Chapter 4 Don't Hurt Me

• Gina and Lily lowered their eyes, knowing exactly what Grace was talking about. Ben had done just that to Grace. While Grace’s mother was called in for work on an emergency, he took his daughter a few doors down to Lily’s house to drop her off for a play date and never came to pick her up.
• “God, I am so sorry,” Lily said quietly. Grace walked over to her friend and pulled her into a hug.
• “Lils, don’t be sorry. You had a valid worry but parents come in all shapes and sizes. Some parents are just crappy. I am glad your mother was awesome. I miss her too, you know?”
• Gina remained silent until the other became composed. “Should we take a break from shopping and have some lunch?” she asked.
• The girls smiled. “I’m starving!”
• - - - - -
• A few hours later, the girls made their way to Lily’s car with their meager purchases. The shopping mall had been flooded with people, so the parking spot they parked in was a couple of blocks from the mall. A hundred meters from their destination, Grace heard a strange noise. It sounded like someone was crying softly in the distance. They were just passing by a tiny alley and the sound got louder.
• “Stop,” Grace said as she started to walk to the alley. Gina reached out to grab her hand and shook her head wildly.
• “You’ve gone crazy! It could be a killer trying to lure you in. Or a wild animal. Don’t go…”
• “Gina, we are in the middle of a well-lit city. No wild animals are lurking around. Trust me on this, our family is in the justice system, remember? I learned how to take care of myself.”
• Gina looked skeptical and didn’t allow her hand to go. Grace heard a tiny sob and felt a tug in the direction of the alley. Something was pulling her in that direction and she wasn’t going to listen to anyone saying otherwise.
• "Please, I just have a feeling that I need to check it out.”
• Gina let go of Grace’s arm reluctantly. She looked worried.
• “Five minutes. If I don’t hear from you in five minutes, I am coming in and killing everything that comes my way,” Gina exclaimed.
• Grace smiled in reassurance before walking back down the alley. The crying softened considerably as she approached and only sniffling remained.
• “Hello?” she called out. “Are you hurt? Do you need help?”
• Silence prevailed almost immediately in the tight space. Grace continued to move forward, stepping around the garbage and broken bottles on the street. There was graffiti along the wall and a dumpster pressed against the wall at the end of the alley. Next to it, a decrepit door was boarded up. In the small space between the dumpster and the wall, a tiny form was curled up intofetaletal position. Grace’s brows furrowed in confusion. Why would a child be hiding in a filthy place like that?
• She reached forward and touched the child’s dirty hair. The small head jerked up and she stared into the dark eyes of the child, staring at her with fear.
• “Don hur me,” the barely there voice came. Grace felt her heart break and tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
• “I am not going to hurt you, baby,” Grace spoke as calmly and gently as she could musatr in that moment. “I want to help you. Are you hurt? Where are your parents, baby?”
• The child began to cry softly and threw himself into her arms. Grace started and fell back on her butt. She wrapped her arms around the child and felt a burn in her chest that told her she must protect him at all costs. Something inside her shifted. She knew then and there that nothing would stop her from helping him. She ran her hands through his grimy hair and wondered how a child so young could be all alone in such a place. Both his clothes and his swerewas caked with mud and he smelled acutely of vomit and urine.
• The boy’s cry turned into a sniffle and quietened further. Grace waited until that moment to ask him a few questions.
• “Hey, little one, I am not going to hurt you. I want to help you. Can you tell me your name at least?” she asked.
• "Li… Li—am."
• “Okay, Liam. My name is Grace. Are you hurt, baby?”
• “N—n—no. Hungee…” The child’s words were marked with a loud growl from his stomach. Grace shifted to stand up and Liam tightened his hold around her neck in worry.
• “It’s okay, little one. I am not letting you go. We are going to go out and meet my friends outside the alley. Then we will go have something to eat, okay?”
• “Pwease,” he said.
• Grace wondered once again where his parents were. The child was terrified but still polite. So he had to have a loving and decent family somewhere out there, but where the hell were they when their child was lost on the street?
• “We will get some food, okay? Liam, do you know how old you are?”
• Liam held up three fingers and Grace repeated to make sure she had understood properly. “You’re three?” she asked. Liam nodded slowly.
• “Do you know where your parents are?”
• “No,” he started to sob once again. Grace rubbed his back slowly as she stepped out into the sidewalk.
• Gina and Lily looked shocked upon seeing Grace appear with a child in dirty clothes. “What’s going on here?” Gina asked anxiously. Grace shrugged. She had no clue herself.
• “His name is Liam and he is hungry and alone. Let’s get him something light to eat and then I will call mom. Lily, why don’t you take our stuff to the car? Gina, do you think you can run back to one of the children’s stores and buy an outfit foryeare-year-oldold? I will go to the fast food store down the street and see if I can get him cleaned up.”
• The girls nodded in agreement, knowing this was the best plan of action.
• “Grace, you need to take pictures of everything in the location as evidence, okay? Bring out your phone.”
• “I was thinking the same thing,” Grace admitted. Whoever was responsible for hurting the little boy should get the punishment they deserve. Grace was not a violent person, but the thought of hurting the person responsible for Liam’s state was at the forefront of her mind.
• A few minutes later, after cleaning him up a little in the restaurant’s bathroom, the girls had Liam settled into the seat as he ate some light food from the store. He was ravenous from the way he dug into the food. Grace teared up once again as she dialed Olivia’s number.
• “Hey, sweetie. How is your shopping trip?” Olivia asked lightly. Grace let out a small sob which alerted Olivia that something was very wrong. “Where are you? What is wrong? Grace, tell me…”
• “Mom. I need your help.”