The Toys That Broke My Heart

Liam's POV

The next day, I lied to Grandma and told her I was going into town for the day. Instead, I got on a bus by myself and headed straight to the city.

I'd barely reached the entrance of my parents' apartment complex when I saw Mom walking out, holding the hand of a little boy who looked about seven or eight years old.

My face lit up. I opened my mouth to call out to her, but the boy beat me to it.

"Mom! It stopped raining!"

Mom grabbed him before he could dart ahead. "Lucas! There are cars everywhere. Stay close to me."

I froze so completely that I didn't notice the curb at my feet. I tripped and tumbled straight into the bushes beside the walkway, accidentally hiding myself from view.

Neither of them saw me.

But I saw that boy.

He looked like Dad. He looked like Mom, too. And Mom had called him Lucas.

My name was Liam Carter. His name was Lucas Carter.

I wondered if he was my little brother, but I had no idea when Mom and Dad had another son.

I wondered why I didn't know anything about him.

I followed them in a daze. After about 15 minutes, they walked into a huge shopping mall.

Mom took Lucas to a fast-food restaurant. I stayed outside, tucked into a corner where they couldn't see me, watching and listening through the glass.

The kids' meal Mom bought for Lucas came with a little toy. Lucas tore open the package, took one look at it, and immediately pouted. "Not this one again. I've gotten this one so many times already."

Mom took the toy from him and slipped it into her purse. "Okay. I'll get you something else."

My fingers tightened around the edge of the pillar beside me without me even realizing it. I didn't snap out of it until the sharp corner dug painfully into my palm.

So that was it. Many of the toys Mom bought me were duplicates.

I'd always thought it was because grown-ups didn't watch cartoons. Of course Mom couldn't tell all the characters apart or remember which ones she'd already bought me.

So, I'd never complained. I'd always tried to be fine about it.

Even when I got the same toy twice, I would tell myself it was still a gift from Mom. It just meant I got twice as much of her love.

Only now did I understand that wasn't the case at all. Lucas got them first, and Mom gave the ones he didn't want to me.

Mom automatically picked the lettuce out of Lucas' burger before handing it to him.

He ate only half of his chicken nuggets before deciding he didn't want any more and took maybe two sips of his soda. Mom didn't get annoyed with him at all. She simply smiled and gently wiped his mouth for him.

When they were done eating, she took his hand and led him into the toy store next door. A few minutes later, she came back out carrying a huge box.

I recognized it immediately. It was a Transformers set.

My friend, Ryan Patterson's, parents had brought him one back from a trip once. He'd told me it was really expensive, and he'd only ever let me play with it one time.

Mom called a cab and left with Lucas.

I sat down on the steps outside the mall, hugging my backpack to my chest.

I didn't know where else to go, so I just sat there.

By the time I finally came to my senses, the sky was almost dark. Then, my old flip phone started ringing.

It was my deskmate, the kid who had transferred here from the city.

"Liam, weren't you going to get that Thursday meal deal today? Do you know what time it is? Are you still getting it or not? They're going to sell out soon."

The Thursday deal.

I'd almost forgotten why I'd secretly come all the way to the city in the first place.

Last year, Mom had told me eating at places like this was too expensive.

So for almost an entire year, I'd collected empty bottles and cans and sold them for whatever change I could get. I'd even asked my deskmate, who'd moved here from the city, about the cheapest time to go. He was the one who told me they had a special deal every Thursday.

I'd had it all planned out.

Once I'd saved enough money, I was going to treat Mom and Dad to a meal. Just once.

But while I'd been carefully saving every penny, they'd already been coming here without me. With a little brother I hadn't even known existed. They'd probably eaten here dozens of times.

"Yeah, I still want it. Can you order it for me?"

After I hung up, I followed the instructions my deskmate had given me and read out the pickup number at the counter.

A few minutes later, I had my food. But just as I was about to take my first bite, a sudden impulse came over me.

I called Mom.

"Hello? Liam?"

I made small talk with her for a minute. In the background, I could faintly hear a little boy urging her to hurry up.

Mom was starting to sound impatient when I finally asked, "Mom, is that fast-food place any good? I see commercials for it on TV all the time."

Her answer came without the slightest hesitation. "No. Everything's greasy and tastes awful."

Then, she sighed. "You should be worrying about your schoolwork instead of calling me about nonsense like this. I'm working late tonight. I'm busy, so I have to go."

She hung up. I sat there listening to the empty tone for a few seconds before slowly lowering the phone.

Then, I picked up a piece of fried chicken and took a bite.

It wasn't greasy and didn't taste awful. It was hot and crispy and smelled so good. It was so much better than I'd imagined.

I kept eating, and before I knew it, my eyes started to sting.

A college guy sitting nearby noticed and looked at me with concern. "Hey, kid. Are you okay?"

I quickly wiped the corner of my eye and gave him a big smile. "I'm fine. It's just my first time eating here. I'm really happy."