Because he loved him..

31. Forlorn

*Amay's point of view*

The person in the shadow stepped forward. It was Arlo. He looked vaguely concerned.

He had shaved, he looked more like the kid I had to leave at the Clay's. Somehow, it made me feel less at edge. Did he know that? Was it intentional on his part?

"You still have those?" He asked casually.

"Huh?" I blinked.

"Do you still have nightmares?"

"Sometimes----"

"I remember how you used to wake up screaming at night and pretend that it was nothing." He said in a low voice, taking tentative steps towards my bed.

He seemed calmer now. I looked at him. He seemed like an ordinary teeanger now. A bit aloof but still a teen, not at all like what he seemed yesterday. Or was it a few nights ago?

How long had I been out? With a guilty jolt to my stomach, I realised Ray and Bethany must be so worried, then I looked at Arlo.

"What happened Arlo? Why are you doing this?"

His face hardened but he didn't say anything. I thought about how concerned Sally and Samar must be, about Arlo.

"Let's go back to the Clays. They will be worried about you."

"They don't!" He snapped. I winced. The rage was sneaking up on his face again. I involuntarily shrank back a little.

"Lily was the only one who cared about me there!" He exclaimed.

My heart took a dive. Mrs. Clay. Was she...?

"Was..?" I asked. His face turned grim.

"One day we were playing and she slipped down the stairs. Sally blamed me for the death of the only mother she ever had. She hated me. I could see it in her eyes."

My eyes started burning at this. Sally? I know she loved Mrs. Clay like anything but this...

"I could see she was sad over not having her own kids. I tried...I tried to be her son, to be their son but it was never enough. "

His frustration was almost tangible. I tried to raise my hand to comfort him but it wouldn't move. What about Samar? Surely he tried to intervene?

"Sam?" I could only manage to ask this much.

"He berated me for every small mistake. He... despised me."

I looked at him. Samar hated Arlo? Why?

"You don't believe me? Once a few guys in the class were teasing me for being an orphan. I was angry, so angry that I punched him and kept punching him till his face went all bloody. "

I gasped but Arlo looked smug. I had almost forgotten how cruel children can be sometimes.

"You know what your Sam did when he found out?" He asked.

"He shouted at me, he said if I wasn't careful, I would end up becoming like my father. He said I already looked like him."

I could only stare in shock and sadness at him. Samar's anger at Karim had found another outlet and Arlo's looks made matters worse. Still, Samar should have known better than that. No child should be held responsible for his father's crimes