For Carrie, meeting Liam had been like living a fairy tale where the prince rescues the princess. He hadn't only saved her from her bullies… he was also handsome, and Carrie couldn't help imagining how he might look in a few years, with that physique that even his clothes couldn't fully hide. And he had promised to help her so she'd never be abused again. Just thinking about it sent something warm through her chest, and she found herself smiling without noticing.
Now, waiting for him outside the middle school, staring at the tips of her shoes, she couldn't help smiling again every time she thought about him. Her fingers fidgeted nervously, twisting together as she wished time would go faster so she could see him again.
In that moment she lifted her head… and saw him approaching. Her heart sped up instantly. She smiled, but quickly lowered her gaze, pressing her books against her chest to hide how her hands trembled.
Liam, seeing her like that, smiled softly. He knew regaining her confidence would take time.
"Hi, did I make you wait?" he asked calmly.
Carrie lifted her head just a little at the sound of his voice."N-no, it wasn't long," she answered quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear while avoiding meeting his eyes.
"Then follow me. We're going somewhere with few people to see how we'll start your training."
Carrie nodded with restrained energy."Yes!"
She followed him without thinking, taking small steps to keep up with him.
Thirty minutes later, they arrived at a burned, abandoned tavern—the place Liam had used as his base for the last few years. From what he'd heard, around fifty people had died there in a terrible fire decades ago. Liam thought it was the perfect spot: almost no one would ever return to a place like that.
"This is where we'll meet from now on," Liam said, extending an arm toward the structure with a hint of pride. "It'll be our base of operations."
"Here…?" Carrie murmured, looking around with wide eyes.When Liam took her hand to guide her inside, she flinched slightly, but she let him lead her. Her cheeks flushed red.
Once inside, she observed the charred remains, the burnt furniture, and the parts where there was no longer a roof."What… what happened here?" she asked in a small voice, hugging her arms to her body.
"It was a tavern a long time ago. A lot of people died when the fire happened," Liam explained naturally.
Carrie swallowed nervously."A-are you sure it's okay for us to be here? Won't something happen to us? Won't… we get in trouble?"
Liam let out a small scoff, almost mocking."No one comes here since the fire. I guess because of superstition or something like that."
While he spoke, Carrie gripped her pants tightly, as if she feared she might summon something just by being there.
Liam led her to a corner he had cleaned up, where a few chairs and a table remained, having somehow survived the flames. He sat down and pointed to the chair across from him.
"Sit. It's time to talk about the future and how we'll do everything."
Carrie sat carefully, knees together and hands resting on top of them. Her eyes stayed fixed on him, waiting.
Liam took a deep breath and began,"First, something important: how much free time do you have to train, and what time do you have to be back home?"
Carrie opened her mouth to answer… but remembering something, her expression crumbled. She lowered her head sharply, fingers tightening until her knuckles turned white.
"I forgot…" she murmured sadly. "I should be home. Mom always locks me inside after school. I think… I should go or she'll punish me."
She stood up so fast the chair scraped the floor. She took a step to leave, but Liam grabbed her wrist firmly.
"Wait. Sit down," he said seriously.
Carrie looked at him with trembling lips. She hesitated. But little by little her shoulders relaxed, as if those words had stopped something inside her."O-okay…" she whispered, returning to the seat even more timidly, though with a spark of hope in her eyes.
Liam watched her in silence for a few seconds."Tell me how your mom treats you."
Carrie took a deep breath, squeezing her hands on her knees. She seemed to be deciding whether to speak… or to keep everything inside, like always. But seeing Liam in front of her—serious and attentive—something inside her gave way for the first time.
"My mom…" she began, voice trembling. "She… says everything outside is sin. That the world wants to corrupt me. So… she doesn't let me do anything other girls do."
Liam didn't say anything. He simply nodded, inviting her to continue.
Carrie lowered her gaze. "After school I have to go straight home. If I'm late… even a minute… Mom says I'm straying. She checks my clothes, my notebooks… my room. Everything. She always says I have to be pure, that… that God is watching me." She rubbed her fingers nervously.
"When I do something she doesn't like, even if I didn't mean to… she makes me pray for hours. Sometimes… she locks me in the closet. Dark. No light. She says that's where the soul 'purifies itself.' I… I'm always scared of doing something wrong."
Liam clenched his jaw, but forced himself to stay calm so he wouldn't scare her.
Carrie continued, speaking faster and faster, as if she feared she'd stop herself if she paused. "I can't go to friends' houses. I can't watch TV. I can't wear clothes she thinks are… 'vain.' And if I say something she thinks is insolent, even if it isn't, she says Satan is trying to speak through me."
Her eyes began to water, but she kept going.
"Sometimes… when I come home crying because someone did something to me… she says it's my fault. That if that happens to me, it's because I'm not praying enough. She never… never asks if I'm okay."
Liam felt a knot in his stomach. Carrie bit her lip hard, trying to hold back something stronger than fear: the shame of admitting it.
"I… I thought life was supposed to be like that. That that's how things were. That something was wrong with me. And every day I try to behave better, be more obedient, quieter, more…" Her voice cracked.
"But no matter what I do… it's never enough for her."The tears slipped down her cheeks, silent at first, as if she didn't feel she had the right to cry in front of someone.
