The Homecoming: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 5 by Darrell Maloney Page A

cover up more. To wear baggy sweats instead of dresses and tank tops. That maybe I was just getting him excited by the things I wore. And that maybe I should make more of an effort to avoid him by hanging out in my room or with my friends.”
         “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry.”
         “I looked her in the eyes and told her, ‘Mom, I was counting on you to protect me from things like this.’
         “She turned away, and couldn’t look at me when she said the most chilling thing I’ve ever heard her say.
         “She said, ‘But baby, if we kick him out or send him to prison, we’ll have to sell our nice things and live on our own again.’
         “It was at that moment that I realized… she had stopped being my mother and had become little more than my pimp.”
         Sara abruptly stopped speaking, fixed her gaze on the passing landscape, and let the tears stream unashamedly down her cheeks.
         Scott knew to hold his tongue. He wasn’t sure if she was finished, or was merely taking a break. But whichever was the case, he wouldn’t rush her. He was on her schedule, and would let her decide when and what to tell him.
         For a brief moment, he thought of pulling the car over, so he could hold her until the tears went away.
         Then it occurred to him that instead of finding comfort in his action, she might find fear. Perhaps her step-father’s betrayal had caused her to have unseen scars. And perhaps she would always feel fear when finding herself alone with an older man.
         He searched for the right words which might break the silence.
         “Sara… I can’t change the things that happened, but with God as I witness, I would have stopped it if I’d known.”
         “I know you would have, Scott, and thank you for that. That was the same reason I kept it a secret from Jordan, and from everyone else. Because someone would have intervened. And it would have destroyed my mom’s world completely. It’s funny that as much as I hated her, I still put her best interests over my own.”
         She took a deep breath, wiped her tears, and finished her sad tale.
         “After that it was out in the open. Mom no longer had to pretend she didn’t know, and he grew even more bold. He even asked my mother to sleep in the guest room occasionally so he could… well, I guess you get the picture. After awhile I created my own little world, my fantasy space, where my mind could go when I was with him. It provided me some comfort, some escape. Looking back now, I think that’s the only thing that helped me survive.”
         Scott was out of his element. The father of two sons, he was used to dealing with boy problems. Still, this young girl had come along and won his son’s heart and then his own. He’d do anything he could to try to make things better for her.
         “Well, I have to say, that for someone who has been through so much, you’re amazingly strong. Not only have you survived, you’ve prospered. You’re one of the most amazing young women I know.”
         “Thank you. But I’ve got no one other than Jordan to thank for that. If he hadn’t saved me when the power went out, I’d have been stuck with my parents. And my life wasn’t the only one Jordan saved by bringing me home with him that day.”
         He turned to look at her, puzzled.
         She elaborated.
         “When all the chaos happened, just after the world went black, I’d have killed him. It’s something I used to dream about over and over again in my head. How I’d sneak up on him while he was sleeping and stab him in the heart.”
         She looked at Scott, as though stressing to him she was serious.
         “I mean it, too. When it became obvious that the world was going to hell, I’d have killed him dead. I mean, at that point I’d have nothing left to lose, right?”
         “No, I suppose not. But it’s a moot point now. You are