Tracing the Lie

“I guess I kicked their asses back there. Then again, it’s not like they were that hard to deal with,” Cleo said.

Vaughn beheld the girl’s pint-size frame intently and listened to her bravado without comment.

“Who’s been picking on you? You could just tell me.”

Be it a few simple words, they meant the world to her.

Because no one else said anything like that to her. Ever.

All the other kids heckle