I sat up and helped Aden from bed. Liam, who was also awake, followed us. While they used the bathroom and brushed their teeth, I went to the kitchen to check the time on the microwave. On a typical day, David let us out of our rooms by seven. I’d slept past nine. They had to be starving.
After they allowed me a little time in the bathroom, we went downstairs. Both Nana and Jim’s doors stood open. From Jim’s apartment, I heard a shower running and someone singing boisterously. Aden giggled, and I looked down at him in surprise. He caught my look and grew serious again. I felt horrible that my glance had killed his amusement. I gave him an encouraging smile and his hand a light squeeze, but the moment was gone.
The sudden sizzle of frying food came from Nana’s apartment and interrupted the singing. I led the way into Nana’s while calling out a tentative hello.
“Good morning, sleepyheads,” she called from the kitchen. “Come in and eat.”
Only three settings waited on the table.
Nana caught my puzzled look. “As soon as they smelled the food, they started snitching. I told them they might as well eat,” she explained. She then smiled at the boys. “I saved some for you.”
Emmitt came in while we ate, followed closely by a still damp Jim.
“Ready to head into town and do some shopping?” Emmitt said.
Mouth full of pancake, it took me a second to answer. The thought of clean clothes appealed to me, but the likelihood of Blake finding us remained lower if we stayed hidden in Emmitt’s home and tree-enclosed yard.
“Not today,” I answered. Maybe not ever. I could live in these clothes forever if it meant Blake never found us.
Emmitt tilted his head and studied me for a moment. “If you’re worried about money, I—”
“On Saturday’s, I usually comb through the paper,” Nana said, interrupting him. “This morning I found a few family rummages. Would you like to come with me?”
I set down my fork, feeling a little interrogated. “Thank you, but I think we’ll stay here and play if that’s okay.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Emmitt frown.
Nana smiled reassuringly. “It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Would you mind if I looked for things for the boys?”
I eyed my brothers and knew I couldn’t say no. I wanted to stay here for a few days, at least, before moving on. It would help to have some spare clothes.
“I don’t mind.”
She and I talked sizes while Liam and Aden finished eating. Jim and Emmitt stayed in the kitchen, listening. I felt Emmitt watching me and resisted the urge to meet his gaze.
Jim sat next to Aden and mischievously eyed Aden’s plate. Aden pulled his plate away and shifted his body to give Jim his back. Jim grinned but left Aden’s food alone.
After cleaning up our places, the three of us followed the rest outside. Nana wasted no time pulling her small car of out the driveway, and I wondered if I should have given her my sizes, too.
Emmitt ambled to the garage where a riding lawnmower sat with its deck removed. Old, dried grass clumps littered the area around it. Jim joined Emmitt, and they started talking lawnmower care. Emmitt pointed out the need to do general maintenance, and Jim congratulated Emmitt on his new job.
Liam, Aden, and I lingered on the porch and stared at the yard. Our eyes saw freedom, but our minds didn’t quite believe it. Clasping hands, we walked down the steps together. At the last minute, I sat and pulled off my shoes. Liam and Aden did the same.
Grass tickled the bottoms of my feet as I stood. I smiled at the feeling and took a slow deep breath. The grass felt just as I remembered, and I wanted to do cartwheels and summersaults on it. A feral desire to hold onto this place claimed me, and thoughts began tumbling in my head. Maybe Blake wouldn’t find us here. Maybe we could just stay. The boys held my hands, walking circles in the grass with me.
Eventually, I realized Jim and Emmitt’s playful banter had stopped. When I looked up, I found both men watching us.
I self-consciously cleared my throat and turned to the boys. “What do you want to play?”
“There’s no swing,” Liam said as he looked around the yard with a very serious expression.
Without Jim and Emmitt’s gazes, I would have shown my brothers the things I wanted to do. Instead, I bent and plucked a blade of grass from the overgrown lawn.
“We don’t need one to play. Here.” I handed each boy a blade of grass and proceeded to teach them how to make a whistle using the grass, their thumbs, and cupped hands.
I entertained them with simple things I remembered from a long time ago, until Aden’s stomach growled.
“I’m hungry,” Jim called out, right on cue. “Anyone else?”
Aden immediately answered with a quiet “Me.”
As I stared at Aden in surprise, forgetting that I needed to encourage him rather than stare, a premonition hit. Like a song played too often on the radio, it crawled into my head and stuck there on repeat. I didn’t visibly react but did start to worry. When I’d run, I hadn’t given any thought to what I would do with them.