"Don't worry, we are here now. Those people guessed wrong," Whitney comforted him; she tried her best not to curse at those big-mouthed neighbours for being so mean to scare a child. Kelly nodded his head; he would believe what his big sister said. She had never lied to him.
"Have you had anything to eat?" Whitney asked to change the topic seeing that he belived her. There was no way, she would tell her six-year-old brother what was happening.
"Yes," he muttered. At Vivian's house, he joined her for dinner. Although he did not eat much, he could tell his sisters were tired, and it would be too stressful to have them prepare something else for him to eat. He was not hungry anyway.
"Gracey, help him take his bath and get ready for bed," Whitney told her sister. She did not doubt her brother's words. Gracey took Kelly away while Whitney thought about her next step of action. Maybe she should just run away with her siblings.
The thought sounded good, but she shook it off. Of course, there is no way she was attempting that. She carefully analyses the situation. Kevin will definitely have his eyes on her.
Even if he did not, his chances of finding them were ample. If he caught them trying to run away, he might even forget about the three months he gave them and make Whitney and her sister work in his brothel, and she could not let her sister's life get ruined.
She was still in deep thought when Gracey returned to join her on the chair.
"Sis," Gracey called to get her attention. she knew that Whitney could not possibly be sleeping.
Whitney opened her eyes and looked around. "Where is Kelly?" She asked since she could not see him. She did not realise how much time had passed since the two left her alone in the sitting room.
"He is asleep," Gracey answered. She was tired but too worried to fall asleep. Before now, they had their father to make plans and think about a situation like this. Now that he was gone, she knew her big sister needed support.
Whitney took a deep breath and closed her eyes back. Even after thinking for so long, she could not come up with a good idea of how to solve the problem.
"I want to quit school and get a job that way, we could raise the money together," Gracey said. She did not feel too bad. Anyway, she was already delayed because of her sickness. Moreover, what is the use of going to school if she ends up as a woman thrown into a room to serve men?
"No, Gracey, you will continue to go to school. At least finish your high school first," Whitney disagreed. She felt that her sister would have a hard time in the future if she could not finish high school.
"But we only have three months, and I can't just sit back and do nothing," Gracey refutes. "Do you think the devil was joking when he threatened to throw us into the ring?" Gracey frowned. She felt that this was not the time for Whitney to be so protective of her.
"You are not doing nothing, Gracey, even if you quit school, we would still be unable to raise that amount in three months," Whitney explained.
"So what do we do now? At least if we both work, we would raise more money and Mr Smart might be moved by our effort and give us more time," Grace said. Although she doubted this, she said it to keep hope alive.
Whitney shakes her head. They had no choice. Their father had already sold them out the minute he loaned so much money from his boss. Even if he did not expect to die so early, there was no way for him to pay it back.
"Let's just run away," Grace suggested. She knew that in three months, there would be no mercy from the Devil.
Whitney laughed, "are you nut? Do you think we can run away from that devil?" Whitney asked her sister in between laughs, she had also considered this option but hearing her sister suggest it, she could not help but laugh at their predicament.
Gracey kept quiet, not knowing what to say.
"It has gotten to this point. You will need an after-school job. One of us will have to work for the devil to pay our debt. i think it is better to surrender early," Whitney said. Although she sounded confident, she was unsure if the devil would accept just one of the sisters.
"I will go after all the money was used for my health," Gracey said. She knew what Whitney meant. Working for the devil was selling oneself, but she did not have the heart to make her sister do it.
"No, Gracey, you need to finish high school. I have some money saved. You Will take care of Kelly, i will go," Whitney rejected.
"This money was used for me. I have to take responsibility for it," Gracey disagreed. She could not expect others to sacrifice for her.
"You are sixteen. What will become of you if you enter the ring?" Whitney felt that her sister was too young. So she could not just watch her ruined.
"You are four years older, which makes you twenty. Your life has only begun too. I am underage, and the authority would not let me take care of Kelly. Once you enter the ring, the authority would pulled kelly to foster care, and we might never see him again, but you are an adult and can legally take care of him. Moreover, you are about to graduate from college. With this, you might get a good job faster and help me out," Gracey explained. Her gaze was firm, and it seemed she had made up her mind.
Whitney felt helpless, her sister was stubborn, and she was scared she would run over to smart cooperation the next day. Moreover, she was indeed underage, and the government would not let a child raise a child.
"The Devil wants to ruin us both. If we are not careful, we might fall into his trap. You will return to school first while I make plans," Whitney knew it was best to calm her sister down first. There were still three months to think things out, though.
"You are not trying to fool me?" Gracey did not trust her sister. When she was younger, she occasionally wanted to follow her Dad out. He would try his best to discourage her; if he found her too stubborn, he would agree on the surface, and then he would pretend to wait for her while she picked her shoes or got ready. By the time she dressed or back with her shoes, her father was long gone. She felt that her sister was about to use the same tricks on her.
Whitney was a bit embarrassed after all; she thought of seeing Mr Smart alone. If she was already thrown into the ring, her sister would have had no choice but to take care of their brother. "Of course not," Whitney denied. She was scared that Gracey would go behind her back. "You would not do anything stupid without informing me," Whitney warned.
"I promise," Gracey agreed without question. Whitney did not quite believe her. "Let's make a promise," she suggested pulling out her pinky finger.
"Really?" Grace was stunned; she felt her big sister was acting too childish.
"Do it. I also promise not to go behind your back," Whitney said. She knew that Gracey would take it seriously if they pinky swore. Whitney could not go over to Kevin unless she were sure her brother would be able to stay with her sister when she was gone, so she first has to have a way to make this arrangement first.
"Fine," Grace agreed to it, seeing that her sister was worried for her. She hooks her pinky finger with that of Whitney. "I promise, " Gracey said with a firm voice. Deep inside her heart, she was scared of Kevin, so she would have never been able to deliver herself to him.
Whitney felt a bit childish, but she was at peace after this. "I will go take my bath and sleep. If you are hungry, you should check the kitchen," Whitney said, getting up. Since she could not come up with a solution for the time being, she could only sleep early; after all, she needed to go to work the next day. Besides, only when she calms down would she be able to think of a solution.
"You should eat something," Gracey said. She knew that Whitney had not eaten a single bite the whole day. Even if she could not help with many things, she thought to do the little she could.
"Do you think I can still eat? I just hope to be able to fall asleep," Whitney shook her head as she disappeared into the room. Gracey sighed, she was in no mood to eat either.
One after the other, the sisters went to bed after taking their baths. Maybe because they have been so stressed mentally and physically, as soon as their back touched the bed, they fell asleep.