Blood and Honor by Vixen Jayna

Author:Vixen, Jayna [Vixen, Jayna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jayna Writes
Published: 2014-06-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mickey chose the lone set of seats at the rear of the bus and stuck her leg through the strap on her backpack to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere. Anyone who looked into the frayed old bag wouldn’t see anything that looked important, but inside was the symbol of Mickey’s shame—and of her potential salvation. She guarded her backpack with what was left of her pathetic life, hoping that someday, she might figure out what to do with the contents.

A couple of days and a couple of line changes would get her to Darling in the cheapest way possible. It was fine, actually. Public transportation was her thing. She wrapped herself in the oversized hoodie Ruby lent her and pulled her beanie down low over her head. The dark sunglasses she wore made her perfectly anonymous.

Saying goodbye to Ruby was really emotional—for both of them. She wasn’t planning to, but Mickey found herself promising to keep in touch. Ruby’s daughter hadn’t ever come back and Ruby was scarred by the loss of her family—her granddaughter especially. Mickey would be damned if she would put Ruby through the same thing.

She was hardly able to curtail the sharp ache that sliced through her heart as she lifted her hand in a final salute to the woman who had helped her…even healed her a little bit. Mickey had been able to sleep for several hours a night in that house. Maybe part of her promise was selfish—it had been a long time since she had been comfortable enough somewhere to rest like that.

The mostly empty bus pulled onto the highway and chugged along. Mickey stared out the window and tried to forget. But the closer she got to Darling, the stronger and more painful her recollections became.

***

“I’m worried about you, Mouse.”

Mickey stared at her mother through the numb haze she’d been stumbling around in for the past week. She wondered if anyone would notice she was different now—forever changed, damaged, in a fundamental way that could never be repaired. When she looked in the mirror, the wise, haunted eyes that looked back at her seemed like they belonged to someone else.

But, they didn’t.

She hadn’t spoken—hadn’t said a single word to anyone in seven whole days—and it had taken that long for her own mother to notice.

“If something was wrong, if something…happened, you would tell me, wouldn’t you Mouse?”

Mickey nodded, her eyes fixed on a small bird that perched just outside the dining room window. As though it knew of the horror that lived within the house, it flew away abruptly. Mickey found herself wishing that she could do the same.

Paul’s behavior since the incident was vastly different, and it made Mickey so nervous she could hardly stand it.

“We are gonna be set, ladies!” he announced one evening.

Then, he took all of them out to a fancy restaurant, but the experience was so tense and awkward that everyone else picked at their food while Paul made a show of ordering the most expensive wine on the menu.

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