open to Shay
Parker and Murphy were sound asleep, Elijah could tell. The sound of their breathing always let him know if they were awake or asleep. Parker had fallen asleep before Murphy had, and he'd been out for two hours now. Murphy for an hour. Everything in the house was silent. Though they were downstairs and a bit away from the house, Elijah could hear Adam's footsteps sometimes. If Adam was home, he usually had one of the three upstairs with him, too. The moment he heard footsteps he sat up on his bed and scooted to the edge, waiting to hear if Adam would come downstairs or not. It made him feel sick to his stomach that he often wanted to be the one Adam chose to take upstairs. It was the only time he was out of the cage, and his only sense of freedom, even if it wasn't real freedom at all.