Chapter 5: The Lie Exposed

It turned out, the fight had nothing to do with any girlfriend. That was just the story they told to keep things tidy.

Ethan never had a girlfriend. Think about it: his father died early, his mother was weak and a little mentally ill, and he himself was mute and slow. Others went out to make big money, but he could only scrape by at the town factory. How could he have a girlfriend? The world wasn’t built for kindness, not for folks like Ethan.

So although girls teased him, it was just for fun. Harmless, they said. But words cut deep, especially when you have no way to fight back.

The truth was, the town bully Travis McClure was having a birthday and wanted to collect money and gifts, so he invited many factory workers to his party, including Ethan. Travis never missed a chance to remind everyone who held the reins.

No one dared not go. In a town like that, it was safer to show up and keep your head down.

But Ethan didn’t dare go. He didn’t have the money, and the shame of it was written all over his face. He spent the night staring at the ceiling, hands clenched into fists.

Because he had no money to buy Travis a birthday present. Not even a card, not even a token. Just a pocket full of lint and hope that tomorrow would be better.

Travis was furious. To him, it was a personal insult, the kind that couldn’t be ignored.

With his father being a minor councilman, he’d bullied men and women in the town for years. The McClure name meant you could get away with anything short of murder, and sometimes even that.

The town officials all turned a blind eye, not daring to cross his father. A few bottles of whiskey at Christmas, a new roof for the Methodist church, and all was forgiven.

How dare Ethan embarrass him? In Travis’s world, respect was paid in cash, or in blood.