The next morning, Mr. Kent took Lex out and showed him how to muck out the stables. Lex didn''t mind—it was one of the chores they''d done out at the ranch in Montana. He lingered by the horse stalls, laughing as one picked up an apple from the flat of his hand.


    Mr. Kent looked surprised when Lex already knew how to do the work. "Gotta say, Lex," he said, "I thought it would take you a couple months to get the hang of all this."


    Lex''s mouth went dry.


    A couple months.


    "My father''s not staying in prison."


    Mr. Kent''s face reddened, then he said, softly, "Lex . . . he beat you."


    "He''s never beaten me." Well, once, when he''d really deserved it, but Lex didn''t want to tell Mr. Kent about Julian.


    "Then . . ." Mr. Kent''s eyes wandered to the scrapes on Lex''s head.


    "It wasn''t like that." His father had shaken him, and pushed him. It wasn''t his fault that Lex had tripped into a display case. "It was an accident."


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    "The courts might not see it that way."


    "But—but he can''t stay in prison." Lex blinked back tears. "What about LuthorCorp?"


    A split-second flash in Mr. Kent''s eyes told Lex all he needed to know.


    Mr. Kent was one of them. The people who hated his father.


    Rage blurred the corners of his vision. "You want him to stay in prison!"


    Mr. Kent''s voice caught. "Lex—"


    "No!" Lex stormed away and went over to sit on a hay bale, pulling his knees into his chest.


    A few seconds later, the other side of the bale dipped slightly.


    Lex buried his face in his knees. "Go away."


    "I''ve met your father, Lex."


    Lex pulled his legs in tighter. "You don''t know anything."


    Mr. Kent let out a long, slow breath. "I know that not all pain is physical. I know your father isn''t the type of man who would have to beat you in order to hurt you."


    Lex didn''t say anything. Some little part of him wondered if he was more scared to lose his father, or to have to return home. Lex was in for the worst punishment of his life when his father got out of prison, for screaming and alerting the neighbors when he fell. Maybe Lex could get out of being punished if his father really did stay in prison . . .


    Lex winced. He couldn''t think like that. His father was the only family he had left.


    "Hey." Mr. Kent put a warm hand on his back. "You''re gonna get to make a testimony. Just tell them the truth. Okay?"


    "Okay." Lex slowly released his knees. Mr. Kent''s hand moved to gently rub between his shoulder blades, the way Mrs. Kent had done the night before. The way his mother used to comfort him. Lex let his eyes fall closed.