Chapter 233: Flashlight
*I’m not afraid of the dark or even what’s in the dark. I’m afraid of what the tazer can’t keep away. – Rye*
RYE’S MEMORIES
It had been two and a half years since her father died. Rye lay on the makeshift palette of blankets and clothes on the closet floor hiding from the noises in the bedroom. She wasn’t stupid, she knew what was happening. She knew it was only a matter of time before she had to do it to. That thought scared her.
Rye had been offered up once before. She fought and Leigh Anne took her place. Her mother was beaten. They ran after that and lived in the car for nearly a month.
It was how Donna Leigh paid for things once the monthly check ran out. It ran out sooner and sooner every month. Which is why Rye slept in the floor of the closet of the small one-bedroom apartment.
Leigh Anne made her sleep there. She had gotten a locking doorknob and only she and Rye had a key. Rye didn’t ask how she got it or if she even paid for it. She was just grateful for it.
Before the noises ended, Rye fell asleep curled up in the back corner of the little closet. The sound of a key in the lock made her wake up. Pulling the thin blanket tighter against her like a shield, she tried to become even smaller.
“Baby sister?” Leigh Anne whispered.
“Big sister.” Rye replied quietly.
The door closed and locked as Leigh Anne got on the floor. Her hair was still wet from her shower. Rye knew not to get to close, her body would still be sore from whatever the men had done to her. Her skin would be raw from her scrubbing away the scent and feel.
“Are you okay?” Rye whispered.
“I’m okay.” Leigh Anne answered, whiskey still on her breath. “I’m not going to let them touch you.”
“I know.”
“No matter what, they will never touch you.” Leigh Anne reached over and brushed some short hair out of her sister’s face. Smiling, she cupped the younger girl’s cheek. “I promise, baby sister. They’ll never touch you.”
Rye believed her sister. Leigh Anne had always protected her baby sister. Always would for as long as she was able to. Ever since Rye was born, Mike had told Leigh Anne that as a big sister, it was her responsibility to watch out for her little sister. Even as she slipped deeper into her own hell, she was determined to protect her baby sister.
The two sisters slept until the little travel alarm went off. Rye quickly turned it off before it woke their mother up. Leigh Anne went to make sure it was safe. Then she stayed in the bathroom while Rye took a quick shower. She helped her little sister bind her chest and used a permanent marker to color over her short gray patch.
They did anything that they could think of to make her less attractive. She wore boys’ jeans and baggy t-shirts with an oversized hoodie or flannel shirt. Even her shoes were neutral, all black or gray and boys if the thrift store had some that fit. Rye never wore makeup or jewelry or anything feminine.
Her hair was kept short, not quite chin length. Short hair made her less girly and was harder to grab. It was harder to grab and therefore safer. As she grew older and wiser, her hair always remained short, never going past her chin.
During the school year, Rye was gone long before her mom was up. Locked away in the closet before she got home, usually from a bar. School was her safe place for now. She could disappear at this one. She did disappear there. Weekends and school holidays Rye would spend at the library or a local bookstore.
No one paid attention to the quiet girl at the back of the class or library. Even the teachers and librarians ignored her. She was no one. She knew her place. She knew what she was supposed to do.
Leigh Anne made sure of it. Rye was the smart one. She would be the one to survive and get out. She would be the one to pull her mother and sister out of the hell they were in. The hell that Leigh Anne slipped a little further into every day.
As they walked to the bus stop for the city bus, Leigh Anne pressed a flashlight into her hand. It looked like any other flashlight she had ever had. Black and nondescript.
“Keep this with you. Always. Never let mom see it. Ever.” Turning it upside down, she showed her little sister the switch on the bottom. “If something feels wrong, or you’re alone, turn this switch on.”
Using the switch on the side, Leigh Anne turned on the light. Then she showed Rye the tiny red button on the opposite side. With a press of the button, electricity crackled between the short prongs that Rye had not noticed before.
“Don’t ever hesitate.” Leigh Anne instructed. “Groin, neck, thigh, abdomen. If you can’t hit one of those, aim for anywhere. Then you run. You run as fast and as far as you can.”
“What’s the key to?” Rye asked of the small locker key looped through the strap tied to the handle. The bright orange knob end had the number 278 on it.
“A locker in the downtown Savanah bus station. There’s a secret compartment in the flashlight.” Leigh opened the bottom of the flashlight. “There’s two hundred dollars. That should get you there.”
“What’s in the locker?” Rye asked a little fearful.
“Dad.” Leigh answered. “His flag, dog tags and a few pictures. There’s also a packet for you. Everything in that locker is yours, baby sister.”
“I don’t understand.” Rye whispered, tears flooding her eyes.
“Mom is getting worse. If anything, anything at all, ever happens to me, and it’s just you and mom, you go to Savanah and you don’t ever look back. Don’t ever go back.”
Leigh Anne pressed the flashlight into Rye’s hand. “Promise me, baby sister.”
“You’re scaring me, big sister.” Rye admitted as tears filled her eyes and fear crept into her voice.
“Good. You need to be scared. Mom is getting really bad. Promise me, Ryanne”
Rye nodded as a tear slipped out of her eye. “I promise.”
“Good.” Leigh Anne hugged her tightly. “I love you, baby sister.”
“I love you, too, big sister.” Rye said as the bus pulled up to a stop. Leigh Anne gently released her and nudged her towards the bus.
