Chapter 8
That night I didn’t cook for the Hartwell bros and Jaxon.
When the three of them saw there were no plates set for them, they stormed off to their rooms with attitudes.
Ryder saw this and dragged my mom over: “Mom, the assholes are gone–time to eat!”
I glared at him: “That’s MY mom.”
He raised an eyebrow: “Our mom. Happy now?”
Since he’d helped me out today, I didn’t feel like arguing with his smart mouth.
Next morning I was out back feeding the chickens.
The Hartwell trio came out of their rooms looking like death–clearly starving.
Ryder was standing next to me, taking a huge bite of his sandwich: “Fucking amazing!”
The three of them looked green around the gills and stomped back inside.
But at lunch, Mom’s soft heart won out and she cooked for them anyway.
I sighed in defeat.
Mom was too kind for her own good.
But I didn’t want to tell her about the Hartwell family drama and make her worry over nothing.
Whatever. Let her do what she wants.
After lunch, I grabbed some clothes to wash down at the creek.
Ryder heard “going to the river” and got all excited, tagging along to check it out.
For some reason, the Hartwell trio followed us at a distance too.
I was squatting by the water, scrubbing away, when Camden shuffled over. He just stood there not saying anything.
I couldn’t be bothered with him and kept working.
After forever, he finally spoke, sounding all nostalgic: “When we were kids, we used to go down to the creek all the time, trying to catch fish with our bare hands, getting soaked… everything was just… better then, you know?”
He paused, then mumbled: “Then the flash flood happened, and my sister saved my life…”
He trailed off, staring at the top of my head with this wistful look.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead and looked up with a helpful expression: “You mean your sister Willow saved you? You should really thank her properly for that.”
Camden’s face froze.
His mouth opened like he wanted to explain, but seeing my sincere expression, he suddenly looked defeated.
Right then Willow called from far away: “Camden, get over here!”
He gave me this complicated look and slunk off.
Xammale the Comal
21.19%
Chapter 8
Before we knew it, it was time to head back.
Early that morning. Mom packed a huge bag of local specialties and walked us out to the main road.
Mr. and Mrs. Hartwell were already waiting there.
Soon as we got past the mountain road, I heard a commotion up ahead.
When we got closer, I saw a bunch of villagers crowded around the Hartwell convoy, gawking.
Most of these people had never left these mountains in their whole lives–they’d never seen such a fancy car lineup.
Naturally there was a lot of amazed chatter.
Someone asked Mr. and Mrs. Hartwell curiously: “You must be the rich birth parents Skylar went through hell to find, right?”
“You hit the jackpot with that girl–Skylar’s a hard worker and brilliant too.”
“Where’s Skylar? Your rich mom and dad are here to pick you up!”
The villagers were all genuinely happy for me.
The Hartwells were masters at putting on fake smiles, and the villagers were simple people who couldn’t see the disgust and impatience in Mr.
and Mrs. Hartwell’s eyes.
I was about to step in and clear things up when Mr. Hartwell said coolly: “You’ve got it wrong. We’re not Skylar’s parents.”
Mrs. Hartwell nodded frantically: “Right, we’re here to pick up our own kids.”
I stopped in my tracks.
The villagers got all stirred up:
“Wrong people?”
“Yeah right, like Skylar would get that lucky. If those were really her folks, they wouldn’t be acting like ice cubes. Shoot, we’re friendlier to random strays around here!”
“But that lady looks exactly like Skylar…”
Mrs. Hartwell’s face went sour at being called “that lady.”
Mr. Hartwell looked pissed too.
I quickly walked over: “Mr. Patterson, Mrs. Patterson, you got it wrong!”
I explained: “These are the nice people from the city who’ve been fostering me. They’re not my parents.”
Mr. and Mrs. Hartwell’s faces relaxed a little.
I pulled Mom over: “Come on, y’all, quit saying that stuff–my mom’s gonna feel bad.”
Mrs. Hartwell’s expression got even darker than before.
The villagers realized their mistake and since it was dinnertime, they dispersed.
I said goodbye to Mom and was about to get in the car when Willow slammed the door shut. Through the window she snorted: “Skylar’s been acting like a total bitch, wouldn’t cook for us or anything. You wanna be tough? Walk home!”
Camden was leaning on Jaxon’s shoulder, smirking: “Trailer trash, go catch your Greyhound bus.”
W the Camel
21.3%
Chapter 8
Mr. Hartwell was frowning but didn’t say anything.
Mrs. Hartwell was still pissed about me calling someone else “mom” and didn’t want to deal with me either.
Ryder jumped out of the passenger seat: “Tuck this piece of shit car wouldn’t ride in it if you paid me!”
The Hartwell convoy drove off.
Ryder spat and turned to me: “Chill, my car’s on the way.”
I stayed quiet for a second: “You didn’t have to bail on them.”
“That car stunk like assholes. I was gonna throw up.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
Seeing me laugh, Ryder coughed and looked away.
Soon enough, the Kensington family car arrived.
Mom suddenly gripped my hand tight.
She signed: [Baby girl, wait for Mommy to come find you.]
I was startled: “Mom, don’t go wandering around. When I get to college I’ll work hard and make money to bring you out.”
Mom pressed her lips together and shook her head, then firmly pushed me toward the car.
