<b>Chapter </b>151
Ivan’s words made the room fall even more silent.
York, oblivious to the tension, nodded solemnly. “She bullied you? That’s just awful! But don’t worry–while I’m around, she’ll never dare mess with you again. If she even tries, I’ll have Rex bite her!”
Rex, who had been focused on his dinner, perked up at the sound of his name and let out a loud bark. Pleased, York tossed his leftover bone to the dog.
“She bullied Ivan?” Karen’s voice trembled.
“Yep,” York replied matter–of–factly.
???
Alessia had never seen anything like this before and had <i>no </i>idea what Fortunately, York didn’t seem to notice the awkwardness; after making his grand deration, he happily resumed eating. At a table full of <i>people</i>, he was the only one who seemed to have any appetite.
Ivan, far more sensitive, immediately sensed the shift in atmosphere. Head down, he quietly counted grains of rice on his te with his fork, too nervous to speak again.
“Ivan, are you… are you saying…” Karen was so taken aback, she couldn’t even finish her question.
Brendan patted her hand gently. “Don’t worry, honey. Maybe it’s just a
misunderstanding.”
He shot a look at Zachary, who understood at once. Zachary got up, walked over to Ivan, and crouched beside him, his eyes gentle and encouraging.
“Ivan, who’s been mean to you? What did they do?”
Ivan shook his head, refusing to answer. Zachary didn’t give up. “It’s okay, Ivan. I’m right here. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I can’t… It hurts.” Ivan’s head hung low, avoiding Zachary’s gaze. That single, obvious gesture of retreat felt like a punch to Karen’s heart.
York opened his mouth to say something, but Alessia silenced him with a sharp look. He could only watch Ivan while shoveling food into his mouth.
“Iyan…” Zachary tried again, but Ivan wouldn’t speak. Suddenly overwhelmed, Ivan put down his fork and bolted from the table, running straight to his room.
13:17
“What? Why’d he run off? Such a scaredy–cat–getting picked on and not even <b>brave </b>enough to say anything…” York’s grumbling was cut short when Alessia pressed his head down with a warning re.
He shot her a disgruntled look, but her raised eyebrow and pointed stare made <b>him </b>nervous, even though he wasn’t quite sure what he’d done wrong.
“Go check on him.” Alessia didn’t want York making things worse, and she was worried about Ivan being alone in his room.
“But I haven’t finished eating…”
York looked pitiful, but Alessia wasn’t about to let him stay. With a sigh, he hurriedly crammed thest bite of food into his mouth, hopped off his chair with Alessia’s
help, and headed toward the hallway.
“Rex,e on!”
Rex was still happily gnawing on his bone,pletely ignoring York. After a few steps, York realized his dog wasn’t following, so he returned, crouched down, and wrapped his arms around Rex’s neck, half–dragging him toward the bedroom.
Outside, the sun had already set, leaving the house in deepening shadow. Inside Ivan’s room, it was pitch ck. York fumbled for the light switch, and when the room filled with warm light, he finally saw Ivan curled up on the bed.
“What’s wrong?” York kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the mattress. He gave the nket a tug, but Ivan wouldn’t let go, so York gave up and simply sat down beside him. Rex circled once before settling down by the bed, his tail thumping softly.
“Are you crying? Come on, man, if someone picks on you, you gotta fight back! What are you crying for? Don’t be a crybaby. If you want, I’ll help you get even. We’ll go find her together, and you can get her back.”
As he spoke, York pushed his way under the nket, forcing a small opening and squeezing in beside Ivan. The two boys ended up huddled together in the darkness, where nothing could be seen.
“Ivan,e on, just tell me–how did she bully you? If you’re too scared <b>t</b>
“Ivan,e on, just tell me–how did she bully you? If you’re too scared <b>to </b><b>get </b><b>back </b>at her, I’ll do it for you. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”