Before I met Liam, my dad was the only person in this world who truly loved me.

My mom never liked me.

She dropped out of school young to support her family, and she was determined to make me suffer through the same hardships she had.

The moment I finished middle school, she tried to make me quit and use the tuition money for my little brother's after-school programs.

My dad refused.

He took on a second job after his shifts to pay for my education.

He died in the line of duty, exhausted from overwork.

After he passed, my mom blamed it all on me.

She said if it wasn't for my school fees, my dad would still be alive.

She never gave me another dime.

I started running errands for people in middle school, saving up my own money for textbooks and supplies.

One day I came home to find her rummaging through my dad’s old things again.

Over the years, she’d sold off everything that was worth anything.

All that was left of my dad were a few certificates and his Medal of Valor.

"Useless bum your whole life, still a broke ghost after you're dead," she muttered. "I was blind to have your kids, and what do you do? You just check out and leave me and your son to suffer."

She pulled out the wooden display case for the medal, eyeing the gold-plated decoration inside.

She was convinced it was solid gold.

She was about to smash the case to pry it out and pawn it.

Just as she raised it, I snatched it from her hands.

"Don't touch it! It's Dad's!"

She kicked me hard, her voice laced with venom.

"What the hell do you know, you stupid girl? The living can barely survive, and you're worried about some dead man's junk?"

She tried to grab it back, but I held on for dear life.

Her nails dug into my arms and neck, leaving long, red scratches.

But I was malnourished and weak, no match for her strength.

After a few struggles, I felt my fingers were about to break.

I had no choice but to scream.

My cries quickly drew the attention of our neighbors, including Liam, who was just walking home from school.

Liam and I grew up in the same neighborhood.

But he was different from me.

His family was full of doctors; he’d had a comfortable life and never had to worry about money.

I was covered in dirt, my body a map of fresh and old wounds.

He was in a crisp, new school uniform, his sneakers blindingly white.

The adults were busy scolding my mom.

No one paid any attention to me.

Except for Liam.

He walked over to where I was huddled on the floor and held out his hand.

His expression was neutral, but his hand was warm.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go to my place. We have a first-aid kit."

I bit my lip and refused to move, my eyes fixed on the medal in my mom's hand.

He immediately walked over, took the case from her, and placed it back in my arms.

"Can we go now?"

My mom tried to snatch it back again, but Liam's sharp glare stopped her.

"It's illegal to sell a government decoration like that," he said, his voice cold. "You want to go to jail?"

It was the first time in her life my mom had ever been intimidated by a kid.

She was furious but didn't dare lash out at Liam, so she directed all her rage at me.

"Well, look at you, Hannah. Getting bold, aren't you? Barely a teenager and you've already got a boy fighting your battles for you. You little slut."

It wasn't the first time she’d insulted me, but it was the ugliest.

I didn't care.

Because I had saved my dad's Medal of Valor.

Liam knew my history better than anyone.

He once joked, asking me if the medal was my whole life.

I told him, very seriously, "No. It's more important than my life."

But now, that medal lay in a thousand pieces on the floor.

And Liam just stepped right over the shards.

He took Sophie's hand, lifted her up, and carried her to the sofa to keep her feet from getting cut.

He opened the first-aid kit and began carefully dabbing antiseptic on the tiny cut on her hand.

The warm yellow light from the lamp above fell on his face, and all I could see in his eyes was tenderness and concern for her.

Sophie's voice was choked with tears.

"I really just wanted to look at it."

Liam comforted her.

"I know."

"Was that award important? When she gets back, will she be..."

"It's not important."

A happy blush spread across Sophie's face.

To keep Sophie from feeling guilty, to reassure this woman he’d known for less than three months, Liam made me feel like the ten years I'd known him were a complete and utter joke.

That was the only thing my dad left me.

A medal given to a hero.

Not important?

I told him.

I valued it more than my own life.