Page 3 of The Eraser

I jerk back. "Sorry, Mrs. O'Hara, but I'm not allowed."

Her lips purse. "I'll tell you what, Stephen, while you're here with us, you're family, okay? So you can call me Nicola, okay?"

I nod. "Okay, Nicola. Are you sure it's okay to eat?"

Her eyes soften and tears fill them. "Oh, sweet boy, yes, eat whatever you'd like."

"Thank you."

"Anytime," she whispers, before she gets to her feet and walks away.

"Mammy likes you," Callie says as she starts to eat. "How come your mammy isn't here?"

"My ma's sleeping. She's not nice like your ma."

Callie frowns. "Is your da nice?"

I shake my head as I reach for a sandwich. It tastes different, though not bad. Actually, it's good.

"You can have my mammy and da. They're the best."

I smile at her. She's cute and I like that she's my friend. I've never had one before.

She continues to talk, and I listen as she tells me all about her family. She has aunties and uncles, a big family. I only have Ma and Da and they're awful.

"Cake time," Nicola calls out and everyone rushes over to the table. "Maverick and Callie, make a wish as you blow out the candles."

I watch as everyone starts to sing “Happy Birthday” to the two of them, then they blow out the candles and I see how happy Callie is. I've never seen someone look so excited.

My anger rises when I see Maverick reach for a slice of his cake and shove it in Callie's face. I can't control the rage that builds up inside of me as Callie starts to cry. I run toward Maverick and jump on him, making him fall to the ground, and then I start to hit him.

"Woah," I hear a deep voice say from behind me as someone wraps an arm around my stomach and lifts me. I can't stop the cry of pain from escaping me. "I know that he's a little tyke, son, but you can't go around hitting people."

"Butch," Nicola hisses. "Put the boy down, now. You've hurt him."

The man puts me back on my feet, keeping a hold of my shoulder. "I didn't," he says. "I only lifted him."

I watch as Nicola bats Butch away while Callie's da pulls Maverick into his arms. "Stephen, did Butch hurt you?"

I don't answer her. I know that I did wrong and I'm in so much trouble. My parents are going to kill me.

"Honey," she says softly. "Look at me. Are you hurt?"

I glance down at the ground. I don't want to tell her.

"Can I lift your top?" she asks, and I nod. I feel her soft hands pulling at the bottom of my t-shirt, and I know the moment she sees the bruises because she gasps.

"I didn't do that," the man she called Butch says. "Christ, Nic, I didn't do that."

"Of course you didn't," she says. "Are you in a lot of pain, Stephen?"

I shake my head. This isn’t the worst I've felt.

"Okay. Now, I know that someone's hurt you, but we don't hurt people. It's not right."

"I'm sorry. He made Callie cry, and I was angry."

Butch turns me around to face him. "That's understandable, son. Sometimes things happen that make us angry. It makes us want to lash out. But we don't hit people, okay?"

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