Chapter Text
At 5 Mercy squealed happily as she and her best friend Valter went up and down on the battered seesaw at the local park. There were no adults and to their naive minds, it was freedom. They did have to have supervision though. So at 15 years old, Bill watched over his younger brother and Mercy in a park.
At 10 Mercy cried onto Bills chest as she struggled to read the words on the page in front of her. I don't understand. Her innocent cries echoed around the nearly empty dining room. Bill knew she didn't go to school much; there was always a reason and that reason was almost always her father he was either drunk or high and Mercy had to look after him. So at 20 Bill decided to teach Mercy himself
At 13 Mercy screamed as her father hit her. She hadn't done anything. But her father blamed her for the lack of food and alcohol on the house. So at 23 Bill took Mercy shopping for food, drink and concealer to hide the bruise on Mercy's otherwise untarnished skin.
At 16 Mercy stuttered as she tried to explain to Bill what she was doing. He had found her and a boy from her school on the floor of her bedroom kissing. He could tell instantly she had never done it before the kiss was experimental, cautious and unsure. Mercy's innocence did something to Bill. So at 26, he decided he'd keep her innocent and naive from everything. Even the things he did himself.
