Read Blood Stained for Free Online

outside the cave, but still pretty cool.
    At least he thought so when he was ten. Now he just hoped those space age bags really had protected his stuff—and that no one had taken it—so he could get a good night's sleep, nestled warm and safe inside his sleeping bag.
    Maybe even read one of his old Mad magazines. Would they still be funny?
    He stopped at the edge of the woods. He trusted himself not to get lost, but the forest that seemed so welcoming and friendly when he was a kid now looked dark and menacing. He risked turning on the tiny keychain LED flashlight stolen from the Safeway but it didn't help.
    Was anything the way he remembered it? It was as if he'd lost himself during the past four years. Not just grown up. Like he wasn't who he thought he was and never had been. It was all a dream—no, not a dream, he'd definitely been awake, had the scars to prove it—maybe a mirage?
    Guided by the narrow beam of light, his footsteps crunched through dead leaves and tinder, releasing the scent of hemlock and pine and decay.
    If he wasn't who he thought he was, then who was he? With each footstep one answer echoed through his mind: his father's son.
    His father would disagree. Had disagreed when he left Adam, abandoned him as a failure and ran off with Morgan in tow. 
    This was Adam's last chance to prove him wrong.
     
    <><><>
     
    "We shouldn't have included Megan in our discussion." Lucy grabbed the mouthwash and rinsed while Nick flossed beside her at the bathroom sink. He always had so much more patience than her. Would floss each tooth twice then brush for the full two minutes, no cheating. Lucy used a kid's toothbrush with a noisy timer to keep her honest. But her dentist said it helped keep her TMJ symptoms down, especially since she kept losing or breaking night splints.
    Nick pulled the floss free. "After September, we need to give her some sense of control over her life. Besides, she's thirteen now—"
    "That doesn't make her an adult—"
    "You don't think I'm adult enough to have been included in our discussion." He snapped the floss one last time, the string so tight his fingers went white. "You wanted me to cave in, do whatever you damn well wanted."
    She yanked the toothbrush from her mouth and spat. The motor kept whining, flinging toothpaste all over the mirror. She turned it off. The sudden silence made the small room feel even smaller.
    "Doing what I damn well wanted would ensure your and Megan's safety. I don't see how that's a mistake." She wiped her face on one of their mismatched towels. Her jaws were clenched so tight, lightning crackled along the nerves into her ears. So much for controlling the TMJ.
    Nick saw it too. He dropped the floss into the waste can and stood behind her, his fingers expertly massaging the tension away from her neck and jaw. Slowly the pain eased. "I know you want what's best for us, but being locked away in a jail of our own making isn't going to keep us safe. Especially not Megan, not at her age. The more you try to protect her, the more she'll try to fight free."
    She leaned back into his healing warmth. "Maybe. But the New Hope case—"
    Her shoulders tightened and he laid his palms down on them, pressing gently until the muscles relaxed. 
    "You never told me what happened." He sounded hurt. 
    She opened her mouth then shut it again. She didn't want to make an excuse. And she wasn't ready to dissect those memories. 
    Their eyes met in the mirror. His calm, waiting. Hers tight with worry.
    "Have you considered that maybe the emotions you associate with the New Hope case are making you overreact?" His work voice. She hated when he used it on her. Not because he might treat her like a patient, but because when he got all calm and reasonable, he was usually right.
    "You think I overreacted?" The thought hadn't even occurred to her. Although Lord only knew, she was prone to jumping in first, figuring out the details later. She trusted her gut instinct. It's what kept her