Soulless Candy: The Morningstar Series Book 2

I was ten years old, and was at my fifth foster home for that year so far. It seemed like I never fit in anywhere I ended up. The caseworker dropped me off at a small four-bedroom house. She didn't even go in with me to check out the place. Just rang the doorbell, and left as soon as someone greeted us. It was always like this. No one ever cared about us orphans. I looked up at my new foster parents. Lisa is a large women with dirty blonde hair, and hazel eyes. Dave is even larger than his wife. He has dark brown hair and blue eyes. I hated them immediately. I never had high hopes for any of the homes I was dropped off at, but I got a bad feeling about this place. Lisa ushered me inside, and I walked into the small entry-way. I looked around and saw the house was an absolute mess. It reeked of cigarette smoke so badly it made me gag. "My, aren't you a cute, strong boy. What's your name sweetie?" Lisa asked. "Max," I said, without looking at her. I was what they called a 'problem child'. Which was complete bullsh.it to me. I never did anything bad, except stand up for myself. You wouldn't believe some of the places I've been to. People used us orphans as slaves, some tried to molest us, some beat us, and some didn't even feed us. All I ever did was talk back. Got my ass kicked a lot, but it was worth it every time. "Well Maxi, would you like to meet the other kids?" Lisa asked. "Sure," I replied. I hate it when people call me Maxi, but I was smart enough to pick my battles. Lisa led me to the small kitchen. The lighting was different in here, and it hurt my eyes. There were three kids cleaning. One boy doing the dishes, and a girl scrubbing the floor with a sponge. Another little boy is cleaning out the fridge. Great, so they're the kind that put us to work. I have been in foster care since the day I was born. No one knew where I came from. I just showed up in the middle of the night at the local fire department. Like some damn movie, I was in a basket and wrapped in a blanket. The only thing I was able to keep that meant anything to me was the necklace I was left with. It was some kind of small black crystal, and I never took it off. "Kids, this is Max, our newest member of the family," Lisa announced. I watched as the girl glared at Lisa. The two boys turned to look at me. "This is Bou an Bianca, they're twins, and only two years younger than you. And this little guy is Robby. He's only seven." She told me. "Hi." They all mumbled. "Hi." I said back. "I hope you three are almost done," Dave said, with his raspy, deep voice. It felt like bees were buzzing around in my ears every time he talked. That can't be good. I always knew when the adults were bad people, and let me tell you that most of them were. They never saw any of us as kids or even as people. We were a ticket to get more money or to clean their houses. The caseworkers never cared either. "Yes sir." They answered. "Why don't you help Bou finish with the dishes, and then they can show you around the house, and where you'll sleep while you're here." Lisa said. "Okay." I answered, and I walked to where Bou was standing. Turning my head, I could see Lisa leave the room, but Dave hovered. He stared at Bianca for a few seconds before turning, and following his wife. I frowned. That was weird. I looked at Bianca as she continued to scrub the floor. Did she notice the way he looked at her? I'd have to keep an extra close eye on her. "How long have you guys been here?" I asked Bou. "Two weeks." He said. "Robby just got here a couple days ago." He told me. "Have you been in foster care long?" I asked. I wasn't new to kids being pushed in, and out. Kids got taken from their mothers, and fathers all the time. "B and I have been orphans all our lives. I don't know about Robby. He doesn't talk much." He told me. I nodded in understanding. "So, what kinda people are they?" I asked. If Bou had been in foster care all his life than he should know what I mean. Bou shrugged. "They just ask us to clean all day. We go to school everyday, and come home to cook dinner, and then we have to clean the house before we go to bed. They haven't hurt us. Yet." He said. The way he said yet had me thinking Bou knew exactly why Dave hovered in the room before leaving. "At least we get to go to school," I mumbled. Bou glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "They're new." He told me. "New?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, we were their first kids. Don't think Dave was happy he didn't get two girls." Bou told me. He was trying to tell me about Dave without coming out, and saying it. "Has he touched her yet?" I asked. Bou whipped his head at me, but I stared at the plate I was drying. "No. And he won't." Bou said, determinedly. "Damn right he won't. We won't let him," I said sternly. "You sound so confident," Bou said with a small chuckle. "I am." And I really was. I don't care if we all had to run away. We would not let Dave hurt any of us. The four of us finished our chores. They all showed me to my bedroom, which we all shared. There were three mattresses laid on the floor with no sheets. There was one lamp and one small dresser in the room. Looking around, I frowned. "I thought that this house had four bedrooms?" I asked. "It does. One for us, one for them, one for storage, and one is Dave's office." Bou told me. I frowned harder. "I thought he worked at a factory." "He does." Bianca said. So what the hell did he need an office for? Whatever. I decided to just let it go. "So what bed is mind?" I asked. Robby pointed to one, and I walked over to it before plopping down. "We get ourselves up for school. This alarm clock will go off at 7." Bianca told me. "Gotcha. So where did they go? I didn't see them in the living room," I asked. Bou and