Chapter 2

Bowie's POV

I stood frozen in place, holding the piece of cake Esther had handed me moments ago.

The living room fell silent in an instant, leaving only the noisy revelry of the New Year's special on TV. The host was counting down with excitement.

"Ten minutes left! The New Year is almost here!" he said.

Plate in hand, I slowly walked back to my tiny room.

The storage room had no windows. Sitting on my small bed, I took small, careful bites of the cake.

It was very sweet, so sweet that it tasted bitter.

I suddenly remembered the night after my kidney donation surgery when I was seven.

When the anesthesia wore off, the wound burned like fire.

I cried out for Esther. A nurse came in to check on me and said that Esther was in Bruce's room because he was having a nightmare.

That night, I counted the cracks in the ceiling. When I reached the 327th crack, dawn broke.

After my liver surgery at eight, I threw up violently.

Esther dropped by the ward for a quick glance, frowning. "Why is his reaction so severe? This won't affect the quality of the liver, will it?" she asked the nurse.

She didn't ask if I was in pain or if I was scared. She only cared whether the organ that was no longer inside my body was okay.

The cake was gone in no time, but my stomach burned with an even sharper emptiness and pain.

I had only eaten this tiny piece of cake since the afternoon.

Esther said I had to fast, but no one ever told me that fasting could feel this painful.

The old scars on my abdomen began to throb with a dull ache. Ever since my kidney was removed, the pain had kept me awake every night.

The living room lights were off now. Lily had probably finished cleaning the kitchen and retired to her room.

The whole house was dead silent, save for the loud growls in my stomach and the scattered bursts of firecrackers celebrating the New Year in the distance.

I endured it as long as I could before finally pushing open the storage room door. There had to be food in the kitchen even if it was just a slice of bread.

In the fridge, there was a bowl of soup that looked delicious. I swallowed hard.

"Bowie?"

Lily's voice came from behind me. I gasped in shock, almost dropping the bowl.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, walking over and looking at me uneasily. "But Mrs. Easton said you need to have blood drawn tomorrow and must fast."

"Just one sip of soup," I pleaded in a low voice as my stomach let out another loud growl. "Lily, I'm so hungry. My stomach really hurts."

Lily hesitated. She looked at the clock on the wall, then at my pale face and the hand clutching my stomach. Finally, she sighed.

"Just a small sip then. Truly, just one sip, or I'll get scolded if Mrs. Easton finds out," she said.

She took the bowl out of the fridge and poured a tiny spoonful into a cup. Then she warmed it in the microwave.

During those few seconds, a rich aroma wafted out. My stomach felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, the pain forcing me to double over.

"Here, drink slowly."

The moment the warm soup hit my throat, tears nearly spilled over.

I was so starved that every sip of warmth felt like salvation. I held the cup in both hands, taking tiny sips, terrified that it would run out too fast.

Just then, the sound of a key turning came from the doorway.

Esther was back with Bruce and Philip Easton, my adoptive father.

Philip was holding Bruce in his arms. Bruce's face was buried in his shoulder, his breathing steady. Esther followed close behind, holding his small backpack.

When they saw me standing in the kitchen with the cup in my hands, their smiles instantly froze.

"Bowie? Didn't I tell you to fast?" Esther asked. She rushed over in a few quick strides and snatched the cup from my hands.

Startled by the commotion, Bruce opened his eyes. Seeing Esther's furious face, he instinctively shrank into Philip's arms.

"M-Mom…" I stammered, looking at her with tears in my eyes. "I'm really so hungry. My stomach hurts…"

I pointed to the side of my abdomen where my kidney had been removed. The hunger and cold made it throb with sharp, twitching pain.

"Nonsense! You're doing this on purpose! Are you eating on purpose because you don't want to donate your heart to Bruce?" she shouted.

"No, Mom. I'm really hungry," I sobbed out loud, reaching out to pull her sleeve.

Philip frowned, turning around with Bruce in his arms as he headed toward the master bedroom. "Estee, I'll coax Bruce to sleep first. He's scaring him," Philip said.

Esther pointed an angry finger right at my face. "Bowie Easton, didn't I tell you that as long as you're good, I'll love you? Didn't you promise to give your heart to Bruce?" she shouted.

"I promised. I promised! Mom, don't scold me. Don't abandon me…" I sobbed breathlessly.

"You liar, you just don't want to save Bruce! I raised you for nothing!"

She grabbed my arm with enough force to crush my bones, dragging me toward the storage room.

A familiar terror washed over me.

She was going to abandon me, just like the staff at the orphanage used to say—disobedient children always got abandoned.

Esther shoved me hard into the storage room. I stumbled and crashed onto the floor, excruciating pain shooting through my body.

"You selfish ingrate, stay in here and reflect on what you've done!" she shouted.

The storage room slammed shut, and the familiar darkness swallowed me whole.