Juju's anxiety grew as the time drew closer for her to leave the house; she lingered, waiting for Seth to show up. As she walked down the front steps, she heard a commotion coming from the back of the house. Kids were screaming and laughing, but their laughter made the little hairs on her arms stand up. She slowly made her way to the back of the house like a ninja. Then she saw that five rowdy children had gathered. They were teasing and taunting someone, and as Juju turned the corner, there was Seth with a chain fastened around his ankle, just like a family pet.

Juju turned to the pack of kids, her teeth exposed like a rabid dog's. She seethed with anger. "If I ever catch you little motherfuckers teasing him again, I will rip your hearts out with my bare hands. Now, get the fuck outta here before I kill all of you!"

Juju got on her hands and knees and crawled over to Seth. "What happened?"

"Thelma said she wanted me to be outside since the weather is warm. But then when I got out here, she put this on my ankle. All the kids were watching, and then they started to laugh. Thelma told them they could look at me, but they can't play with me 'cause I'm an animal that doesn't have no manners," he said, sobbing.

"Well, Thelma's a no-good motherfucker who deserves-" Juju stopped herself in midsentence, remembering that she was talking to a very damaged seven-year-old boy. "Thelma is wrong, and she doesn't know anything about you. You are a sweet person, and she's just stupid. Nothing she says matters. You have to remember that. Maggie and me, we need you to be strong. Remember, all for one and one for all, buddy," she said, trying to give him hope.

Seth sat on the grass, his shoulders slouched, and his arms folded over his chest. He nodded without any enthusiasm. Juju looked into his lifeless eyes, and then she took in the dirty face and the hair so long and greasy that the kids said he looked like a girl. His clothes were a size too small, and his fingernails had dirt packed under them. He was a pathetic sight. Seth's tears ran through the grime on his face, leaving streaks of pink skin. Juju reached out and gave him a tight squeeze. "I have to run. Hang in there," she told him.

As Juju walked back to town, she was blazing with anger and fought the instinct to go into a violent rage on whomever she laid eyes. She wondered what it would take for Rock to give the boy up. She'd known Rock for a long time, and he wasn't one to do anything that would upset his beloved, belligerent, obnoxious beast of a wife, Thelma.

Seth's dull, flat, blue eyes were stuck in her mind, and the rumble of his belly rang in her ears. She walked faster as her desire to help him overpowered any discipline she had acquired over her anger. There has to be a way to help him, she thought.

A few blocks later, Juju saw Maggie leaning into a man's car. She waited on the sidewalk until Maggie approached. "I just saw Seth," she said, her eyes narrowing and her hands balled into tight fists.

Maggie's lungs froze in mid-breath, terror mounting about what Juju was going to tell her. "What's happened? Is he OK?"

"He is for now, but he ain't gonna be forever. We need to think of something soon. That crazy-ass, drug-sucking dunce, Thelma, is gonna fuck him up for the rest of his life," Juju said, her anger finally boiling over. She picked up an empty beer bottle and threw it against a building. The bottle shattered into a million pieces, making a loud noise that drew the attention of everyone within hearing distance.

"Bitch!" Armando screamed, pointing at Maggie. "Get your ass back to work!"

The two girls looked in his direction. "I gotta go," Maggie said. "I won't be any good to Seth if I get on Armando's bad side. I'll swing by your apartment in the morning."

"Yeah, in the morning," Juju mumbled, as she walked away.

Maggie turned back to Armando. "Sorry," she yelled and strutted toward a gray-haired man who was eyeing her with lust.

"Hey, baby," Maggie purred, "you need a date?"

Chapter Fifty-Six.

The next day, Rock pulled Juju into his living room. "Look, I know you've been hangin' out with Maggie. I ain't got no problem wit' that as long as the bitch continues to earn her quota. I want you to mind your business, though. Otherwise, ya ain't gonna be too happy," he said calmly.

"Yeah, Maggie's cool, Rock. We hang out, but she still sees to her work just like me. We ain't done anything to make you worry, and we ain't plannin' on doing nothin'," Juju answered coolly.

Juju saw movement in the hall and looked over to see Seth walking with Thelma into the kitchen. For a few seconds, she fought her instincts to run after them. Rock noticed the change in her.

"Why are you staring at them? They ain't none of your business. Like I said a minute ago, don't even think about causing any trouble," he stated and waited for a reply.

"Fuck, Rock. I said I wouldn't. Can we get my dope? I'm losing customers standing here talking to you about this shit," she said, acting frustrated.

Rock and Juju walked into the kitchen to get the heroin. He kept it in the freezer during the summer to keep it from melting. Juju stood beside him, watching him intently, knowing if he saw her look at Seth, who was sitting at the table, he'd be onto her. She followed Rock over to the kitchen table and sat across from Seth while he counted out bags. The boy looked at her, and she only dared to make eye contact once when Thelma pushed him off his chair and onto the floor because she heard his stomach growling.

