AN: Shana Tova! I'm not making nearly as much progress as I wanted to during this long weekend (New-year-long-weekend is awesome!), but here's the next chapter anyway. Love you all xx

Chapter 3

Manchester, UK, 1988

Christie was right about one thing – the store was expensive. Kevin didn't let it bother him, though; he picked up everything he liked, ignoring the price tags. Maybe he could use the money he had in his backpack to get at least some of those clothes.

Christie walked with him, held the clothes he chose and commented on the ones he tried. She almost reminded him of his mother when she wasn't experimenting on him.

He felt a sudden pang of emotion, deeper than he'd ever felt before. Despite everything that's happened, he missed her.

"Are you sure you can afford all this?" The cashier asked when they placed everything on the counter. He looked at them dubiously. "Maybe you should start with some of the cheaper clothes."

Kevin clenched his fists. It wasn't the cashier's tone and the way he looked at them that annoyed him as much as the fact he was right. He knew that he didn't really have the money for these clothes, and he suspected Christie did, too. Maybe that's why she agreed to come in, so he'd embarrass himself like that.

Maybe she never intended to help him after all.

"Just put them in a bag and give it to me," He said, as coldly and confidently as he could manage.

The cashier seemed surprised – but did as he said without arguing. Kevin took the bag as soon as the cashier handed it to him, still looking at him coldly. He wasn't sure how his parents managed to afford everything he wanted, but maybe it had something to do with this rich-like behaviour. Clearly, it was making an impression.

"Aren't they paying?" One of the other employees, who just walked by them, asked the cashier.

Before either of them could say anything, Kevin turned to glare at the newcomer. "It's none of your business," He said, his voice frozen. "Leave us alone."

And just like that, they both moved along, leaving Christie and Kevin on their own. He ignored her shock, picked up his bag and left the store, not even waiting for her. He knew she'd follow.

Christie didn't tell anyone about what happened at the store. She only said they got him the clothes he needed and that it wasn't as expensive as she expected. Even though her family tried to get more information out of her, she wouldn't tell them anything more.

He felt oddly comforted by that.

The truth was he had no idea what happened. Was it the tone he used? Was it the way he acted, like he was one of those rich people who got everything they wanted? Was it the fact he wasn't alone? He even started thinking it was some sort of an elaborate scheme or a freakish dream he would soon wake up from.

As he thought about it that night, he slowly came to realise what happened in the store wasn't new. If he looked at everything that's happened to him ever since his parents left, he could see that everyone seemed to be inclined to help him. Earlier he'd just assumed that they pitied him, but that night, he started wondering whether it was true.

Pity wouldn't be enough to give him all those clothes for free, would it?

"Don't move, Kevin," His father said warningly as he emptied the syringe he was holding. He immediately filled it with a transparent fluid from the bottle in front of him. "You don't want it to go in the wrong place."

"It hurts," He whispered, looking up at him beggingly. His wrists were tied together above his head and a rope was holding his waist, keeping him pinned against the wall. He knew whatever his father was planning, it would hurt even worse. "Please, dad."

"Be quiet." His father's tone turned angry. "Stop being a baby. You're my son; this is nothing to you."

"But-"

"Silence!" His father took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Be a good boy, and I'll take you to the game on Sunday," He said, giving him a smile that scared Kevin more than it calmed him. "Now, stay quiet and don't move."

"Mum," He tried to turn his head to look at her, but his father's free hand was now pressing his head to the wall, stopping him from making any movement. He felt the tears slowly run down his cheeks. It was more painful than anything they'd ever forced him to do. "Please, mum…"

"It's alright, Kevin," His mother said soothingly somewhere to his right. "Everything is going to be alright. Just be a good boy, and it will all be over soon."

Then his father injected him whatever fluid was in the syringe, and his head fell forward as he lost consciousness.

He woke up sweating and breathing heavily. His heart was beating fast and he was gasping for breath as he sat up in his bed. He was hot and yet he was shaking as if he was freezing. Even knowing it was just a nightmare wasn't enough to calm him down.

He hadn't felt it in a long time, but he knew what he was feeling nonetheless. He'd felt it often enough before. He was terrified.

Slowly, he got up. He took a few deep breaths – as deep as he could manage, which wasn't very deep – and stumbled towards the window. His hands shaking, he forced the window open and leaned against the windowsill, feeling the cold night air. His eyes drifted shut as he breathed it in, letting the coolness bring him back from his nightmare to the real world.

He used to have nightmares when he was younger, especially after days spent in his parents' lab. He used to dream about the things they did, about their tests and injections. But it was never that bad, not even after the worst experiments.

Pain flooded him. He took a breath, which turned into a sob, and before he knew what was happening, he was sitting on the floor, crying. He didn't know why he was crying or how to make it stop. He didn't care, either. He just wanted everything to be the way it was before.

"Kevin?" A soft female voice asked quietly, making him look up.

"Mum?" He whispered, hoping against hope that it was her and that they were back home.

"Are you okay?" The woman walked in, and as she came closer and her face became clearer, he slowly realised it wasn't his mother, but Christie.

He straightened up and hurried to wipe his tears with the back of his hand. "I'm fine," He said, attempting to pretend he really was fine.

"Are you sure?" She sounded genuinely concerned, and that was almost enough to make him start crying again. "I heard you screaming earlier."

He sniffed. "I had a nightmare," He admitted in a whisper.

"Oh." They sat in silence for a moment before she whispered, "You miss your mum, don't you?"

"Yes," He admitted, folding his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. For the first time in his life, he felt he was all alone in the world. He could trust no one. There was just him.

"I'm sure she'll come back," She tried. "She loves you."

"She doesn't love me." His voice turned cold. If she loved him, she wouldn't have experimented on him. If she loved him, she wouldn't have left him. "She never did. I hate her."

"I'm sure that's not true-"

"What do you know?" Suddenly, he couldn't take it anymore. Sitting there, exposing himself, hearing her telling him all those lies his parents used to tell him. "You don't know them. You don't know what they did! What sort of loving parents do that?"

For a long moment, she didn't say anything. He thought she must have been taken aback by his outburst; that was the only way to explain it. He hadn't mentioned his parents before, not since he met her at the university. Maybe even the hints he'd just dropped were shocking to her.

And then she spoke again and he realised he was completely wrong.

"Then maybe it would be a good thing if we called the social services."

He stared at her in the darkness. He couldn't see her very clearly, but it was enough to make out her expression. She pitied him.

"Mum said we should," She continued, as though speaking to herself. "We can't help you forever. I thought we should wait. I thought your parents would come back. But if they hurt you…"

He bit his lower lip to stop himself from crying again. "That's not necessary," He said, as confidently as he could manage. "I have family in London." It was the first place he could think of, and he hoped it wouldn't be close enough for her to check it.

She smiled at him. "Then maybe we could take you there," She said in relief. "They'll be looking for you."

"Yeah." He turned his head and stared at the dark silhouettes of the furniture in the room. "I imagine they will."