Chapter 2

In the end, I was the one who broke the silence.

"The teacher for your session is inside. Go on in."

The confusion in Yvonne's eyes disappeared, replaced by the same disgust I remembered all too well.

"Are you a student here, too?" she asked tentatively. "I can't believe you still haven't gotten better at your age."

I sneered inwardly.

Clearly unwilling to waste another word on me, Yvonne grabbed Ethan and hurried into the classroom.

As I watched them leave, however, I couldn't help wondering why the woman who had abandoned me because I was autistic was now willing to bring a grandson with the same condition here for help.

Had she only despised me because I was me?

I stayed outside and watched through the glass.

"Hello, I'm Liam Yates. I'll be conducting today's trial session," Liam introduced himself.

"Liam Yates?"

Yvonne frowned. "I asked for Dylan Jepsen. I want Mr. Jepsen teaching my grandson."

Liam had never liked Yvonne to begin with, and her demanding tone quickly wore through what little patience he had.

"Ma'am, instructors for one-on-one trial sessions are assigned at random. I also have plenty of experience with autism intervention. If you don't want the session, you're welcome to leave. There are plenty of other families waiting."

Yvonne slammed a hand down on the table.

"What kind of attitude is that? Your school's advertising claims that Dylan Jepsen is your leading specialist in autism. My grandson's condition is severe, so Mr. Jepsen has to teach him today. If he doesn't, I'll report this school to the Department of Education!"

I couldn't help but scoff when I heard that.

She hadn't changed at all. Whenever it came to her family, she was as overbearing and unreasonable as ever—except when it came to me.

Yvonne had never put much thought into anything involving me. The only thing she'd ever gone out of her way to do was find ways to get rid of me.

She abandoned me three times when I was little.

The first two times, people who knew our family found me and brought me home.

In front of the neighbors, she sobbed and blamed herself for losing me, but whenever she saw that someone had brought me back, all she could manage was a stiff smile.

The third time, she left me out in the countryside.

To keep anyone from finding out what she'd done, she even had my older brother pretend to be me when she returned home, making it look as though I had never been abandoned at all.

I cried harder that day than I ever had before.

I ran for what felt like forever through the night, stumbling and falling over and over again as I tried to find my way home.

I'd always been terrified of the dark, but I was even more terrified that Mom had left me behind.

The cold wind stung my face, and I was covered in dirt from head to toe.

It wasn't until the following afternoon that I finally made it back to town.

I knocked on the front door, clinging to the hope that Mom would be happy to see me.

Alas, she opened the door, took one disgusted look at me, and snapped, "What are you, some beggar? Get lost!"

She hadn't even recognized me as she slammed the door in my face.

Before it closed, I caught a glimpse of the yard behind her. One by one, she was throwing all my toys and books into a fire, burning everything I owned to ash.

With her own hands, she was erasing every trace that I'd ever existed in that family.

That was the moment I understood I didn't have a mom anymore.