A gilded cage, a dangerous heart

: Scars a

e, it was kind of a miracle. Nobody shouted at me for breathing too loud. Nobody locked me in a room be

ple. Habits like that don't just disappear overnight. But around Liam and Chloe, those defenses-the ones I'd built like ar

n't too bad. In class, I found it easy to focus. Learning felt like something I could control, something that couldn't be taken away. I devoured books like I used t

d find lying around. Sometimes, he'd explain stuff to me and Chloe-even though half the time she'd zone out and start doodling planets with

and make fun of the bad dialogue. Other times, Liam would pull out this beat-up guitar he'd found in the storage closet, and he'd play these slow, sad songs that made every

ame th

t of silence, like the house was holding its breath, and then all the younger kids started freaking out. Someone screamed. A few started crying. But Ms. Reed, being th

trying to tell us a secret. Liam sat cross-legged with his guitar, the flickering candlelight makin

lace, Chloe?" Liam said with this tiny smirk, strummi

were gonna bring that up! It was creepy! A

" Liam muttered, b

y ones. The kind of stories you tell when you feel safe. The kind of stuff I

she asked gently. "Any cr

died in m

lights. It meant Brenda yelling and blaming me, or Arthur drinking more, getting meaner. I

ep my voice steady. "Our power went ou

y something softer. She didn't say "oh no" or "that's awful." She

massive. Like someone saying you're n

me something peppy and ridiculous. "Okay," he said. "Enough

"Ooh! I got on

n unison, an

ck k

" Liam and I

ttu

tuce

, it's cold

little kids looked over. Liam made

traveling banana. I didn't even get it, but we all ended up l

somehow... I

e it was, and when Chloe laughed, it made me feel like maybe, just maybe, I could belong

nic in the middle of a thunderstorm. Chloe started talking about her past-something she didn't do often. She said h

said softly, staring at her sandwich. "I think I s

I wanted to hug her, but I didn't

ome okay, some really bad. He said he'd learned to pack fast

myself," he said.

t something about the candlelight, the quiet, the way

s coldness. About how I was always scared. How I never felt wanted. How I'd lay in be

hed, the roo

assy. She took my hand again. "That's...

safe now," he said, voice softer tha

her ridiculous joke to break the tension-and Liam groan

re in the glow of candles and f

s. But now, I al

ybe, I wasn't brok