Chapter 3

Wanda's furious roar rang throughout the whole house.

I was standing there at the end of the hallway, stiff like a log.

Will's face was pale as he hid behind Harry. "Sorry… I saw him coming this way, and I wanted to talk to him. But he pushed me, and the vase…"

"Joseph Lars!!!" Wanda strode up right then, seized me by my collar, and lifted me into the air.

She was strong, and I started suffocating, but I didn't fight back.

Because at school, that meant worse punishment.

Meanwhile, Wanda kept yelling, "It's my only keepsake from Will's mother! Why did you break it?! Do you hate Will so much that you have to destroy everything that has to do with him?!"

I watched her as her mouth moved and spoke one word after the other, but my brain just couldn't process any of it.

All I could see was that she was furious, and that she was shaking with rage.

"Say something! Are you mute?! You used to lie so much!" she kept bellowing, and she suddenly flung me.

I hit my head on a cupboard wall, and my blood flowed freely.

Josie rushed up and kicked me as hard as she could. "Don't waste your breath with him, Mom! He wanted this—nothing good has happened ever since he came back! First, he tried to scare Dad, and now, he broke Will's treasure! He has no reason to stay in our house!"

Harry was wiping his tears as he said, "Just apologize, Jojo. If you do, your mother will forgive you."

I stared at Harry, my lips trembling.

Apologize?

I dropped to my knees and started slapping myself.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Each hit was loud, as demanded when we were ordered by the school to reflect on ourselves.

"I'm… wrong… I shouldn't… live… I'm… wrong…" I rasped in my dry voice.

However, that didn't win me any sympathy, with Wanda bellowing in disgust, "That's enough! What else can you do aside from your sickening behavior?! What did I do to deserve a son like you?!"

Will said quietly beside her, "Calm down, ma'am. I think he's just sick—why don't we send him back and let them treat him there?"

Hearing the words 'send him back', I stiffened as fear ate through my entire body.

I rushed toward Will, intent on begging him not to, but my own family saw that as a ticket to attack.

Josie caught me and shoved me off as she bellowed, "How dare you!!!"

As she shoved me to the door, she pointed outside, her voice flaring with endless hatred. "You should never have come back, Joseph Lars! Leave—go as far away as you can! Don't ever let us see you again!"

Leave.

It was a simple enough order that my brain could process.

So I got up, turned stiffly, and opened the thick rosewood doors without bringing anything with me or wearing a jacket, only wearing a single shoe.

It was pouring, and the cold rain was pelting my face and washing off the blood on my head as I trudged on by the curb.

But I kept walking on, until who knew how long, and a beater van screeched to a halt beside me.

The window was lowered, and a woman with pudgy cheeks studied me.

Seeing my soaked clothes, my injured head, and my lifeless eyes, she asked gingerly, "Lost your way, kiddo?"

I didn't answer and merely stood there.

She then got out of the van and came over to take my wrist. "Do you want to go home? I can give you a ride."

I shook my head repeatedly. "No… Leave… Stay away…"

The woman's eyes lit up.

A veteran like her could immediately tell that I had a few screws loose, and that the likes of me were always welcomed in the mountains.

"Alright, we won't go home. I'll take you someplace better where there's food and no one would hurt you. Get in."

She opened the van door.

It was a clear order to get in, so I did so obediently.