Chapter 50. Waiting Games

He was sitting in a corner of the loud playroom, knees drawn up to his chest, trying not to look at anyone. Some kids were laughing, a few were crying, and someone’s voice was yelling from down the hall, but Jared couldn’t hear much. It was like the world had gone quiet around him since the day the police had shown up to pick him up after school instead of his mom and taken him to the station instead of home.

His bastard father had finally gone too far with his abuse, accidentally killed his mother, and then put a bullet through his head instead of facing the consequences.

The grimy smell of the police station still sat in the back of his throat, even days later.

He pulled his legs tighter to his stomach as it growled, the hunger pains beginning to get sharper. He hadn’t eaten since the morning before, and no one had remembered to wake him up for breakfast today.