Carrie shut her eyes tightly, fists clenched to stop herself from shaking."I just… I just wanted someone… someone to look at me and not think I'm a mistake."
At that point she couldn't continue; a soft sob escaped her throat as she brought a hand to her face, trying to hide.
She had reached her limit.
For the first time in her life… she was telling someone how she felt.
Her breathing turned erratic, broken by small sobs she tried and failed to suppress. It seemed she apologized with every breath that came out too loudly, as if even crying was a sin.
Liam watched her for a few seconds, not with pity but with a calm firmness she had never seen before.
Slowly, carefully, so as not to startle her, he moved a little closer.
"Carrie… it's okay," he said in a soft, low voice—gentle, but sure. "You don't have to apologize for crying. You didn't do anything wrong."
The words seemed to hit her harder than any scolding ever had. Carrie tensed, as if she didn't know how to react to someone… being kind to her.
Liam extended his hand slowly, giving her time to pull away if she wanted.She didn't move. She only looked at him with bright, trembling eyes.
He then placed his hand on her forearm—a light, warm gesture that told her I'm here, you're not alone without needing to touch her more than necessary.
"Breathe with me, okay?" Liam said, keeping eye contact."Inhale… slowly… like this."
He breathed deeply, setting the rhythm.Carrie, though trembling, imitated him. Her breathing faltered at times, but Liam kept showing the example again and again without complaining.
"That's it… easy. No one is going to lock you up here. No one is going to yell at you. You can cry, you can talk, you can do whatever you need. I'm not going to punish you for anything."
Carrie blinked, surprised. That idea… was completely new to her.
"R-really…?" she whispered, voice broken.
"Really."
Her crying softened. It was no longer desperate; it was slow, freeing, as if for the first time she could release a bit of the weight she had carried since childhood.
Liam kept his voice calm, steady.
"You don't have to be perfect, okay? Not pure, not silent, not invisible. Not here. Not with me."
She lowered her gaze, and her breathing began to steady. The trembling in her fingers lessened until it became tiny nervous shivers.
"It's okay to cry, Carrie. And it's okay to be tired. You've been alone for a long time… but not anymore."
Carrie lifted her gaze slowly. Her face was still wet, but her expression had changed: she was still sad, but no longer terrified. Something new was there… a tiny spark of relief.
"I'm sorry… thank you…" she murmured softly, but this time it didn't sound like a forced apology. It sounded like something she truly wanted to say.
Liam shook his head gently.
"Don't apologize. Just breathe. You're doing well."
She nodded, wiping her cheeks with her sleeve. Her body finally began relaxing. Her shoulders weren't so tense anymore; her hands weren't clenched; her crying reduced to small sighs.
And for the first time since she started talking…she looked calm.
Carrie remained still for a few moments, breathing more quietly. Her eyes were still wet, but she no longer looked shattered… just confused. Confused because what she felt was so new.
Liam stayed there, not moving much, not crowding her… just present. Steady. Safe.
And that simple fact hit her in a way she didn't expect.
Carrie glanced down for a moment, then looked up again, as if needing to make sure he was still there.As if afraid he'd disappear at any second.
"Liam…" she whispered.Her voice was still soft and trembling, but no longer broken.It was the voice of someone discovering something they never had.
"Why… why are you doing all this for me?"
Liam didn't answer right away. He held her gaze with that strange calmness he always had.Carrie felt her chest tighten—not with fear, but with a warm sensation that almost hurt for how unfamiliar it was.
"You don't have to be alone," Liam said at last. "No one should be. And I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore. Not while I'm here."
Carrie blinked. She needed several seconds to process those words because…
No one had ever said something like that to her. Ever.Her mother only scolded her, locked her away, watched her.The girls at school only pushed her, insulted her, humiliated her.Adults ignored her.No one had taken her hand, no one had said "I'll stay with you."
And now… someone was promising to protect her.
Carrie felt warmth spreading from her chest to her throat, to her eyes again.But it wasn't sadness.It wasn't pain.It was something completely different.
It was relief.It was safety.And for the first time… it was something like happiness.
Shyly, almost fearfully, she extended her hand toward him.Her fingers touched Liam's sleeve, as if she needed to confirm he was real—that he wouldn't disappear if she blinked.
"A-are you… really not going to leave?" she asked in a faint voice.
Liam nodded with the same naturalness with which he breathed.
"I'm not going to leave."
Carrie swallowed, her heart beating fast for new reasons.Her hand trembled gently as she held onto his sleeve, not with force or confidence… but with a need she didn't know how to explain.
"T-thank you…"This time she said it differently.Not as a polite reflex.But as two words filled with pure emotion.
Then something happened—something she wouldn't have believed possible a few days ago:
She allowed herself to smile.A small, fragile smile… but hers.A smile that showed relief, hope, and that clumsy warmth of someone feeling real protection for the first time in her life.
"I… I feel safe with you."Carrie lowered her gaze, embarrassed by her own sincerity.But she didn't take it back.
Liam didn't say anything grand. He didn't need to.He simply lifted his hand and touched hers gently, letting her know he had heard… and that he meant it.
And that simple gesture…
Was enough for Carrie to feel that her world, for the first time in twelve years, was no longer a dark, silent room.
It was a place where she could breathe.A place where she could be… herself.
A place where someone would protect her.