- 04.
That day, Liam was beaten so badly that it was hard to watch. My brother and I tried to run to his aid, but the adults in the courtyard held us back.
“They’re not people you can mess with,” they warned. “Liam’s just a kid no one cares about. If he dies, so what?”
But as I watched Liam lying in a pool of his own blood, I couldn’t bring myself to walk away. When no one was paying attention, I slipped out and used a payphone to call the police.
The police arrived quickly, and Liam was taken to the hospital.
For the next ten days, I didn’t see him.
Instead, the courtyard was filled with strangers, all asking the same question: “Who called the cops that day?”
When my mom tried to stand up for us, arguing with the men, they shoved her down the stairs. She broke her leg in the fall.
For days, it felt like the entire world had gone dark, like even the sky above us had turned
black.
Then, everything changed.
Out of nowhere, Liam’s mother–someone none of us had ever met–showed up.
She took Liam to one of the best hospitals in the state for treatment.
The men who attacked Liam, along with the nightclub owner they worked for, were all arrested.
Even my mom received compensation-$10,000 from Liam’s mother.
But there was a condition: we were never to contact Liam again.
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It was such a strange request.
Even so, my mom refused the money.
None of us had ever helped Liam expecting something in return. Not a single penny.
But Liam still left.
It all happened so suddenly.
The last time I saw him, his hair was a mess, and he was out of breath. He made me promise we’d both apply to the same college–Ravenwood University.
I agreed.
And then, just like that, he disappeared from my life.
When I graduated high school and started applying to colleges, I didn’t hesitate. Even though my grades were good enough for top schools, I chose Ravenwood University without a second thought.
I moved to this unfamiliar city, clinging to the only connection I had left: the phone number Liam had secretly slipped me before he left.
But every time I called, the line was dead.
