Chapter 7

I could tell he noticed the wound on my arm and purposely aimed to worsen it. However, there was an additional nuance in his expression. The way his disdainful lips twisted indicated an intense aversion to something he saw. It was as if he was on the brink of being physically repulsed. I pondered, had the embodiment of evil suddenly developed a tendency to recoil at the sight of my blood?

I highly doubted that his imminent queasiness stemmed solely from the blood. Just as my father's punishments had taken on a darker tone lately, Andrew's bullying had escalated as well. His eyes emanated stronger disdain and disgust than ever before as they fixated on me.

Andrew and I used to share a friendship, long ago. It felt like an eternity had passed since those days! It was almost unbelievable to me how our once close bond, characterized by weekends spent at his house and shared recreational activities, had deteriorated into a dynamic of hurt and degradation. Due to our mothers'