"What happened to your... face?" Lydia asked as soon as I got downstairs.
Oh right. I forgot to wipe off the bruises.
If the world found out a ten-year-old beat the shit out of me... that would be the news of the decade.
Wait, what am I thinking? The world doesn't even know me yet.
"I... uh... fell from the stairs," I said.
Lydia looked skeptical about it, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied my face. But she sighed and looked away toward Sera instead.
Sera was with the kids, sitting on the old couch and comforting them. She was crying... more than the kids themselves, actually.
Her shoulders shook with each sob as she held them close.
I sighed quietly.
"Lydia, will you do me a favor?" I asked, turning to her.
"Sure, what is it?" she agreed immediately, before even asking what it was.
"One sec," I said, holding up a hand.
