Chapter 39

• ISLA
• I caress the red ribbon around the thick cardboard box and look at Bryce. “It feels like Christmas. When I was young, I always wanted a room full of presents like I saw other children have on the TV. The one time I asked my dad if we could have presents under the tree, he smacked me across the face and told me if I ever mentioned it again, he’d beat me until I couldn’t walk. I never asked for anything after that.”
• Bryce clenches his fists at his sides and a muscle tics in his jaw. “He still alive? Cause I can fix that problem.”