”

“Don’t let Allison stand in the way of your happiness, Flynn. She already takes too much from us.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” I reply.

Callie mutters something indecipherable in her sleep, halting my conversation with Mandy. When Callie rolls to her back, her face appears angelic in the moonlit room.

Mandy and I smile at each other. “It’ll all work out,” she says.

“I hope so, Mandy.”

I turn to leave, but she grabs my arm. “Hey, do you want to go get Cody? You can stay in our room tonight, if you want.”

Since I have no idea what kind of shit Allison is down in the kitchen doling out to Jaynie—she may need me tonight—I am quick to agree. “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea.”

Twenty minutes later, when Jaynie comes into the room, she seems relieved to see me on the floor next to her bed.

“Is this okay?” I ask in a light whisper, since the little ones are fast asleep, and Mandy is snoring lightly.

Jaynie nods as she steps over me to climb into her bed. Lying down in the same clothes she’s worn all day, she places her arm over her eyes.

“You plan on sleeping in those grimy clothes?” I ask, trying to get her to laugh.

I’m in my usual boxers and nothing else. It’s gotten warm up here on the third floor with the evolving season. Soon it will be stifling in the rooms. Jaynie’s modesty has taken a back seat to comfort when nighttime rolls around. She sleeps in boy shorts and tees these days, though she keeps her covers up to her neck most nights so no one can see.

“I’ll cover my eyes if you want to change,” I tell her when she fails to crack a smile.

With her arm still covering her eyes, she mutters, “I’m fine like this.”

She stifles a sob, and I know then just who caused her pain.

Sitting up swiftly, I place an elbow on the edge of the bed. “What happened down there? What did that bitch say to you?”

“She didn’t say anything I couldn’t handle,” Jaynie whispers in the night. “But she did take my lilacs, Flynn.”

Inside, I rage. I wish I could break something. I am so sick and tired of feeling helpless. Going off, I mutter a litany of choice words, things I’d like to say to Allison’s nasty face.

“Getting mad won’t help,” Jaynie sniffles. “Just let it go. I have.”

I wish I could believe her, but her soft cries as she turns to face the wall make me think otherwise. I want so badly to crawl under the covers and comfort her. Nothing sexual, I just want to hold Jaynie, let her cry on my chest. Maybe someday that can happen.

Jaynie eventually falls to sleep. But I remain awake. I have a sick, nagging feeling this is just the beginning of Allison’s vendetta against Jaynie. She has singled her out, partly because of me, but also because Jaynie is vulnerable.

As I close my eyes, waiting for sleep to come, I am consumed with the feeling that having an escape plan just became more important than ever.

Jaynie

I
never see my lilac bouquet from Flynn again.

“Those flowers died,” Allison tells me the next morning, smirking.

We are minutes from the start of home-schooling, and the smug look on her made-up face makes me want to puke.

“I had to throw them away,” she continues, rubbing salt in the wounds. “But really, what did you expect from a bunch of weeds.”

“They weren’t weeds,” I grind out between clenched teeth.

“Sure they were, Jaynie.”

She spins away from me to address the others, effectively dismissing me. “So, anyway, I have an announcement from my mother—”

I am not done. “You’re a liar,” I snap.

Allison blinks, surprised. “Did you say something, Miss Cumberland?”

Mandy kicks me under the table. “It’s not worth it, Jaynie,” she whispers. “Don’t give her the satisfaction.”

Mandy is right, of course. Allison can take away my lilacs, but she can never erase the fact Flynn was the one who gave them to me. And that’s what she hates. She wants to steal away the way his sweet gesture made me feel. Too bad for her, that bitch can’t touch what’s in my head and my heart.