CHAPTER 27 — The Boy Before Aiden

“Mom, please… I’m sorry.”

Aiden’s voice cracked, thin and trembling beneath his own ragged breathing. Tears blurred his vision as they slipped down his bruised cheeks. Blood trickled slowly from the cut near his forehead. The room smelled of iron.

He curled tighter against the floor, arms wrapped around himself as if he could shrink small enough to disappear.

“Please,” he whispered.

“Don’t call me that.”The woman standing over him stared down with open disgust.

“I am not the mother of something like you.”

Her words cut deeper than the slap. Aiden lowered his head at once, shoulders shaking as he fought to swallow his sobs. He had learned long ago that crying too loudly only made things worse.

“Mommy, stop!”

Small feet rushed forward. Finn’s tiny hands grabbed their mother’s arm, tears streaming down his round face.

“Brother said sorry!”

The anger on her face vanished the moment she looked at him. Her voice softened instantly, sweet and practiced.

“Sweetheart, don’t cry. Mommy’s not angry anymore.”

“But you hurt him,” Finn sniffled.

“He shouldn’t behave badly then.”She brushed her fingers through his hair and forced a bright smile.

“Go pick up your toys for me, hm? We’ll leave this room together.”Finn hesitated, glancing back at Aiden one last time before letting her lead him away.

The moment they reached the doorway, the front door opened.

“Oh! Darling, you’re home already?” the woman exclaimed, her tone suddenly light and cheerful, as if nothing had happened. “You scared me.”

“I just got back.”The man's calm voice drifted down the hallway.

Aiden froze.

His father's eyes landed on him for only a second. It was enough.“What happened now?” the man asked quietly.

The woman sighed dramatically.“I sent him to the store and he disappeared for nearly an hour. When I went looking, he was outside talking to some boy near the gate.” Her face twisted. “Laughing. Smiling. Acting shameless.”

“He’s sixteen,” the man replied, stepping further inside. “Teenagers talk to people.”

“You don’t see the way he acts?” she snapped. “Too soft. Too delicate.”

A strange smile tugged at the corner of the man's lips.“You used to dress him up like a doll when he was younger. What changed?”

The woman rolled her eyes and walked away with Finn still clinging to her hand.

No one asked Aiden if he was hurt. No one helped him off the floor. By the time dinner was served, he had already been sent to his room without food.

Hours later, the house had fallen silent.Aiden lay curled beneath his thin blanket, staring at the wall while hunger gnawed at his stomach. Every small movement sent fresh pain blooming through his bruises.

He was just beginning to drift off when he heard the soft click of his bedroom door unlocking.

His body went rigid.Footsteps approached slowly.

“Wake up.”

Aiden blinked tiredly as the dim lamp flickered on. His father stood beside the bed, holding a plate of food.

“You didn’t eat dinner,” he said softly. “Sit up.”

Aiden obeyed without thinking. The smell of the food made his empty stomach twist. “I brought this for you.”

The gentleness in his father's voice felt wrong. Too gentle.

“I’m not really hungry anymore,” Aiden whispered.

“You should still eat.” It wasn’t a suggestion.

With shaking hands, Aiden took the fork. The first bite tasted bitter beneath the seasoning. He frowned. “This tastes weird.”

“Medicine,” his father replied calmly. “It’ll help you sleep.”

Aiden’s chest tightened. “I don’t need medicine.”

“Eat.”

The shift in tone made fear spike through him. He forced down another bite with trembling hands.  Seconds later, dizziness crashed over him.

The room tilted sharply. The fork slipped from his fingers.

“Dad…” His voice came out small and scared.

“I don’t feel good.” His father gently removed the plate and set it aside.

“That’s normal.” Aiden tried to scoot backward, but his limbs had grown impossibly heavy. Panic clawed up his throat.

“What… what did you do to me?” His father said nothing.

Darkness bled into the edges of Aiden’s vision as hot tears slid down his face. He tried to scream, but only a weak whimper escaped.

“Please…” His father reached out and brushed the damp hair from Aiden’s forehead with horrifying tenderness.

“Go to sleep.” The last thing Aiden felt was the mattress dipping beside him before the darkness swallowed him whole.

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