Looking him over, I said, "Leif, you don't need to explain anything to me. I already know all that because my mom taught the rules to me. Before you ask, she is my stepmom, but she raised me, so I call her mom."
"What happened to yer real mother?" he asked quietly.
"She passed away on the day I was born. Her health wasn't where it was supposed to be, and she knew the risks, but she did it anyway. She literally gave her life for me, Leif," I whispered.
He snorted a laugh, and I knew he was thinking about what Leroy said to me. "Why didnae ye hit him?"
"He wasn't worth the effort. Stupidity can be cured with understanding and learning. Ignorance is a choice that others make because they don't want to know that, outside their little bubble of life, nothing is perfect," I said.
Still refr
