I kept my arm around Ava's shoulder as we walked down the hallway. I opened each door, and peered in until I found the bathroom. Ava sat on the edge of the bath tub. She had her old gauze pressed against her bleeding arm. I opened up the bathroom cupboard, and searched for disinfectant. I held her arm over the tub, and poured it over her fresh wounds. Ava bit down her lip, and tried not to cry.

My chest ached at the thought of hurting her. I just had to keep reminding myself that if I let Dad punish her, she'd be in a lot more pain. I kept apologizing as I wrapped her arm with fresh gauze. Ava stayed silent, and kept her eyes down on the tiled floor.

I sat down next to her on the edge of the tub. We sat in the quiet. The silence was painful and deafening. I wanted to break the silence, but I didn't know what to say.

A door down the hall opened. The footsteps echoed through the house. We had left the bathroom door open, so we could see Jared walk by and go down the stairs. We listened as he walked around downstairs and backdoor slammed shut. Ava stood up, and poked her head out into the hallway.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I want to check on Leah," she said.

"No." I stood up and walked over to her. I leaned against the doorframe. "We're not supposed to get involved."

"What is she's hurt? I want to make sure she is okay."

"She'll be okay. I don't think Jared would hurt her."

Ava's blue eye widened, and I watched her face pale. She brought her wounded arm up to her chest.

"They're monsters. They don't care if they hurt us." She started to walk down the hall. "You would know."

It was like a punch to the gut when she said that. She didn't understand that if I didn't do it, Dad would have hurt her more. I grabbed her hand, and stopped her.

"We can't get caught," I said quietly.

"We're not going to," she whispered. "We'll be quick."

"My Dad might still be here," I said. "My Mom definitely is. I doubt they would let her go outside."

"Go downstairs and distract her," she told me. "I'll come down when I'm done."

I squeezed her hand. If Dad saw her in Leah's room, he would punish her. He'd probably punish me too for not monitoring Ava.

"I'll be quick," she said. "I just need to make sure she is alright."

I let out a deep breath before letting go of her hand. She gave me a faint smile.

"Be fast," I warned her.

She nodded her head and hurried over to Leah's room. She swooped down and picked Leah's fallen glasses up off of the floor. I kept stealing glances over my shoulder as I headed for the stairs. She tapped her knuckles on the door, and waited a few seconds before letting herself into the room. I walked down into the kitchen.

I looked around to see Mom sitting at the dining room table. Her eyes were fixed on the mug in her hands.

"Mom." My voice brought her back into reality.

"Hi, sweetheart," she said giving me a smile.

"Where's Dad?"

"He's outside. Did you need him?"

"No." I shook my head, and pulled the chair out across from her and sat down. "I was just curious."

Mom reached out across the table, and grabbed my hand. Under the sleeve of her sweater I could see her own wrist was wrapped in white gauze. She rubbed her thumb over my knuckles.

"I'm so sorry, Hunter," she said. "I was so wrong."

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"It broke my heart when your father went to jail," she said. "Our family got ripped apart, and I couldn't wait for him to get out. When you were little you were so excited every time we'd go visit him, and he was supposed to get out when you were five. He kept being denied parole, and it seemed like he was never getting out."

"It's always been you and I," I said. "We didn't need Dad to be a family."

She bit down on her lip. A tear rolled down her cheek. She let go of the mug, and wiped the tear away.

"I've been dreaming for the days like when you were a baby," she said. "I was so happy when it was just you, your Dad, and I. But it's never going to be like that again. Prison changed him."

"You want to get out of this house?" I asked. Mom nodded her head and wiped away a few more tears. "Help Ava and I. We'll get out of here."

"If I go back I will be arrested. We had to leave after your Dad's parole officer showed up. They've searched our house by now, Hunter. They'll see that we've killed someone. They know we've taken you kids. I'll be locked away forever."

"Mom, it's been all Dad," I said. "You're a victim like us. He's hurt you."

Mom's free hand was shaking as she put it over her wrist.

"How bad is it?" I asked her.

"It's not too bad," she said.

I pulled her sleeve up, and flipped her wrist over. A crimson line had soaked through the gauze. Mom pulled her hand back, and pulled her sleeve down.

"It looks pretty bad," I said. "What happened?"

Mom put her head in her hands. I didn't need to ask because I already knew. Dad thought she misbehaved, and decided to punish her.

Ava walked over to the doorframe. She stopped, and her mouth dropped open when she saw Mom. She looked over at me.

"How's Leah?" I asked.

"We need to talk," she said.

"You can say what you need to in front of my Mom," I said. "She's leaving with us."

Mom took her head out of her hands. She used the back of her hand to wipe away the remaining tears.

"I'm so sorry, kids," Mom said. "I should have never let any of this happen."

"Leah is coming with us," Ava said.

"She's leaving Jared?" I asked. "Why?"

Ava looked over at Mom. They didn't say a word, but I could tell they were sharing a similar thought.

"Leah wants to keep her baby after it's born," Ava said.

"Why wouldn't she?" I asked.

Mom took in a deep breath, and sat up in her chair.

"They don't let us keep our daughters," Mom said.

"They kill their baby girls," Ava said.

"Why?" I asked.

"They don't believe they will survive anyways," Mom said. "They said it's better they die when they're born so that we don't get emotionally attached. I guess Jared had never told Leah about this until today when she was talking about baby names."

"That's so sick," I said.

"I know," Mom told me. "I was terrified the entire time I was pregnant with you. Your Uncle Tommy tried to convince me you were going to be a girl to scare me."

"We need to get out of here," Ava said. "And we can't wait around for long. The bigger Leah gets, the harder it will be for her to run away. We need to get one of those keys."

"How?" I asked.

"While they're sleeping?" she asked.

Mom shook her head. "They sleep with them around their neck."

"Why don't you drug Jimmy with what you gave Hunter and I?" Ava asked.

"I could try," she said. "If he saw me coming at him with a needle he'd beat me."

"Drug him while he is sleeping," Ava said. "We'll run away in the night."

She stepped over to the table, and pulled the chair next to me out and sat down. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me. The backdoor creaked open. Mom snatched her mug off of the table, and ran into the kitchen.

"Hi, honey," I heard Dad say. I leaned back in my chair to see Mom set the mug down on the counter and wrap her arms around his neck. "I thought you would have already started making dinner."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was going to, but then I got talking to the kids and time just flew by."

"It's okay," he said. "You and Ava should start now. Leah will be staying in her room tonight."

Mom nodded her head, and ran over to the doorway.

"Come with me, Ava," she said. "We're going to make dinner."

Ava got up out of her chair and went into the kitchen with Mom. I followed them and stood in the doorway to watch them. Dad was leaning against the wall and watching the girls as they moved around the kitchen. I wanted to keep an eye on them to make sure that Dad didn't try to hurt either of them.

Jared walked through the back door and cut across the kitchen without saying a word. He headed right up the stairs to go see Leah.

I watched in silence as the girls were cooking dinner. Jared stomped down the stairs and stormed into the kitchen.

"Hunter, I need to talk to you," he said.

He grabbed my shoulder and pushed me outside.