Near the Bone by Christina Henry (the mitten read aloud txt) 📕

said, “You’re right. You should always wash your hands after you’ve dirtied them because cleanliness is next to godliness.”

Sam thought this was a very strange thing for him to say but she didn’t care as long as she got to wash her hands. He wouldn’t set her down in front of the sink, though. He kept hold of her while she wet her hands and rubbed soap all over them. A second later there was some noise outside in the entryway, the sound of voices, and a young man entered the bathroom.

Now Sam knew why William had seemed like he was in a hurry. He’d heard the other car outside and he didn’t want to run into anyone. This was her chance.

Sam saw his face in the mirror—he wasn’t too much younger than William, actually—and her heart leapt. All she needed to do was say something and the strange man would help her. But it was like William read her mind, could see inside her eyes, because he squeezed her very hard and she felt the warning and instead rinsed the soap off her hands and dried with the scratchy paper towel that William handed her. The young man went about his business, didn’t even seem to notice Sam and William there.

She felt her chance at freedom slipping away. She had to open her mouth and say “Help me” before William took her out of the bathroom and put her back in the car and took her away forever.

Just then William leaned his mouth very close to her ear and said, “If you say one word to anyone I will kill them. I have a knife on my belt and I will slash their throats open with that knife and it will be your fault. Do not speak.”

Sam began to tremble, because the young man looked nice and he probably had a family and if she said one word, said anything at all, then William would kill him and there would be blood all over the bathroom.

Just like Mom.

Just like what William did to Mom.

But the idea that her mother had been slashed to ribbons by this man was so terrible that her mind turned away from it.

No. Mom’s not dead. She can’t be. She has to be alive so that she can come for me. She wouldn’t leave me with William. She wouldn’t.

William carried her out of the bathroom. There was a young woman, about the same age as the young man Sam had seen in the mirror, idly flipping through the tourist pamphlets and maps. She turned when she heard the door, clearly expecting the young man. She had long brown hair and a purple knitted hat with a pompom on top. She waved when she saw Sam.

“Your daughter is so cute,” she said to William. “How old is she?”

I’m not his daughter! Sam wanted to cry. Help me. Help me. He’s stealing me.

“She’s five,” William lied.

Sam wanted to cry out in outrage, I’m not five, I’m eight, I’m just small. She knew it was a trick, though, a trick that William had done to see if she would talk, but Sam wouldn’t be the one who let William kill this pretty lady with her long brown hair.

“Sooo gorgeous with that blond hair and brown eyes. You don’t really see that combination, huh? Her mom must have brown eyes,” the lady said. She’d gotten closer as she talked.

William laughed. Sam was amazed that he could laugh and sound normal when he did it, like he wasn’t doing anything wrong at all. That was the first time she realized what a good liar he was, that he could lie about anything, that his face would say one thing while in his heart he was thinking something completely different.

“Yeah, she didn’t get my eyes, that’s for sure. My pretty brown-eyed girl,” he said.

“Just like the song,” the young woman said, and she was clearly delighted. “I’m ready for a little girl of my own. I hope she looks just like you!”

Sam felt William’s muscles tighten, felt the warning there, so she didn’t say anything but gave the young woman a little smile. She hoped the smile would alert the lady that something was wrong, that the lady would see that Sam wasn’t smiling the way a real person smiles, but then William made sure the young woman wouldn’t think anything of it.

“She’s really shy,” William said. “She doesn’t usually talk to strangers.”

“I guess that’s a good habit to have, huh, cutie? So many scary people in the world.”

He’s a scary person, you’re talking to a scary person right now, oh please help, please help me get away.

A moment later the young man came out of the bathroom and the young woman joined him.

“Have a good trip!” the young woman said, and the two of them exited the rest stop.

William picked up one of the pamphlets and glanced at it like he was interested.

“That was very good, Samantha. You did exactly as I told you to do. My good little girl.”

I’m not yours I’m not your little girl I want to go home I want to go back home right now

Sam heard the sound of the car engine outside, heard the people who could have saved her driving away.

William carried her outside again, looking left and right and all around to make sure there was no one else in the rest area. Then he went around to the back of the truck and lowered the gate with one arm while keeping a tight grip on Sam.

There was a long wooden trunk in the back of the truck, like old-fashioned luggage. It had a brass-colored lock on it and William opened it with a key. Inside it was lined with a blanket, and there was a pillow on top of this and another blanket. It looked like a nest.

William looked left and right again, and before Sam knew it, he had dropped her inside the trunk and shut the top.

“No!” she screamed,