Rock looked over at Thelma. "Come on, baby, why don't cha give the boy somethin' to eat?"

"When the boy can act like a human fucking being, that's when I'll let him eat," she yelled back.

Then Thelma stood, hurried Seth outside, and chained him to the railing of the back steps. Rock watched, and for a brief moment, Juju thought she saw empathy in his eyes. Then he went back to counting out bags. When he was finished, Juju scooped the small dime bags into her backpack and headed toward the front door. "The streets are packed. I'm probably gonna blow through these bags fast, so I'll be back later tonight or tomorrow," she said.

Once outside, Juju sneaked around to the back of the house. She crouched low and kept her body against the building so Thelma couldn't see her from the back window as she made her way over to Seth. "Here," she said, putting two cheese crackers in his palm. She pulled a bottle of water from her backpack. "Cup your hand," she whispered.

When Seth did this, she poured water into his hand slowly. He slurped it down as quickly as she was pouring it. "Eat the crackers and make sure to wipe your hands on the grass here," she said, pointing next to him. "You don't want bitch face to see that your hands are orange," she cautioned.

"Where's Aggie? Can you tell her to come and see me?" he asked in a frail voice.

"I'll tell her I saw you, but she won't be able to come here. Rock can't find out I talked to you. Remember that!" she told him.

"OK, but will you tell Aggie that I miss her?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll tell her, buddy. Just hang on, OK? We're trying to figure something out. We're making a plan to get you away from here," she said, wanting to leave him with hope.

Seth watched Juju until she disappeared around the side of the house. Then he shoved a whole cracker in his mouth and gobbled it so quickly that he practically swallowed it whole. He sat chained to the railing and thought about going to live with Maggie. It was the only peace of mind he knew.

As the weeks passed, Juju went to Rock's every day. At the end of July, after a second trip to Rock's house in the same day to pick up dope, she began to panic. It had been five days since she'd last seen Seth, and she was worried that Thelma had killed him. She didn't tell Maggie because she knew it would only make her crazy. Finally, Juju asked Rock, "So where's the kid? He ain't been around."

"What the fuck do you care?" Rock stated, confrontationally.

"I don't. I was just making conversation. He's usually around, or I see Thelma put him out back. I was curious, is all. Just forget it," Juju said, trying to seem disinterested.

"He's in the basement. His stupid white ass got sunburned out in the backyard. He looked like a tomato," he snickered. "Damn skin was peeling, and he kept crying. I gave him some lotion and put him down in the basement 'cause I figured Thelma would beat the shit out of him if he kept up that cryin' like a girl."

"Well, is he OK?" Juju asked nonchalantly, her heart bouncing against her ribs so hard she was sure Rock would see it beating through her T-shirt.

"How the hell do I know? I put him down there a couple of days ago. I left him with water and a bag of pretzels. Haven't seen him since," Rock said, as he casually went back to placing small amounts of heroin into tiny bags.

Juju hesitated, and after several minutes, built up enough nerve to ask her next question. "Can I go down and see the kid? I have an idea."

"Nah, you ain't seeing him. But tell me about that idea of yours," Rock said, annoyed.

Chapter Fifty-Seven.

On Juju's way back to the apartment, after leaving Rock's house, she ran into Maggie.

"Hey, baby, you want a date?" Maggie asked a middle-aged, overweight slob.

"Nope, I got my own bitch at home. I don't need to catch none of your diseases," the man growled.

Juju heard what the man said to Maggie as she approached them. "Yeah, your bitch must be a real fuckin' saint to put up with you. You're a disgusting pig," Juju thrust back at him.

Maggie started to laugh. "One day, you're gonna get your ass beat, Juju. I've learned to ignore people like him. What's going on? Did you see Seth today?"

Juju shook her head. "Haven't seen him in five days. Thelma's high most of the time. Seems like all the time now. They've been keeping him down in the basement."

Maggie visibly cringed.

"Anyway, I had an idea and told Rock about it tonight. I'll let you know how it goes," Juju explained, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Are you going to tell me?" Maggie nudged her.

"Nope. Don't want to get your hopes up. I ain't got time to deal with your crybaby ass," she teased.

"My crybaby ass, huh? Come on, tell."

"Nah. If it works, you'll know soon enough," Juju said.

Chapter Fifty-Eight.

In the clammy, dark basement at Rock's house, Seth was lying on the cement floor. His sunburn had faded since he'd been locked down there, but the blisters had popped, and his legs and arms were peppered with open wounds. Seth finished the food Rock had given him on the second day, and he was so hungry that his stomach was twisted in knots. He rubbed his belly and kept licking his fingers and dipping them into the empty pretzel bag, hoping to find a crumb. He was about to fall asleep again when the basement door was flung open, and the light from the upper floor blinded him. Seth looked up at Rock's large silhouette in the doorway at the top of the stairs. He was scared of Rock-even more scared than he was of John William.

