Beauty and the Outcast by Lucy Darling
Prologue
Knox
Fifteen years old
“Are you fucking shitting me right now?” I watch as two giant metal gates start to open. I’m pretty sure it’s the gates of heaven, so what the hell am I doing here? I shift in my seat, becoming uncomfortable all of a sudden. The only gate I ever thought I’d be living inside of is a prison one.
“Can you not be a jackass for five minutes or do you want to go back to juvie?” Judith turns her head from the passenger seat of the cop cruiser to cut me a glare. The gray streaking through her dark hair has me guessing she’s in her fifties.
I’m sure it works on most of the kids she deals with, but it doesn’t have any effect on me. She’s a damn kitten compared to where I come from and what I’ve been through.
“Not likely,” I mutter back.
I have no regrets for smashing Brock’s face with my fist and then slamming it into the floor. He doesn't look so charming anymore. That asshole deserved every second of it.
For so long he tried to hide who he really was. A predator. I did a service for every woman that crosses his path. He’s damn lucky the police showed up when they did. I hadn't been done with him.
I run my finger along my knuckles. They are still healing, but the marks are hard to see with the tattoos that run across them.
In all honesty, I was thriving in juvie. Shit was a cakewalk compared to living on the streets. You even got three square meals a day. I would have enjoyed the hell out of the place. It would have been like a vacation, really, if it weren’t for those head shrinks and counselors. Once they started trying to burrow in my head with all of their bullshit is when it became hard.
“Knox. Seriously. This family could change your life. They can open so many doors for you and give you opportunities that you could only dream of. Not to mention that you’ll be with your sister.” Her face softens as she tries to get me to see reason. “She’s a lot like you.”
“So she likes getting high and fucking up douchebags?”
“Watch it,” Detective Clark snaps at me from the driver's seat.
“She’s brilliant. Tested off the charts, same as you.” I shrug, pretending to not really care. Honestly, though, I am interested in meeting this girl. A twin fucking sister. Who knew?
I guess our egg donor mom only wanted one of us. She tossed me into the system and kept her little girl. Not for long, though, from my understanding. She was adopted years ago. Now the same family thinks they are going to do the same with me. I’m sure that will change the second they lay eyes on me.
Thankfully, I’m not small size-wise, which saved my ass more times than I can count. I’m only fifteen, but I don’t even get carded when I buy cigarettes. I suppose most fifteen-year-olds don’t have tattoos running up part of their arms and hands.
Clark pulls down the long driveway, the massive house coming into view. That uncomfortable feeling grows inside of me. This can’t be real. Or maybe it’s me not wanting to get my hopes up, knowing that once this family gets a glimpse of me, they won’t be so inclined to keep me. Do these people really think I’m going to fit in here? My eyes stop as a man and woman step outside onto the front porch.
My eyes lock on the man. He’s got his arm around the tiny woman next to him. Hell, she might not be tiny, but next to his big ass she looks as if she is. I don’t think I could smack his face the same as my last foster dad’s.
The car rolls to a stop. Both Judith and Clark get out. He has to open the back door for me in order for me to get out. I step out, my eyes staying focused on the man and woman, waiting for their reactions to me. The man’s face is unreadable while the woman’s face lights up like it’s Christmas morning or some shit. It’s not a look I’m accustomed to when someone first sees me.
I watch as a blond girl steps out onto the porch. I know who she is instantly. Eyes the same as mine stare back at me. I expect her to take a step back, to shrink away at the sight of me, but that doesn’t happen.
Instead, her eyes light up, and a huge smile spreads across her face. The same as the other woman. Then she does the unthinkable. She runs toward me. I brace myself when she wraps her arms around me in a hug. My whole body goes rigid. I hate being fucking touched, but I can’t find the will to snap at her or tell her to step her little ass back.
She drops her head back to stare up at me, still smiling.
“Welcome home,” she says.
Home? I don’t think so. I don’t have a home. It’s better that way.
Too bad my new sister can be as stubborn as I am. I’m not going anywhere.
For now….
