Once I’m sure there’s no getting in from out in the hall, I go to bed. The events of the day have left me drained, physically and emotionally. I might be able to handle things better if I get a good night’s sleep.

CHAPTER 4

It’s the first thing on my mind the moment my eyes open on my first morning in the new house. Before I’ve even shaken off my sleepiness, I get out of bed and go straight to the door to test the knob. Unlike last night, it turns freely. That doesn’t mean I’m about to move the chair from in front of the door, but I know now that they don’t plan on keeping me locked in here like a hostage night and day.

After washing up and changing out of my pajamas, I have a decision to make. Do I stay up here, or do I risk facing my enemies downstairs?

There’s really nothing to think about. I’m not leaving this room until I absolutely have to.

In the meantime, I’m going to do something I thought over last night while I was trying to fall asleep, one eye always on the bedroom door. I wanted to see whether the knob turned like somebody had unlocked it, but I fell asleep before that happened. It’s amazing I slept at all, really.

I need to get a job, and fast. I need to make enough money to get out of here and find a place on my own. I can’t live the rest of my life this way, that’s for sure. Lying in bed, staring at the door, expecting somebody to break in.

I set up the laptop on the desk before taking the chance to remove the chair from under the doorknob. Soon I’m scrolling through job listings, and within an hour, I’ve applied to six different places—stores, a pizza place, and a coffee shop. It doesn’t matter what time of day I have to be there. If anything, the earlier, the better. More of a chance to avoid my bullies. I’ve never worked anywhere like this before, but if there’s one thing I know about myself, I’m strong. I can handle a little hard work.

To my surprise, there’s an email waiting for me by the time I finish the sixth application. It’s from the pizza shop. Can you come in today for an interview at 4:00?

My eyes widen. I didn’t expect to hear back from anybody so soon. I type out a quick reply, telling them yes, I’d be happy to. Now, I never exactly dreamed about slinging pizzas all day, but then I’ve never dreamed about being afraid to fall asleep in case one of my hateful stepbrothers decides to terrorize me in the middle of the night.