Bound by Guilt by C. J. Darlington

Author:C. J. Darlington
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: theft, young adult, christian fiction, christian suspense, foster children, rare books, foster kids, teen runaways
Publisher: Mountainview Books, LLC

Chapter 23

When Roxi woke up, she had no idea where she was. Then slowly she remembered. The Safeway. Jan and Keith. Their ranch. Their dead son’s bedroom.

She relaxed and closed her eyes again, reveling in the bed’s warmth and comfort. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept in something so soft. Her bed in the RV was tolerable, but it was more like sleeping on a couch. And even her mattress at Irene and Diego’s house had a few unruly springs that would sometimes wake her up in the middle of the night.

Roxi reached under the covers and rested her hand on Selah’s back. The dog woke at her touch, wagging her tail and slithering up to the opening. They spent a few lazy minutes lying there together, slowly waking. Things could sure change in twenty-four hours. They weren’t shivering behind some rusty Dumpster wondering where breakfast would come from.

Gently rubbing Selah’s ears, Roxi closed her eyes again and let herself play with that fantasy she used to have about waking up and discovering her life had just been a bad dream. That she really did have a family who loved her and cared what happened to her. She tuned everything out and concentrated hard. Jan and Keith were her parents, this ranch her home. . . .

It almost worked.

Roxi opened her eyes again. She glanced at her watch and let out a long sigh. It was nearly eleven. So much for fantasies.

She groggily pulled down the covers. What she needed was a plan. Peeling off her T-shirt, she redressed in her jeans from last night and checked her scrapes. They didn’t hurt quite as badly, but they were still tender. She dug around in her backpack for a clean shirt, but there wasn’t one. She’d worn everything at least once. If it hadn’t been for Jan, she’d still be out there somewhere, hungry and cold. And she was probably going to be again.

“I don’t know what to do,” Roxi said to Selah, who was still curled up in a ball on the bed. “Even if they let me stay, they’re gonna ask questions. What then?”

Selah thumped her tail.

She threw her pack on the bed, plopping down beside it. “I should just thank them for everything and leave.” As the words left her mouth, she knew that would be the hardest choice of all. There was something about Jan and Keith. Last night with Jan, she’d felt something she hadn’t felt in . . . maybe she’d never felt it.

Safe. Like someone was looking out for her.

Which was stupid, really. The second they found out who she was, it would be over. Then she thought about the kind way Jan had looked at her in the truck and how she’d washed the cut on her arm without even mentioning her scar.

“So what do I do?” Roxi ran her hands through her hair, looking at Selah, who didn’t open her eyes. The dog had settled in as if she’d lived here her whole life.

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