Prologue:
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The night delivered a sharp chill, lingering on the noses and ears of the few people who were still outside. Liam stepped inside the Harrod household, his head held down. The creaks from the hinges on the door echoed throughout the desolate house down to the front yard. The sounds of flesh hitting against something and laughter replayed in Liam’s mind. The dry blood on the side of his face overlapped with the image of fresh, hot blood dripping down to his collarbone. But that was nothing more than just a sliver of the past. He saw food on the table. There was chicken on the plate. He had never skipped a meal his mom had prepared for him.
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A clatter of plates resounded through the house. Mom’s in the kitchen, he thought, I need to finish dinner quickly and go to my room.
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Screee
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The sound of the chair scraping across the floor was too abrupt. Liam winced at the loud sound. To his dismay, Mrs. Harrod’s footsteps started echoing, coming closer from the kitchen to the dining room.
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Oh, here she comes.
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“You just arrived?” Ms. Harrod wiped her hands on her apron, “You didn’t even say hi.”
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“Hi, mom.” Liam greeted half-heartedly.
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Please don’t let her notice, Liam shook his head a little to allow his hair to fall and cover his face. Ms. Harrod gazed at Liam.
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Ms. Harrod scrunched her brows, noticing something strange in Liam’s behaviour
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She quickly saw the bruises on his cheekbones and the dried blood on the side of his face. Her eyes widened.
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She hurried to her son’s side and grabbed his chin, turning his face toward her, “Who did this?”
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The pace of Liam’s heartbeat hurried. He doesn’t want to say, he can’t, he can’t. The recollection of the events earlier made a shiver run down his spine like electric shocks sent throughout his body. He turned his face away.
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“It’s nothing, Mom, really. I just…”
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“Fell?” Ms. Harrod tried beating him to his excuses, “What, did you accidentally run into a wall? Did the wall do this? You fell and, somehow, the floor gave you these bruises? Is that it?”
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“Mom.” Before he could talk, his mom continued,
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“Your days at school, were they okay? Were they really okay? You can’t keep,”
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“Mom,”
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“You can’t keep lying to me. This can’t go on. You have to let me-” Her voice shook.
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“Mom,”
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“You have to let me-”
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“Mom!”
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“Liam!” Her hands slammed on the table, the utensils clattered.
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They both froze, even their breaths, surprised at the abrupt shout. Ms. Harrod didn’t intend to raise her voice. Her panicked eyes slowly calmed down.
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“Liam…” she repeated calmly, “you have to let me help you.”
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She let herself fall on a chair with a sigh, “If you don’t want to tell me, it’s… it’s fine.” she whispered under her breath, rubbing her temples.
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“I love you, okay?” she stood up again and brushed the hair off Liam’s forehead with her palm, her expression melancholy.
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“I love you, too.”
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A few moments later, silence settled once again on that run-down house in the middle of a barren valley.
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