Shawn McAvoy first met Katherine in the gray-walled office of the William Grantham Home for Children. At 12 years old, he had long since given up the hope of ever finding a family. His file was marked with phrases like "withdrawn" and "does not socialize well." He kept his head down, finished his homework, and avoided trouble—a strategy that lessened the pain but isolated him for the others living there. Shawn tried reaching out when he first got the orphanage he now called home, but, being small and shy, the other kids pushed him away.
Katherine entered the room with a warm smile that didn't quite reach her sharp green eyes. She wore a navy blazer and tan dress pants and carried herself with confidence. "Hello, Shawn," she said, her voice smooth and kind. "I've heard a lot about you."
Shawn looked up from the scuffed linoleum floor, his dark brown eyes meeting hers. He gave a small nod, unsure of how to respond. Katherine offered him her hand, which he reluctantly accepted. "Do you like it here, Shawn?", she asked.
Shawn shook his head solemnly. He desperately wanted to leave, but he also knew that, having been at the home for so long, that there was a slim chance of him ever being adopted. He wished there was some way that he could show he was worthy of love.
Katherine smiled again. It seemed to Shawn that the smile only existed on the lower half of her face. Her eyes were cold and steely, almost as cold as the hand that now held his. "I want to spend some time getting to know you, Shawn. I think we can become the best of friends."
Over the next few months, Katherine visited frequently, slowly chipping away at Shawn's guarded exterior. She brought books he liked, asked about his interests, and encouraged him to talk about school. She seemed genuinely interested in him, and for the first time in years, Shawn felt seen. By the time the adoption was finalized, he had started to believe he might finally belong somewhere.
Life with Katherine was quiet but comfortable—at least at first. She and her husband lived in a small, rustic house on the outskirts of the city. The home was far enough from the surrounding houses to ensure privacy, but close enough to allow Shawn to attend a good school. Katherine encouraged his love of computers, buying him a used laptop from the thrift store and celebrating his knack for programming. Under her guidance, Shawn did better at school, and he even started to make some friends.
Her husband, Victor, was a much different story. He was a towering figure with a gruff demeanor and piercing blue eyes. Shawn didn't know much about him other than that he worked long hours at some corporate job and that he had an explosive temper that would appear at a moment's notice. Victor's presence in the house cast a long shadow. Shawn quickly learned that he was better off trying to avoid contact with Victor rather than make friends with him.
At first, Victor was indifferent toward Shawn, treating him like a nuisance that was best left alone. But as time passed, his indifference turned into hostility. He criticized Shawn's every move, from the way he ate his meals to how he spent most of his time alone in his room. Katherine often stepped in, her voice timid but firm as she tried to ease the tension. "Victor, he's just a boy," she'd say.
Victor would scoff, his lip curling in disdain. "That boy needs to toughen up. The world's not going to coddle him, Katherine."
He often made fun of Shawn and his interests, even going so far as to destroy the laptop Katherine had gotten him. He laughed at Shawn's tears when he came home from school that day only to discover that the one thing he looked forward to at the end of the day was gone. "You need to get off that damn computer and go outside. Make some real friends, not those faceless dorks on the internet," he sneered.
Shawn reluctantly went outside and walked to a nearby park. He saw some of the boys from school, who invited him over. They kicked around a soccer ball, and Shawn even started to have a little bit of fun when one of the school's most notorious bullies crashed the party. This kid was bigger than nearly everyone at their school, especially Shawn, who hadn't yet hit his growth spurt. The boy pushed Shawn down and the other kids, those boys who he thought had been his friends, ran away. The older boy kicked him in his side, breaking a rib. Before he left, he pulled Shawn to his feet and punched him one last time in his face, bruising his eye. The bully spat in his face and threw him back down on the ground.
It was a long while before Shawn was able to get up and hobble home. Katherine had made it home by that point and she gasped when she saw him come through the door. "What happened?!", she cried, "Who did this to you?"
Shawn collapsed into her arms. "V-Victor broke my laptop and told me to go outside. I did, and then one of the bullies from school found me," he coughed. Victor barked out a laugh from the other room, apparently having been listening in to the conversation.
"I told you," he growled, "I told you if you spoiled the boy, he was going to end up like this. A weak boy with the temperament of a mouse. He deserves to be shown how a real man takes care of himself."
"You broke his laptop? What the hell, Victor? What is wrong with you? Shawn is smart and deserves to nurture himself in the way he wants to," Katherine retorted.
Victor shot into the entryway separating the main hallway and the den. "What did you just say, woman? You think I have to take that from you? Of all people, you?! I am the man of this house. You are nothing but a nursemaid and my servant. You will raise this boy how I see fit, or I'll make sure neither of you live to regret it."
Katherine looked up at Victor from her kneeling position, cold steel in her gaze. "The hell I will. Shawn and I are leaving. We--" Victor shot over to her and slapped her across the face. "Don't. Ever. Question. Me. Again," he growled. He looked down at Shawn. "And don't you go yapping to anyone about any of this, or you'll get much worse than that boy out there gave you."
Katherine took Shawn to the hospital, where he got patched up. Neither he nor Katherine told anyone at the hospital what happened to either of them. Katherine was soon able to get Shawn another laptop and tried her best to keep Shawn away from Victor.
Shawn's world became a delicate balancing act from then on. He avoided Victor as much as possible, retreating to his room and losing himself in his programming. Katherine became his refuge, her quiet encouragement the only light in an otherwise oppressive household. But even Katherine's kindness carried an edge. She discouraged Shawn from making friends, subtly suggesting that others couldn't be trusted. "People can hurt you, Shawn," she'd say, her voice tinged with something almost like fear. "It's safer this way."
She always promised that they would find a way out. Victor continued to be a looming threat, constantly on edge and on the verge of explosion. Shawn stayed out of his maddened gaze as often as he could, and hoped that Katherine would one day make good on her promise.