Bianca shared a look before Bou answered me. "They are in their room doing drugs." He told me. I propped myself up on my elbow. "What kinda drugs?" I asked. We weren't ignorant about the different kinds of drugs either. For a lot of people, the extra income of being a foster family paid for their heroin and crack. All we are, is a meal ticket. Nobody cares about us. "Not sure. I think it's crack though," Bou said. Robby crawled into his bed, and pulled his blanket over himself. He turned on his side so his back was to us. I looked at Bou and Bianca, and they shrugged in unison. My heart ached for the little boy. I know how hard growing up in this life can be. No one should have to go through the things we do. Bianca got into the only empty bed, and I watched as Bou locked the door. He turned, and got into the same bed as his twin. Pushing her against the wall, he turned so I could see his face. Bou isn't looking at me, but I could see the worry in his eyes. He probably never slept, always being so worried Dave would come in and take his sister. "Get some sleep Bou. I promise I'll stop him if he tries to come in here," I whispered. Bou looked at me, and I could see the dark circles under his eyes. He looked at his sister who was already fast asleep, and then back to me. "Okay." He said. In less than a minute he was asleep. I wonder how many days he's been up worrying about his sister. *************************** I was up all night waiting for Dave to make his move, but he never did. Over the next few days, I started to see how things worked here. We woke up, made breakfast for Lisa and Dave, but were not given anything ourselves. They gave us each a backpack that we were not allowed to ruin or keep. We rode the bus to and from school every day. The school served us hot lunch which seemed to be the biggest meal we received daily. Whatever, at least they let us have a little bit of dinner. I had been to places that made five of us share a piece of lunch meat for every meal. Bou, Bianca, and I have grown very close in the last few days. Robby still wouldn't talk, but I tried every day. I found out that Bou and Bianca's mother had died during childbirth, and no one knew who the father was. Their mother apparently gave the hospital a fake name because she didn't exist. They were never able to find any other family members, so they went into foster care. No one knew Robby's story, but I'm not sure any of us wanted to. It had to be tragic enough to make the kid mute. Dave hadn't tried to come into our room once since I had been here. That didn't stop him from staring at Bianca whenever he wanted. I often would try to block his view while still attending to our chores. Dave would grumble, and walk off to his bedroom. It was on the fourth night that I woke up from a nightmare. I didn't understand why, but I had been having nightmares every night since I'd been here. Well, every night that I slept anyway. It was always just darkness chasing me, but I didn't understand it. Sitting up, I looked around the room to find Robby sitting up in his bed staring out the window at the full moon. I got up, and went to sit next to him. He didn't move or even look at me. I watched as tears fell down his small face. "What's wrong, Robby?" I asked. I tried to talk to Robby every day, and he never responded to me. So, you can imagine my surprise when his soft little voice floated to my ears. "I miss my mommy." He told me. It took me a few moments to recover from the shock that he actually spoke to me. I looked back at the twins, and they were still sound asleep. "What happened to her?" I asked. Robby continued to cry as he answered. "She died three years ago." That must be why he's in foster care. "Where is your dad?" I asked. Robby shrugged. "He said he'd come back for me." He turned his head to look at me. "I wish he would have found me sooner." As soon as the words left Robby's mouth, a sharp pain shot across my head. I groaned out as an image flashed before my eyes. It was an even littler Robby in another foster care. He was lying on a couch crying as an older man touched him. Just as fast as it came, it stopped. I shook my head as the pain left. "I hope he finds you soon Robby." Was all I could manage. I don't know how I saw what I saw, but I know it was the truth. Robby had been molested in another home. Probably right after he got put into foster care. My heart broke for him. I was lucky enough that that never happened to me, but knowing that it happened so often, and no one was doing anything to help us. "I don't think he will," Robby said as he sniffled. I put my hand on his back. "Don't say that, Robby. Maybe he is having trouble finding you." I tried. Robby shook his head at me. "My dad is powerful. He would have found me by now if he was still alive." He told me. Still alive? I wanted to ask, but Robby started to talk again. "He's a Bounty Hunter, ya know." "A Bounty Hunter? That's really cool. So he finds bad guys for the police?" I asked. Robby shook his head. "No he is a supernatural Bounty Hunter." He told me matter-of-factly. I just blinked at the kid. No wonder why he doesn't talk much. He's a looney. "Let's try to get some sleep, okay? Want me to pull my bed next to yours?" I asked. Robby nodded as he wiped the tears from his face. I pulled my bed over to Robby's, and tucked him in. He fell asleep quickly, but I did not sleep for the rest of the night. ********************************** The next few days went by the same. Robby hadn't said another word to me since that night. The nightmares continued, and weird things were happening around me. Lights would burst as I walked under them, large gusts of wind would appear in a closed classroom. It was strange. I couldn't stop thinking about what Robby told me about his dad being a supernatual Bounty Hunter. Do