Chapter 7. Big Trouble Brewing

From Lucy, Caitlin learned more about Howard’s life—details that shocked, angered, and filled her with guilt.

Howard had anorexia. He only ate food made by his father, Sebastian, refusing to touch anything prepared by others. Over the past month, with Sebastian in a coma, Howard had been surviving on bread, choosing hunger over eating meals from anyone else unless he was absolutely starving.

As for the scars on his body, some were the result of his own mischief, but many came from being bullied by two other boys.

Caitlin pieced it together—the two chubby boys she’d encountered earlier were Sebastian’s cousin’s children. They frequently bullied Howard, taking advantage of the fact that he had no mother to protect him. Howard’s inability to speak and his refusal to tattle only emboldened them further.

The more Caitlin learned, the deeper the ache in her heart grew, suffocating her with pain.

After cleaning Howard and stopping his nosebleed, Caitlin wiped