Chapter 2

A gasp.

Hailey sat bolt upright in her narrow bed.

Her heart hammered.

Her room. The same cracked walls, the same thin blanket.

Sunlight, weak and grey, came through the dirty window.

She touched her throat. She could breathe.

The air was cool, real.

Downstairs, she heard her mother's voice.

"Hailey! Come down here!"

The tone was familiar. The one Brenda used before something bad.

Hailey's stomach twisted.

She remembered.

The footlocker. The darkness. The suffocation.

Every horrifying second.

She went downstairs, her legs shaking.

Brenda stood in the kitchen, arms crossed. Kevin was next to her, eating cereal.

"We're going to visit Aunt Carol for Thanksgiving," Brenda began.

Hailey's breath caught. It was happening again.

"It's a long bus trip, a Greyhound."

Brenda smiled that same sharp smile. "And to save money for Kevin's new game console..."

Hailey saw the old footlocker by the door.

The memories flooded her. The smell, the fear, the not being able to breathe.

"No," Hailey whispered.

Brenda's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

"Kevin," Hailey said, her voice small but desperate. "Kevin is smaller. He might fit better."

It was a weak try, she knew it. But she had to say something.

Brenda's face turned red.

"How dare you!" she hissed. "Selfish girl! Always thinking of yourself!"

Kevin giggled. "Yeah, Hailey's selfish."

"You don't love your brother, do you?" Brenda accused, her voice rising. "You wouldn't want him to have nice things?"

Hailey stared at her mother. The words were like poison.

She remembered Brenda' s face when they found her dead.

Just annoyed.

"I... I just..."

"You just don't want to help this family!" Brenda shrieked. "You're a burden, Hailey! Always a burden!"

Brenda stormed off, shouting for Frank.

"Frank! Your daughter is being difficult again! Ungrateful!"

Hailey felt a cold dread.

She knew what came next.