"He thinks it's our fault," I said dully as we hid on the roof above Cindy's room.
"He's stupid," she said venomously. "It wasn't our fault we were out of eggs or that that man was drunk. None of it was our fault."
"He hates us," I whimpered. My arm still stung from the way Dad had slapped it after yelling horrible things at me. I would've been worse off if Cindy hadn't stood up for me, but her slap was across her face.
"He hates himself," she added. "He's just taking it out on us."
I stared out at the last rays of sun peeking out from the horizon. "What are we going to do?" We had nowhere to go. No other family to turn to. And who would believe us?
"We're going to get out of here," she said fiercely. "You and me. We're going to leave."
"We don't have money," I reminded her wearily. "Besides, we're fourteen. We're minors. Nobody would take us seriously on our own."
She pondered this a while, gazing at the purple clouds beginning to fade into darkness. "Then we'll wait. We can get legally emancipated in a couple years. We'll just have to survive until then."
"What are you going to do, win American Idol?" I rolled my eyes. Cindy had always had big plans but they hardly ever panned out.
"No," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Have you ever heard of American Ninja Warrior?"
I'd seen a few commercials. "Isn't it that new TV show that's kind of like Wipeout?"
"Sort of. There are obstacle courses. You have to be really strong and really flexible. We've been taking gymnastics our whole lives. How hard could it be?"
I gaped at her a moment. "You're serious."
"Come on, Lor! You and me! Between the two of us we have a better chance of winning. We'll take the money and leave. We'll be free!" The plan was crazy but her confidence was contagious.
I grinned at her. "What do we have to do?"
===
"LORI!"
An anguished, familiar voice yelled my name but I couldn't remember who it belonged to. Where was I? What was going on? An accident…my mom…Cindy…I moaned. Where nothing had hurt before, everything hurt now. If my throat hadn't closed, I would have screamed.
"Clearly, you know this woman. You can't assist with the operation. It would be unethical," a methodical voice reprimanded.
"Please, please, she's my best friend, I have to help her, I—"
"My answer is final. You know the rules. I'm sorry, Nick." The methodical voice seemed truly regretful but that didn't stop the other voice—Nick—from pleading. Bright lights flashed behind my eyelids and those desperate pleas grew quieter as I went under again.
===
"That monster," Cindy hissed. "How could he do this to his own child?" Her arms were wrapped around me as I shook with uncontrollable sobs.
"You know I've always been weaker than you," came out garbled as I cried. "I couldn't stop him."
Cindy's eyes widened in horror. "No, no, honey, this is not your fault. Absolutely not your fault. It could have just as easily been me. He's bigger than both of us. Lori, baby, it's going to be okay."
How could it ever be okay when I had been so violated? I couldn't get any more words out. Cindy held me for what felt like hours, rubbing my back soothingly and stroking the length of my hair. Neither of us could bear to cut it after Mom died, despite how annoying long hair could be, as a sort of tribute. She told me again and again how sorry she was and how she was going to get us out of there.
After the first incident she trained harder than ever. All of her free time was spent at the gym. Pushups. Sit-ups. Climbing without a harness. Doing parkour in the park. Flips and jumps and rolls. She was so determined to win, to get the prize money, to move us somewhere far from California and the very memory of Greg Latham.
"You really should be doing your homework," I told her one day when we were walking back home after a rewarding training session.
"School isn't important," she insisted. "School isn't going to get us out of here. I'm so close, I can feel it! I'll be ready to compete in the next round of prequalifiers for sure." They were only six months away.
"Don't you want a career?" I was surprised. Cindy always talked about becoming a vet when we were kids. She had wanted a dog more than anything but Mom was allergic and Dad…I didn't want to think about Dad.
"Maybe someday. I can always go back and get my GED. Right now my priority is getting us somewhere safe. I can't stand being in that house, never knowing what he might do."
I shuddered. School was my escape the way parkour was Cindy's. Sure, I clocked plenty of hours at the gym but most of the time she was there I was studying in the locker room.
We'd always been close, but now we were never apart, relying on each other for protection. He only struck when one of us wasn't home so we made sure to travel as a pair whenever possible.
"I want to go to college. Once the American Ninja Warrior money runs out I can take care of us by having a good job," I rationalized. "It won't last forever."
Cindy smiled and slung an arm over my shoulder. "That's my girl, always thinking ahead. You're the brain, I'm the brawn. Together, we're unstoppable."
My heart nearly exploded in my chest. She always knew exactly what to say to make me feel okay. Overcome with sudden emotion I hugged her tightly. "I love you, Cindy."
She squeezed me even tighter. "I love you too."