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Chapter Four

“Pack your bags, you ungrateful bastard, you’re going back,” Roger spat at me.

“Back where?” I asked him. I’d come from Lorraine’s house to his and I knew going back there was impossible.

Even though I hated living in his house, it was a home at least. I had a bed to sleep in and food to eat. I only got beat up when Roger was drunk, and he ignored me most of the time. I knew he only fostered me for the cheque he got every month, but it was better than where I had been.

“That welfare woman called. Seems they found you a permanent home,” he said with a sneer and I almost smiled.

I didn’t smile though, that would earn me a punch to the gut or the ribs. Roger’s wife, Christy, was nicer than him but she was also afraid of him and she never intervened when he got physical with me, no matter how bad it was. She did, however, sneak me dinner when he passed out and for that I was grateful.

I wasn’t a big talker, thanks to Joe, and I kept it all inside, acting out at certain times and getting into fights. The only other good thing in my life, besides Joe, was school. I got good enough grades and I didn’t even try, at all. It had been the one constant besides skating that remained the same.

“She said you’ve been adopted,” Christy whispered once Roger had left the living room.

“I’ll miss you, Christy,” I said softly.

“I pray that this will be a good home for you, Kage,” she said and smiled sadly.

“Thanks for looking after me.” She rested her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it slightly.

I didn’t have much to pack to begin with and poverty wasn’t something new to me. I’d grown so used to having nothing that it didn’t even bother me when the other kids at school would remark on the only three outfits I owned. I had learned to shut out their insults and thicken my skin against their jeers.

I had packed my earthly possessions in less than ten minutes, and I chastised myself at being excited about this. A permanent home didn’t mean it would be a good one, it would just be harder for me to be sent somewhere else.

I wasn’t too worried about saying goodbye to Joe because I was sure that I wouldn’t be going far. I’d just be in a different part of New York. I didn’t have any friends at school and Christy, as hard as she tried, didn’t really have an impact on my life, not like Joe.

I heard the doorbell chime and I stood up from the single bed and straightened the covers before picking up my bag. I walked down the stairs as Roger pulled the front door open and my case worker stepped inside.

“Hello, Kage,” she said with a smile.

“Hello, Mrs. Winterbury,” I replied.

She glanced at Roger before looking at me again. “Roger said he’d give you the good news.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Come on then, let’s not make Mr. Hawthorne wait,” she said and opened the front door again.

“Goodbye, Roger, have a nice life.” I flipped him my middle finger the moment Mrs. Winterbury turned her back.

“Little asshole,” Roger muttered and slammed the door shut. I chuckled and turned away from the house.

I lifted my head and squared my shoulders as I walked towards the car where Mrs. Winterbury were waiting for me. She gave me another smile, but I couldn’t return it. She’d only been my case worker for six months and I hardly knew her.

I was lost in thought and I didn’t want to ask her where we were going when she got on the I-95 S. We drove in silence for a while and I swallowed. We were driving further away from Joe. She took the JFK Expressway and I got the sinking feeling that I was leaving New York.

“Where exactly are we going, Mrs. Winterbury?” I had finally gathered my courage to ask her.

She glanced over at me as we hit traffic and smiled. “To the airport. Mr. Hawthorne will meet us there.”

“I’m leaving New York?” I didn’t want to leave Joe. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to say goodbye to him or tell him that I was leaving. He’d be worried when I didn’t show up for work and I had no way to let him know.

“Mr. Hawthorne lives in North Dakota on a farmstead. He passed all the inspections and he was granted full custody of you. It doesn’t often happen that a single man gets approved for adoption.”

Her words didn’t make me feel any better, because what single man adopted a sixteen-year-old boy? My stomach recoiled at the thought of going to North Dakota where I wouldn’t have Joe. I’d be alone again and in a strange place.

When we reached the airport, she parked her car and I followed her to the inside, my hand tightening its grip on the backpack I carried. We walked for about fifteen minutes and Mrs. Winterbury headed to a man standing near a kiosk.

He was still young, probably in his early forties and everything about him screamed wealth, not just money. I had no idea what this man wanted with me and I stared openly at him. He seemed familiar, like I’d seen him somewhere before but there was too much happening for me to worry about that.

“Mr. Hawthorne, a pleasure,” she gushed and smiled at him. He shook her hand lightly, but he kept looking at me.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Winterbury. Thank you very much for bringing Kage all the way here,” he said.

She nudged me in the ribs, and I stuck my hand out as well. “Good afternoon, Mr. Hawthorne.”

He gripped my hand tightly, gripping it but not crushing it. I could feel the power in his grip even though he looked like a rich asshole in his fancy coat and suit. Mrs. Winterbury didn’t seem to notice the tension coming from me and I couldn’t say anything either. This man was now my ward.

Mrs. Winterbury said goodbye to me, but I hardly noticed her leaving. I couldn’t place this man and it bothered me. I’d learned to read people, their movements, expressions and I always trusted my gut because I knew better. People weren’t infinitely good.

“The others will join us shortly,” he said and clasped his hands behind his back. Others?

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