Page 60 of Liam

“He is in the living room. I’m about to take the burgers off the grill. I asked him what is one thing that he is craving, and he wants burgers.” He smiles slightly. “He looks just like me.” I smile back and take his hand, and we walk together into the living room. Sitting on the couch is a smaller version of Liam, there is no doubt about that.

Another thing I notice is that he is small, way too small for an eight-year-old boy, and he is dirty in a way that shows he has been living in a rough situation for a while. “Caiden, this is Paisley, my fiancé. Paisley, this is Caiden.”

I pull my hand free from Liam’s and slowly walk over to him. He watches me wearily, and I bend down in front of him, putting him at eye level with me. “It’s very nice to meet you.” I smile widely and lift my hand for him to take. He takes his eyes off my face then looks at my hand and then back at my face, like he is trying to see if I really want him to shake my hand. I hate that bitch more and more. He is making sure that this isn’t a test or something.

He slowly lifts his hand and places it in mine.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” I say again, smiling.

He ducks his head, not before I see his small smile. I look back at Liam and smile.

“I got you some things until I can take you shopping.”

Liam walks over and hands me the bags, and I set them on the couch by him. He looks at the bags like they are going to pop up and bite him. My throat thickens at the sight of his shocked face.

“This is mine?”

“Yes, it’s just a few things until I can take you shopping and get whatever else you need and want,” I tell him and push the bags closer. He smiles at me, and my heart stops in my chest because he looks just like Liam. He grabs one of the bags and starts taking out the clothes. He touches the shirts. It’s like he can’t believe it’s real. He looks at every single item, his eyes wide. My heart feels like it’s shattered into a million pieces because a little thing like clothes has him so happy and shocked.

I hate her, I hate him. I hate them so much because this precious little boy had the life he did. He was found in a fucking drug house in a closet. I don’t even want to know what might have happened to him and the things he has seen. And he went without simple things like food, a bed, clothes and, most of all, someone to love him.

There is still one bag left. It was on sale and I couldn’t resist getting it for him. Liam used to talk about how Braelyn got him an Xbox, and that was the first gift he’d ever received. I just wanted to get Caiden something special, and he’ll have something to do when he goes to bed tonight.

“I have one more thing for you.” I look over at Liam, who is still leaning against the wall. I reach inside the bag and take out a Nintendo DS and a game. I set it on Caiden’s lap, and he stares at it in absolute shock.

“This is for me?” he whispers, touching the shrink wrap around the box.

“Of course. I wanted you to have something that is yours that’ll help you kill some time.”

I play it cool. He doesn't look at me, and I can tell that he is crying. I stand up and walk across the room to Liam, and he pulls me into his arms and hugs me. “That was sweet, Baby, he hasn’t had a lot of good in his life. Braelyn did something similar for me,” he whispers softly enough that only I can hear. I kiss his cheek and look back at Caiden, who is still staring down at his game.

“Ready to eat?” Liam asks him and Caiden looks at him, seeming unsure.

“Want to eat here in the living room? We can watch some TV and relax,” I offer, and he relaxes slightly. “There is a bathroom right through there. Go wash up and I will bring the food in here.”

I walk into the kitchen to help Liam, and he is putting all the burgers on a plate. I walk to the fridge and grab a couple of sodas along with some water.

“Do you know how he likes his burgers?” I ask Liam.

“Yeah, he just likes plain cheeseburgers.”

I walk to the cabinet and grab three plates and some napkins. I put some fries on the plates, carry them into the living room, and set them on the coffee table.

Liam sets the huge stack of burgers on the table and, a second later, Caiden walks back into the living room. I sit down on the couch, and Caiden slowly walks over and sits down beside me. I hand him a plate and put two burgers on it. Liam sits down on the other side and turns on a new kid’s movie. I hide my smile and dig into my food with Liam.

Liam

It fucking kills me that he is starving. In minutes he has demolished his entire plate. Paisley is hiding her face, and I can tell that she is hurting. I am mad—no, I am pissed. I want to kill someone. I want to make someone suffer because I know exactly how he is feeling because I was him.

Caiden has finished his food. “Eat all you want, there is plenty more,” I urge him and he looks at me, unsure. I head in the direction of the food. He stands up and takes two more burgers. Paisley looks at me, and I can see the unshed fucking tears in her eyes.

Fuck me, today has been a mess. My stepmother tried to kill me, and then she let us know that I had a brother.

I am thankful that she said something because if she hadn’t, I would never have known. Braelyn offered to take him in, but I wanted to do this. I wanted to give him a life. Braelyn did that for me, and I want to do the same for him. I’m glad that he is young enough that he won’t remember a lot of his childhood, or I hope he doesn’t.

It’s fucking eerie how much he looks like me. Caiden and I both look a lot like my dad. Braelyn looks a lot like her mother—what she would look like if she weren’t on drugs and hadn’t been through years of beatings. I saw a picture of her when she was young, and she and Brae could be twins.

It’s fucking crazy how someone can start out somewhat normal, but then it all changes when they meet someone who takes over their life, and not for the better. They change, they let stuff slide, and then everything they once were is gone. Brainwashing in abusive relationships is a real thing. It molds the brain until a person becomes someone they never wanted to be.

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