supernatural things really exist? If they do, am I one? Is that why all of this stuff was happening to me? The days dragged on, and the weird things were happening more often. Finally, it was the weekend again. While I wasn't too happy about being locked in the house all weekend, at least weird things wouldn't happen. It never happened when I would return home. Still, we were expected to deep clean the entire house over the weekends. It was late Saturday night, and we were finished with our chores. The four of us were sitting in our bedroom talking and laughing when we heard Dave and Lisa screaming at each other. They had been in their bedroom for hours, and we assumed they were doing their drugs again. We weren't sure what they were yelling about, but we heard Lisa shout that she was going to leave for the night, and then heard the door slam. We all looked at each other, and held our breaths. It was just Dave in the house with us. After waiting for about an hour in silence, we decided Dave went back to his room, and we were in the clear. A little while later, we all decided to go to sleep. My bed had remained next to Robby's since that night, and I could tell he felt safer this way. Everyone was asleep within a few minutes. I could hear Bou's soft snores from across the room. Honestly, I was afraid to go to sleep. The nightmares were getting worse and worse, and I was not excited to have another. Something inside me was wired up anyway. Suddenly, the door burst open so hard it bounced off the wall behind it. The noise woke the other three kids in the room. We all jumped startled. Dave looked around at each of our faces, and Robby whimpered next to me. I put my hand on Robby's arm to comfort him, and sat up. Dave narrowed his eyes at me like he was daring me to do something. He reeked so badly of alcohol that I could smell it from the doorway he stood in. Turning his eyes on the twins, he smiled wickedly. Dave stomped his way to the twins' bed, and Bou stood in front of his sister. "Out of my way, boy," he demanded. "No!" Bou shouted. "You will not touch my sister!" Dave grunted, and backhanded Bou so hard he fell to the ground. Bou spit out some blood as he stood up again. This time Dave punched him hard, and I shot up ready to help. Before I could make the few steps to the twins, Dave grabbed Bianca by her hair, and started to pull her out of the room. Panic surged through me as Bianca started flailing. "No! Please! Don't take me! Bou! Help me! Help me!" She screamed. "Shut up!" Dave said, and then he smacked her hard in the face. "You are coming with me. If my wife can't give me what I want, you will." He told her. I ran to them, and grabbed Bianca's arm. "You can't take her! She's just a little girl!" I yelled. Dave punched me, and I fell to the ground, but I didn't let go of Bianca's hand. "Let go boy." Dave ordered, but I didn't. "I don't care if she's a little girl. You all should have been little girls, and then you could have taken her place, but I'm not into little boys." He said, and then laughed as he kicked me in the gut. The pain from the kick had me doubling over in pain. I let go of Bianca's hand, and coughed up some blood. Dave started dragging her out of the room again while she kicked and screamed. Bou was knocked out on the floor from the punch he received. I looked at Dave's large form as he was dragging Bianca out of the room, and into his across the hall. Standing up, I started breathing hard. My vision blurred, and went red. Gathering all of my might, I did something I didn't even know how to do. I screamed, and every single window in the house shattered. Dave dropped Bianca as he watched the glass swirl around me. "What the.." He trailed off as the shards attacked him. I walked up to him, and I felt like I wasn't in control. "What the hell are you?" He asked frightened as I approached them. Bianca was on the floor staring at me wide-eyed. I stood in front of her, and lifted my hand to Dave. "You will never hurt anyone again," I said, and then twisted my hand. As soon as I did that, I watched as Dave's entire body crumpled. We heard the sickening snaps as his bones broke. His screams filled the whole house, and I relished in the sound. As soon as his screams died down, I felt all of the energy I had drain from my body. I fell to my knees, and almost to the ground, but Bianca caught me. "Thank you. Thank you so much Max." She sobbed to me as she held me up. I could see Bou still knocked out on the ground, and Robby sitting up in his bed staring at me. "My dad's here." He said it so softly I thought I misheard him. Just then, the front door was busted open, and in ran a small group of large men. One of them approached us, and I glared at him. "Don't... you come any... closer." I breathed out. It felt like everything was drained from me. The man smiled at me, and put his hands up. He looked at Dave, then back at me. "You did that?" He asked. Bianca answered before I did. "He was protecting us." She defended me. "Us?" The man asked. Robby got up from his bed, and walked towards us. I tried to stop him, but could barely lift my hand. "Robby... stop..." I tried. He stopped halfway to the door, and looked at me worried. "Robby?" The man asked. He walked to the doorway, careful not to step on us. The man was standing right in front of me as he stared into our room. Weakly, I grabbed the man's ankle. He looked down at me. "Don't you.. touch them..." I gritted out. "Daddy?" Robby whispered. The man bent down to his knees as he ignored me. "Yeah buddy it's me," he said. Robby ran the rest of the way into his father's open arms. "I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you." He said as he held his son to his chest. "Don't worry you four. You're all coming with us." That was the last thing I heard before darkness took over.