The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 5

Gideon would probably never know that the alley ten years ago wasn't the first time they had met.

Over a decade ago, eight-year-old Nora was separated from her parents in a crowded festival.

After being passed around by traffickers, she was dumped into a fraudulent welfare home run by abusers.

Every day, Nora survived on a small, rock-hard stale sandwich. The slightest rebellion was met with the director's brutal cane.

It was in that suffocating nightmare that Nora first met Gideon.

One evening, the traffickers dragged a cursing young boy into the cellar.

The boy, about eight or nine, wore a torn designer coat, his exposed neck and arms covered in dark bruises and scrapes.

He had fought back viciously, even taking a bite out of one of his captor's hands, only to receive an even worse beating in return.

There were seven or eight kids locked in the cellar, all terrified by his horrific injuries. They kept their distance, but Nora bravely crept closer.

In the darkness, little Nora shimmied over and pressed the moldy half of her sandwich—which she had secretly stashed in her sleeve during her chores—into his hand.

That night, Nora ran a dangerous fever, burning like a furnace. Through her hazy consciousness, she felt someone holding her hand.

The boy, Gideon, had snuck out the window to the well, soaking and wringing out a cloth in the freezing water over and over to place on her forehead.

"Don't be afraid. Someone will come for us."

Those were the first words he ever spoke to her. He sat by her side, using his scrawny frame to block the icy wind seeping through the door crack, tightly holding her freezing fingers.

Their small palms pressed together, sharing what little warmth they had.

From that day on, he remained a boy of few words, but whenever the other kids tried to snatch Nora's toys, he would step in front of her, glaring them away with his intensely terrifying gaze.

During those pitch-black nights, the two desperate souls clung to each other for comfort.

Nora was pushed to the back by the other children. She stood on her tiptoes, eagerly searching for that familiar silhouette.

Gideon stood at the very front. Nora was trembling with excitement, wanting to scream his name, to tell him she was right there so they could leave this nightmare together.

Take me with you.

Gideon, take me with you.

She desperately shoved her way through the crowd. Just as she breached the front row, her eyes locking passionately with his, she froze.

In front of everyone, Gideon raised his hand, pointing right past the hopeful Nora, straight at the weeping Giselle.

"I'm taking her. She's my sister."

His voice was still childish, but it carried an undeniable finality.