Chapter 4

My injuries were a little worse than I'd expected because my skin was still fragile at this age.

John patiently popped my blisters, applied antibiotic ointment, and wrapped them in gauze. Throughout the process, he kept reassuring me and telling me how brave I was.

Even though I was mentally an adult, I still felt a little comforted by his kindness. It had been a long time since I'd last felt any warmth from another person.

After John was done, he insisted on sending me home.

When we reached the house, I realized my family had already returned home with Justin. He was sitting in the middle as they crowded around him, protecting him from all sides.

When they saw me, they didn't even show the slightest hint of guilt. Their eyes were filled with nothing but blame.

Dad frowned, his voice stern. "Oh, so you do know this is your home, huh? Where did you run off to so late at night?"

Mom stared at me, her eyes filled with disappointment and reproach. "I don't mind your usual mischief, but Justin fainted because of you. And you're still running around everywhere."

The warmth I'd just felt in my heart quickly faded. I lifted my shirt and showed them the bandages on my back and arms. "Where did I run off to? Dad, you pushed me. Or is Justin the only one who deserves to go to the hospital, while I'm supposed to just tough it out?"

My parents' expressions shifted. They'd been so focused on Justin fainting that they'd conveniently forgotten all about my burns.

Justin bit his lip, wanting to play his usual victim card, but Tiana stopped him from talking. She stood in front of him like a protective mother hen. "Don't try to pin this on Justin. He fainted because of you."

I was honestly dumbfounded by how stupid Tiana was. I asked, "Oh? So what did the doctors find? How did he get home before me? Don't tell me he was faking it."

Mom, Dad, and Tiana were all left speechless. Justin hadn't shown any signs of physical illness during the examination. The doctor had only said he might have been frightened and needed to rest at home for a couple of days.

By comparison, my injuries looked much more serious.

Upon realizing that things weren't looking good for him, Justin pouted, and tears immediately rolled down his face.

His tears were the Meyer family's ultimate weakness, causing them to lose all sense of reason.

Dad grabbed a pillow and hurled it at me. "Shut up!"

John, who was still nearby, finally couldn't stand it anymore. He rushed into the house and yelled, "That's enough! What sort of parents are you?"

He grabbed my hand and roared at my parents. "He needs his dressings changed over the next few days, so he'll be staying at my clinic!"

Then John took me by the hand and walked away without looking back. The Meyer family stood there, stunned. Not one of them even thought to stop us.

That night, I told John everything I'd been through. To my surprise, the tall, middle-aged man was so furious that he broke down in tears.

He wrapped his arms around me, visibly moved, and said, "If you don't mind, I'll be your godfather from now on. Whenever your family gives you a hard time, you can come to my house!"

His words warmed my heart, and I gladly accepted his offer. Despite the pain from my wounds, I slept soundly for once with John by my side.

I spent nearly two weeks in the clinic, and not once did my family come to visit me. I knew that even if my parents had thought of me, Justin would've found a way to distract them.

The first thing I did when I got back to school was sign up for the same state math competition as Justin.

At school, he dropped the timid, innocent act he put on at home. He had lackeys who were always finding new ways to give me a hard time.

When I got back from the office after signing up for the competition, I found all the math competition books from my desk drawer dumped in the trash.

Justin sat with his legs crossed, looking at me with disdain. "You actually think you can compete in the state math competition? Marco, you haven't even won an award in a school competition."

His lackeys burst out laughing.

"Marco is just jealous that you became class president as soon as you transferred here, while he got demoted to vice president."

Justin flaunted his new sneakers, which had originally been my birthday present but had ended up with him anyway.

"Mom, Dad, and even the teachers all like me better. You're so pathetic, Marco. If you just behave and become my lackey, I can put in a good word for you with Mom and Dad."