"Get your ass up here, boy!" Rock commanded.

Seth began to climb the steps. "What did I do?" he asked tearfully.

"You didn't do nothin'. It's what you're gonna do," Rock stated with certainty.

Seth followed Rock into the living room. He had gone to the bathroom in his clothes while he was stuck in the basement, and the smell offended Rock. "You smell like shit, boy!"

Seth shrank away, afraid that Rock would hit him. "Come closer. I ain't gonna hurt you," Rock assured.

Seth stepped toward the sofa and spotted a discarded can of Coke on the floor. He eyed it with desire, thinking about the sugary liquid sliding down his dry throat. Rock followed his gaze.

"Go ahead. You can have it," he told Seth.

Seth moved toward the sofa. He wanted to run, but he was just too weak. He lifted the can and guzzled the warm, flat contents. After he drank every drop, he looked back at Rock.

"First things first. Let's go to the kitchen and get you a sandwich. Then you need to take a bath, 'cause I can't stand bein' in the same room with ya," Rock told him.

When Rock put the sandwich in front of Seth, he groaned. His limbs were quivering as he reached for the food he had longed for. When he was done eating, he sucked every finger. He wished he could have another, but knew better than to ask. Rock walked over to the sink and filled a glass with water. Seth drank the water without taking a breath.

"Ya never learnt no table manners, did ya?"

Seth shook his head. He didn't know what table manners were. The kids at school teased him that he ate like a pig, and he figured that Rock must be saying the same thing but in grown-up talk.

"Well, never mind that. Let's go upstairs and get you a bath. I need you to be really quiet. Thelma is sleeping off a four-day binge, and she might kill you if you wake her up," Rock warned.

In the bathroom, Seth stared at Rock. "Who the hell are you lookin' at, boy? Run the water and get your ass in the tub. I'll be back as soon as I can find something for ya to wear. Wash every inch, and be sure to scrub that dirt out from under your fingernails. Looks like you've been diggin' in your ass for gold," he criticized.

Seth blushed with embarrassment. He couldn't wait to get into the water and wash himself from head to toe. It had been almost two weeks since the last time he washed, and even then, Thelma only let him "sponge bathe" in the sink.

Rock came back into the bathroom about twenty minutes later. Seth was sitting in the tub surrounded by black water. "Ew, see now? That's just plain ol' nasty, boy. Get yourself outta there. Here, use this towel," he told him, grossed out by the filth Seth left in the tub.

"Come on," Rock said, leading him into a small bedroom across the hall.

On the bed was a semi clean pair of jeans and the T-shirt that Seth had been wearing when Rock took him and Maggie away from the house where Max and Cali had died.

"Get dressed and come downstairs." Rock turned back to him from the doorway. "Hurry up and be quiet," Rock instructed.

Seth finished dressing. He was trembling at the thought of Rock putting him outside again on the dog chain. The sunburn had been painful, and his skin was still raw. As he descended the steps, he thought, Aggie, please help me. I don't want to be here alone anymore.

Chapter Fifty-Nine.

Seth crept into the kitchen, moving very slowly, fearful that something bad was going to happen. Rock was sitting at the table counting his bags of white powder and placing twenty small bags into a sandwich bag. He looked up from his mountain of snow. "At least you look half human now. You and me are gonna go out for a while. We're gonna drive around and drop off these bags to people I know. You're gonna help," he told Seth.

At the thought of leaving the house, Seth almost let out a yelp of excitement. Instead, a big grin washed over his face. "I like to help," Seth said, trying to get Rock to like him. "I used to help Aggie wash our clothes in the sink when we lived at the house with John William."

"Oh yeah, whoever the hell John William is. Well, that's good. All you have to do is follow my instructions," Rock said in a dismissive manner. "If you don't do exactly what I tell ya, then you'll stay here the rest of the summer. Ya got it?"

Seth nodded his head but didn't utter a word.

It was ten o'clock in the evening when Rock and Seth got into the car. They drove to different places, and Seth would shove the sandwich bag into his pocket and run to the person waiting. The person would give Seth a roll of money, and he would run back to the car and give it to Rock.

By twelve thirty, Seth was sound asleep in the front seat of Rock's car. Rock stopped at the house where Maggie lived on his way home to check in with his boys, leaving Seth in the car. As usual, there was an argument in full swing when he entered. Two of the hookers had gotten into a fistfight. One was accusing the other of stealing her cigarettes when she'd put them down on the curb earlier in the evening.

"What the fuck is this about?" Rock demanded.