His Lies, Our Undying Love

and Liam woke up early. They ate breakfast in a sun-drenched room that was bigger than my ent

oking appliances. On my second morning, I tried to make coffee. The machine looked like the cockp

ut of a vent and scattering across the pristine white floor. I froze, my heart pounding in my

re you

bag slung over his shoulder. He wasn't suppose

I stammered, my cheeks burning with

e stray beans. Without a word, he pressed a sequence of buttons. The grinding stopped. He opened a compartment, pou

bbed a mug from a cabinet, filled

pantry," he said over

was a clear message: you are too st

ap. I made sure I was never in the kitchen when they were. I learned to read the silence of the house, to

g school I would be starting soon, the one my mother's scholarship had paid for, the one Mr. Sterling was now

en I heard their voices coming from a large living area. Olivi

comments," she said. "He

am's voice replied,

d got it for

ot it from a s

up,

n my own home. I listened to them bicker, a strange ache in my chest. It was

: stay out of their way. Don't give them any reason to notice me. I would be a ghost in their house until I could find a way to leave