Chapter 4

"Sweetheart, where did you come from? Where is your family?"

Once I had finished the food, Grandpa Thomas asked me gently.

I didn't dare tell him the truth. I was terrified he would send me back.

Besides, I didn't even know if my dad was still alive.

"I don't have a family. I've been living on the streets," I lied, completely erasing my father from my story.

As I spoke, tears finally spilled over. The terror of the previous night finally caught up to me, suffocating me.

"Don't cry. Grandpa will wrap you up, and it won't hurt anymore," the boy chimed in from the side, trying to comfort me in his own childlike way.

Grandpa Thomas told me the boy was two years younger than me, and his name was Jules.

"How long have you been on your own, little girl?"

"I don't know... a very long time," I sobbed.

"Shh, don't cry, sweetheart. Tell you what, you stay here with us for now. We have plenty of food and clothes."

Grandpa Thomas gently wiped my tears with his rough, calloused thumb.

This warmth, which I hadn't felt in so long, moved me deeply.

Ever since we started running, my dad’s only focus was how to use me to get sympathy and cash.

When I cried, he no longer held me like he used to.

I couldn't understand what I had done wrong for my life to turn upside down so suddenly.

Compared to the terrifying days on the streets, life at Grandpa Thomas's ranch was heaven.

But whenever Jules and Grandpa went out to herd the sheep, I refused to go with them.

I didn't know where we were, or how far we were from that horrific warehouse.

My survival instinct told me to stay hidden inside the house. Only there did I feel somewhat safe.