Page 1 of Little Liar
PART ONE
1
Malachi - Aged 4
Wind blows in my hair as Daddy keeps me on his shoulders on the way to the playground at the bottom of the neighborhood we live in.
Mommy is at work, so we’re going to have some fun before we pick her up in Daddy’s new car. We’re making cookies tonight!
“Did you have fun at school today?” Daddy asks me, and I scream a “yes!”
I hold his head in a tight hug as we cross the street. Little droplets of rain hit my face, but I have on my raincoat and welly boots so we can jump in puddles.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, son?”
“Can we go for more ice cream on the way home?”
He laughs and flips me off his shoulders. I giggle and scream as he tickles me and puts me on my feet. He wipes the chocolate ice cream from my chin and takes my hand. “If we have time, yes. We need to pick your mommy up from work in an hour.”
I grin and skip, jumping in the puddles as we go. A big truck passes us suddenly, and I wince, covering my ears and screwing my eyes shut.
“Hey,” Daddy says, crouching down in front of me until the truck vanishes, but my ears still ring painfully. I want it to stop—why won’t it stop?
My bottom lip quivers, and when I open my eyes, Daddy is watching me. “It’s getting worse, huh?”
I nod slowly. I don’t like loud noises—they hurt my ears and make my chest all tight.
“Come on,” he says, standing and taking my hand again. “A quick play on the swings and we’ll get more ice cream.”
A smile cracks over my face, and Daddy skips with me through the playground, lifts me onto the swing, and pushes me high while I smile harder and scream louder.
No other kids are here, which is good. We never come here when it’s busy. I think Daddy likes it when it’s just the two of us.
Daddy always takes me out to the park. Or we go to the swimming pool where he teaches me how to float.
He ushers me to the merry-go-round. “I won’t spin you too fast,” he says, pulling my hood up as the rain turns heavier. “Hold tight.”
Before he can spin, I gasp and lean forward. “Daddy, look!”
A little spider is making a web on the bar. It’s small and black, and the droplets are getting in the way. Daddy reaches his finger out, and the spider crawls onto it. “Look at that,” he says, sitting down beside me, making the merry-go-round creak. He lowers his finger to my hand. “You wanna hold it?”
I nod and even feel a little nervous as I rest my hand on my lap, palm-side up, and giggle when Daddy makes the spider crawl onto my hand. It’s so small and helpless and lonely. The rain must be making it all wet and cold. “Can we take him home?”
But as Daddy goes to reply, thunder cracks above us, making me jump. My hands fist, and I accidentally crush and drop the spider. It lands right in a small puddle on the metal.
For a few breaths, I stare at it with wide eyes. It doesn’t move.
“No!” I scream and try to get it, but he stops me. “Save him, Daddy!”
“He’s asleep, son. Thunder makes spiders sleep. He’s okay. Will we go get some ice cream now?”
“But… but…”
Daddy lifts me into his arms as tears start to slide down my cheeks.
“It’s okay, Malachi. Don’t be upset. He’s asleep.”
