Burn Me Right

Chapter 44

12-year-old April

It's been a whole year since I arrived here, and I still have no idea what to expect. Every day, a teacher visits to educate me, teaching me everything I need to know. I haven't seen the intense boy since then. Labeling him as "mad" is unfair, but he struck me as quite peculiar. His eyes hold a captivating intensity, unlike anyone I've ever encountered. I can only hope he'll be kind to me and not make me uneasy.

I hear a knock at the door and turn my head around. There, I see him standing at a distance, watching me. I don't want to say hi, but it would be impolite since I lived in his house. "Um... Hi," I fiddle with my fingers.

He said nothing but tore himself off the door frame and walked towards me. "Do you want to play with me?" I asked, hoping that I would make a friend. I haven't had a friend in a year, and I miss my little sister so much. So, he would be the only friend I would be making for now.

"I don't play with little girls," he shut me down, and my face drooped in sadness. He must've noticed that. He smiled like a mad person and sat next to me. I shuffled and moved back.

"Do you like it here?" he asked me while looking at the book in my hands.

"Um...No," I told him honestly. I don't like it here. I miss my home, my family, and everyone. But I didn't tell him that. It would not end well for my sister. He gritted his teeth, but he was quiet. I observed his grey eyes. They were very pretty, like clouds.

"Why don't you like it here? Do you miss your parents?" he asked, looking out the window. Do I miss my parents? Yes. But should I tell him that? No.

"No. My family perished in the fire," I lied to him. To my innocent heart, at that moment, it felt like lying was the best thing. He nodded. There was silence again.

"When can I go home?" I slowly mumbled, but I only heard an angry growl in response. He said nothing.

"Do you want chocolates?" He grabbed a bar of chocolate and gave it to me. I looked at it and back at him.

"No, I don't like them," I answered, rejecting him. I don't know what was in his head, but he threw them in the trash. "Why won't you eat it?" I tried taking it out and giving it to him.

"Anything you don't want doesn't belong in my life either," he smiled. But I didn't understand his mind.

"Does anybody trouble you here? Touch you?" He stepped forward, and I was confused. So, I said nothing. "Tell me, April. Did anybody touch you?" He screamed in anger, and I shuddered.

"NO," I was scared at his sudden outburst.

"If anybody ever, ever misbehaves with you or makes you uncomfortable. You tell me right away, okay?" He stepped back, and I nodded.

"I need words, April. If anybody ever tries to touch you. You tell me, okay?" He locked his hands behind his back, and I spoke. "Yes,"

A sudden thunderclap startled me, pulling me out of my thoughts. The sky mirrored the turmoil within my mind. As the sound reverberated, I heard the front door unlocked, and Liam entered, his suit crisp and his gaze fixed on me. Those piercing eyes constantly stirred a storm, unsettling me like a gentle waterbody struck by lightning. I stepped back as he stepped forward.

Liam's hands reached out to me and pulled me closer, tight. As I had done for the last three years, I tried to protest but lost against him, as always. He is a beast. The never-fading, deep marks on my body are proof of his madness. He grabbed me and put me on the windowsill.