Child of a King

Chapter two - Interrogation + Characters

"Up!"

I jolted awake from the loud yelling, my heart hammering against my chest, pumping pure panic through my veins.

"Hurry!" Liam shouted, pulling me out of my sheets.

"What's wrong?" I rushed out as I took in his wild expression with big eyes déjà vu from two years ago flashing through my mind.

"We're not safe here", he explained urgently, tossing a jacket to me as he gathered some important items in a red backpack.

My stomach dropped as Liam grabbed my hand, sprinting out of the apartment into the dark night. I had no idea what time it was, but the stars were peeking out from behind the dark clouds and the moon shining bright. Goosebumps prickled on my skin from the bottom of my pajama shorts and all the way down my legs as the cold wind blew through the air.

He was running too fast for me to keep up, causing my foot to stumble on the uneven pavement. I fell down harshly, my knees scraping against the asphalt as my chin collided with the ground. A sharp pain flared through my foot as I twisted it mid landing.

"Shit", Liam cursed as he picked me up, cradling the back of my head while I wailed. It hurt but I had experienced worse. My tears were a mix of pain, fear, and confusion about what was going on.

I could feel the way his chest rose and fell rapidly while he ran with me in his arms. Sweat was covering his forehead by the time he stopped in an alleyway where we could hide in the darkness.

"Let me have a look sweetheart". It was with great reluctance that I lifted my head up from his shoulder, so he could assess the damage. Blood streamed down my chin and onto my jacket. My knees looked even worse, and my right foot was throbbing when Liam had me stand on the ground.

He cursed again as we didn't have anything to dry all of the blood off with. In the end he used the hem of his t-shirt to gently dab the wounds to get a better view.

"It doesn't need stitches but it's going to ache for a few days", he concluded, running a hand through his disheveled hair, and then using the back of his hand to wipe his sweaty forehead.

"It hurts". The lower part of my lip wobbled while I sniffled. I just wanted to go home.

"I know baby". He cradled the back of my head again as he pulled me into his side, rubbing soothing circles on my shoulders as he read through a stack of papers he found in the backpack.

"Where's Lu?" I mumbled, clinging to him for dear life. I was more scared this time than when my sister and I ran away from Idaho. In fact, I was horrified.

Liam's hand stilled on my back as he clenched his jaw, the veins in his neck popping out.

"She was arrested a little while ago".

My heartbeat stalled as my eyes widened.

"Arrested? W-what for?" I questioned, a shiver running down my spine. This time not from the cold.

He didn't answer, just gritted his teeth as his gray irises flashed with a burning fury.

"Liam?"

Still no answer.

"Liam!" I begged, more tears threatening to spill out at any moment.

He exhaled a deep breath. "Grand Theft auto and destruction of private property".

My eyes got bigger and bigger from the charges my sister was accused of. I had no idea what the things meant but this couldn't be right? My sister is many things but not a criminal.