Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
I dream of the freefall on that roller coaster and awake to the screams from the riders. Push up with a start, and I’m met with unbearable pain between my shoulders. I spot Kat sitting quietly on the edge of the bed.
“I was dreaming of roller coasters,” I tell her, rubbing my eyes. “I could hear them screaming.”
“Those screams are real,” Kat replies. Her face is drawn pale with fright. “The Lind’s called from the hospital when Eddie woke up. He told his parents who hit him and now Dad is punishing Henry.”
Her voice is weighted with fear. The men in this family are violent and enjoy using their fists to get others to do their bidding. No wonder all of the women disappear.
“Should I stop him?” I ask her as I rise.
“No,” Kat says plainly. “He deserves what he’s getting.”
I get out of bed and turn on the fan to drown out Henry’s screams. “I’ve got to get out of here.”
I run my hands through my hair and change out of my bloodied clothes into fresh pants and a t-shirt. I don’t know why Kat’s in my room or what convinced her to come in here.
“What time is it?” I ask her. My phone has long gone dead.
She stands and checks hers. “Almost three o’clock in the morning. Where will you go?”
“The dunes” is what comes out. It’s where we both go when we need to escape.
“I’m coming with you.” Kat grabs one of my hoodies from my closet and wraps it around her shoulders. “Don’t leave me here with these demons.”
We run down the backstairs that lead to a door off the kitchen. On the other side of the house, Henry is screaming as Mr. Shaw once again doles out punishment. Violence for violence. No different from the code of the streets where I grew up. But wrap it up nicely in money and power, and suddenly it becomes a code of honor rather than senseless carnage.
I take Kat’s hand, and we fly through the dark, down the hill covered in wild primrose toward the call of the ocean.
“He’s gonna fucking kill us whenever Dad’s finished with him,” she tells me. “Revenge is Henry’s favorite flavor.”
I don’t want to think about the future. I want to plunge into the ocean and forget everything else. Wrap my arms around Kat and remind myself there are good people in this world.
The moonlight is bright enough to lead the way and reflects off the water of the sound, bathing the world in a mysterious silver light. We climb over the chilly dunes until we reach the beach and fling ourselves down onto the cold sand to catch our breath. Out here, only the call of the Eastern Screech Owl and the low roar of the surf meet our ears.
The owl’s call sounds like a woman screaming, and I think about Kat’s mom and my mom meeting their early demise on this estate. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” I suggest, my voice choppy because I’m so out of breath. “We’ll go to the Bronx. Hell, anywhere besides Wainscott Hollow. We could go live in a shelter, and it would be better than this cursed island.”
“I can’t go,” Kat says, her voice choked by sobs. “I can never leave here.”
I hold her in my arms while she shakes and cries until the crickets quiet and the sun begins to rise.
Chapter Three
Heath
Life goes on at Wainscott Hollow, with Henry and I avoiding each other whenever possible. Poor Mr. Shaw never gives up the dream that he can save his maid’s son and integrate him into his family. I live on the periphery of the Shaw’s and keep a low profile, only purposefully coming into contact with Kat and avoiding Henry like the plague that he is.
Of course there are certain events, traditions, and such that I can’t skirt or opt out of. Shaw might be a non-traditional Montauk resident, but society dictates norms even he can’t avoid. Graduation at Fairmont, for example. And why would you want to when you’re paying nearly a quarter of a million dollars a year to send your three kids to school there? I stand corrected, two kids and one foundling, but standard rates apply even when you come without the pedigree.
I’d never step foot in an institution like Fairmont if it weren’t for Shaw and his generosity, so I take full advantage of my education and let the teachers and student body alike know I’m in it to win. Shaw won’t live forever, and if the only thing I get out of my time at Wainscott Hollow is grief and an education, then I’ll get a fucking education that might save me someday. I’ll make something of my life and show Henry and the rest of the doubters that Shaw made a good investment when he put his faith in me.