Chapter 45

ALEX

It was the happiest I'd ever been in my life. I was running around the garden chasing butterflies, trying to capture them for my collection. My brother had a full jar already and it was a challenge I did not want to miss out on. No it was a challenge I wanted to defeat him in. He always beat me to everything, running downstairs, first to stuff their pancakes in and even first to kill a rabbit.

I was cowardly towards that. As I was a big fan of animals. My mum had a rabbit which she reared, Lola and I'd always go to feed her. Until one day I came back and I met my brother and a dead rabbit. He and my father laughed like it was completely normal and my mother only smiled. I couldn't handle pretending, and for the first time, I saw the pain behind my mother's eyes.

I met her crying in the corner of the garden where I'd normally hide during a game and I didn't even need to ask her why. I just went to her and hugged her. Immediately she saw me, she wiped her tears and called me her sw