Chapter 157

Aurelio. The toy soldier hadn’t moved. It still sat like a goddamn sentinel on my nightstand. Plastic. Ugly. Important. I don’t know why I hadn’t thrown it out the window. Maybe because it felt like it belonged more than I did. Jade had curled up next to me earlier, warm and trusting like he didn’t know I was broken. And even after he left the room—pulled away by his father—I could still feel the ghost of his tiny arms around my waist. And that? That shook something loose inside me more than any punch ever could. - Later in the day. I was in another room, arms up against Nial as we circled each other. We were sparring. That was their fucked up version of making me remember, it wasn't conventional. Wasn't something in one's right mind would do but I was willing to try as long as it meant they wouldnt look at me in that empathetic way they all did. I was going to try to find me. Whoever that was. “Stop thinking.” Nial’s voice snapped like a whip. Cruel and unforgiving. He was circling ag