Chapter Four: The Substitute

Dawn came early to the little clearing on the side of the mountain where the dilapidated trailer sat at an odd angle in the large yard. Honoraria woke without an alarm, and tiptoed from her room, past the small bathroom to the kitchen. Only a kitchen counter divided the cooking area from the small living room. She could see that her uncle was not in his recliner, and that worried her. She glanced nervously toward the bigger bedroom on the far end as she put two slices of bread into the toaster. She had just pushed the lever down when she heard him bellow.

“Honor! Where the hell are my keys?”

She didn’t answer him. She had not touched his keys. He had probably left them in the truck when he staggered in, drunk as usual last night. She looked between the toaster and the back door, knowing that she should hurry outside before her uncle came out of the bedroom, but she was so hungry. Her dinner had landed on the floor last night when her uncle had pushed her into the table. She