Page 65 of The Beast's Heart

“You don’t want to start with your room?” I ask. It’s the nearest to where we’re standing.

She seems torn, eyes moving between Mal and her own door. Eventually, she says, “It can wait.”

“It’s okay.” Mal nods decisively, then meets my gaze. “Will you come with to my room?”

“Of course.”

“Just you.”

“Absolutely. If that’s what you want.”

Alisha takes Enrique and they go with Ben and Adam to look at her room. I really hope she likes it. My stomach is a tight knot of guilt and I feel a little nauseous.

In Mal’s room, he pauses by the door to take in the bed with its bright dinosaur cover and poop plushie. He doesn’t react to any of it though. He walks forward robotically and kneels by the bed. My vision is obscured, but I think he’s checking under the mattress for something. His shoulders relax.

“Can I tell you a secret?” he asks softly.

“You can tell me anything.” Since he will be hitting puberty soon, and this secret of his might be related, I add, “You’re also welcome to ask me anything.” Although I’m very much hoping this isn’tthatconversation. I could give a birds and the bees speech if pressed, but I’d like the opportunity to practice it in the mirror without blushing first.

Mal stands and turns slowly. “Will you tell Adam?”

“Not if you don’t want me to.”

“Even if I did a bad thing?”

My heart gives a hard thump. This isn’t like Mal at all. “Yes. Absolutely. You can trust me.”

He sits on the bed and reaches for his dinosaur pillow. It’s a T-Rex’s face and Mal traces the outline of the eye. “I was adoptedbefore.” I have to strain to hear his tiny voice. “They were so nice. And I messed it all up. I don’t know why I couldn’t be good. I wanted them to… I thought they were going to be my new parents.” His eyes fill with tears. I go to kneel beside him.

“They said they were my new parents. They said I could call them mum and dad. But then…” His breath catches and he closes his eyes. “Then they found out who I really was and they didn’t want me anymore.”

Oh sweet baby. My poor little boy.I can hear the tears in his voice although he’s doing everything he can to hold them back.

“And—” He sucks in a labored breath. “And I did it again. I don’t know why. Please don’t tell The Beast.”

I want to promise him complete confidentiality, but it all depends on what he did. “Secrets aren’t always good things to keep,” I say. “But I can promise I won’t let anyone do anything to hurt you. Even if they’re angry.”

Mal tenses up again. “You can’t promise that until you know what I’ve done.”

“I will do everything in my power to protect you. No matter what you’ve done. I promise you that, Mal.”

His eyes fill with tears again, but he reaches a hand under the mattress and withdraws a flat silver box. A cigarette case. He passes it to me as if it answers everything.

At first I don’t understand. But the decoration etched in the lid is art nouveau. I flick it open. Monographed in the inside lid is, “With love, Adam.”

This was Lloyd’s. Mal stole it. He found it somewhere in the house and intended to keep it. No wonder he was so terrified when Adam said he’d made his bed.

“You think I’m bad,” Mal says. ‘Bad’ is such a juvenile word for him. It makes me think the word’s not his own. It was something he was called once. Or often.

I close the case. “Iknowyou’re not bad. Can you tell me why you took it?”

He shakes his head. His eyes dart to the window. There’s nothing out there but a few jagged tree branches and inky black night. “When I was little, I called it ‘collecting memories’. Whenever something good happened, I wanted to take a… there’s a word for it…”

“Memento?”

“Yeah. I got mementos from all of my homes. But when the Petersens found my stash… they… I had to talk to the police. They said I’d go to jail. I know it’s wrong to take stuff. Even if it’s small things. Mom took me to church. Malakai means angel, you know? I know stealing is wrong. I don’t know why I did it. Please don’t tell The Beast? He’s going to send me back. Or to jail.”

Mal starts trembling I pull him into my arms and hug him tight as the tears finally spill. “No one’s sending you to jail, Mal. Shh it’s okay.”

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