Page 109 of Back To Our Beginning

“What happened to Sparks?”

“Who’s Sparks?” I asked.

“My dog.”

I tried to think. Things were kind of a blur from that night, but after a moment I remembered Beau telling me he had called animal control.

“Sparks went someplace where they could take care of him. He was sick, honey.”

“I know. Bruce was really mean to him.”

“What did he do?” I asked gently.

“He hit him and whipped him, just like me. Sparks tried not to cry, but sometimes he did.” Eli’s voice broke. “Miss Avery, where is my dog?”

I’d never seen a child so in need of a hug, but he was sitting so stiff that I knew I couldn’t hold him, at least not yet.

“Remember the man who found you under the stairs?”

Eli nodded.

“He made sure that Sparks got to a hospital. Just like you.”

“I didn’t see him at the hospital.”

“That man made sure he went to a hospital for dogs, honey.”

“Will I get to see him again?”

“I don’t know.”

His lower lip trembled. “Please, can’t I see him? I don’t want him to ever live with me again, cause I know Bruce will just hurt him again, like he did me. I want him safe. But can’t I please see him?”

Eli about broke my heart.

“What did Bruce do to you?” I asked.

Eli looked away from me and started staring out the big bay window over the couch.

Fuck, I’d lost him.

“Eli? What did Bruce do to Sparks?”

“I don’t remember.” His whisper was so low, I had to strain to hear him.

“Honey, if you don’t tell me, I can’t make sure he doesn’t hurt Sparks again.”

He turned to look at me, his blue eyes wide and shimmering with tears. “You can do that? You can make it so he doesn’t hurt Sparks again?”

I nodded. “But only if you tell me what he did.”

“When Sparks was hungry, and I tried to get food for him and Bruce kicked him. Really hard. It hurt.”

The way Eli said it hurt, told me that the kick had happened to him, too. “Did you try to protect Sparks?”

Eli nodded slowly.

“Did you get in the way so Sparks wouldn’t get kicked?”