Drew Payne

Britney is a text-book psychopath (I got so much inspiration from a text-book) and that's why the nurses don't like her, but she's a trouble-causer because she has no value for anyone else. Liam is just another one of her victims, in a long line of them.

He’d hated The Group since the first time he’d had to attend it. During his first Group there had been a discussion about masturbation, though it had been dominated by one girl complaining loudly that the boys all did it. He had not said a word but silently he’d begged the universe to allow his chair to just swallow him up and take him away from there as embarrassment flooded his mind. The ward’s patients were divided up into two groups, seven patients in each. The one Liam had to atte

I first read it as a teenager but I re-read it this summer, and it really stands up well. The post-war setting is used so well in her plot, and its one of her best plots.

This story is set in Britain and here we can't ask a judge to recuse themselves. The judge could only be removed from a trial, and before it starts, if there is a direct conflict of interest. In Britain, our judges are there to ensure the law is followed, they have a lot less power than American judges do, and it was through legal arguments, at the beginning of the trial, that Mrs Stewart-Graham’s bullied defence was excluded, though the judge was far too involved in that argument. At this point, Liam is a shy and very introverted thirteen-year-old. Mrs Stewart-Graham was right not to have him give evidence. He would have come over as stumbling and inarticulate, with one word answers or even silence, which would have only made him look more guilty. Also, Mrs Stewart-Graham could not introduce the evidence that Clarke bullied him by the backdoor, because even if Liam mentioned it on cross-examination, the judge would have had the jury removed and again told off Mrs Stewart-Graham. The ruling at the beginning of his trial meant she couldn't use the bullied defence, or even try and get it in by the backdoor. (I based this all on two real trials, but I also had help from John Mortimer's Rumpole stories) There are a lot of grounds for appeal against this trial, not least for Judaical over-reach, but Liam is a minor (though he is tried as an adult, another point I wanted to make here) and they will need his mother's consent for this. When we met his mother in person, her refusal will make sense. Also, Liam did kill Clarke and, just for a moment, he enjoyed the power he had over his bully. I didn’t want this story to be a simple black-and-white story, but one of the things I did want to write about is the way children are not treated well by our criminal justice system because it is set up to handle the crimes or adults, not children. A child like Liam cannot participate in his own defence.

Glad you're enjoying my story and thanks for the feedback. I always get mixed up with all the different Kings of England, all those men with the same name. Strange that I never get the Queens mixed up (!!).

Thank you. I've been reading parts of this story to my writers group and when I read the first appearance of Liam's mother there was very strong reactions to her, but one person said that she was a very damaged person, and she is. Unfortunately, Liam's mother has turned her hurt outwards and blames everyone around her. She is really in need of psychiatric help but I don't know if she would every take it, she doesn't see there's anything wrong with her, its other people who are the problem. Often the problem with people like Liam's mother is that they can't see the harm they are doing, but I know the perfect cure for Liam but... No spoilers though.

Thank you. In a way this is the best thing his mother could have done for him. She has all the maternal feelings of a stone. He'll now slowly be able to see that but that will take time. Fortunately, he has been here who care about him, including Janet who "managed" his mother. Unfortunately, I have to deal with his sadness first. And very unfortunately, these chapters are taking longer and longer to write.

He’d been again sat in the Common Room that Saturday morning when his mother arrived unannounced. He hadn’t been expecting any visitors that day. Mark had told him he wouldn’t be visiting him for another two weeks. He’d found himself a quiet corner of the Common Room to read his book. Mrs Williams had given him a copy of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and she’d asked him to write a review of it. She’d also given him copies of book reviews, printed off the internet, so he knew what was

I really recommend it, it is the best thing he has written in years. But it does end too soon. I got so swept up in reading it that I reached the end far too soon.

The present day section is set over one, rather bad Sunday in Liam's life. He's needs a bit of perspective and he's going to get it, but there are many things we need to know about his life at Nurton Cross first.

Oh, spoilers, spoilers... Do remember that this story is about redemption. Just as Liam is being redeemed in the flashback sections of this story, so he will be in the present day sections. No one has recognised him since he was released.

You do know that he stabbed to death another boy when he was twelve? Liam is such a lost soul, I didn't realise it at first how much he is. But I wanted to write about how he pieces his life back together after one, very stupid act. We should never condemn someone for what they did as a child. (And please don't get too involve with Liam, he's got his eyes set on someone else.)

Liam sat at the little table in his room in the B&B hotel and pushed another forkful of food into his mouth. It was gone three o’clock and he hadn’t eaten since his breakfast of two dry pieces of toast, at nine o’clock that morning. He didn’t feel hungry - his appetite had vanished hours ago, but he had started feeling tired and light-headed. So ignoring his lack of appetite, he’d cooked his planned meal of sausages and baked beans on toast. First, he’d fried the sausages in the bottom

Liam's mother is a horrible narcissist, so selfish that she should never have been allowed to be a parent, but her behaviour explains so much about Liam, why he finds it so difficult to make friends. She was also a difficult character to write, she doesn't see her behaviour as wrong, she's looking out for herself because, in her eyes, no one else will do so.

His first visitor at Nurton Cross was his mother. It was a Saturday morning and he had been there for just under a month. He’d been sat in a corner of the Common Room, reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It was a book Mrs Williams had given him to read, saying it was another book on that year’s reading list. He was enjoying it, but it was a strange book. It was narrated by a boy with Autism who was trying to solve the killing of a neighbour’s dog, but his investigatio

@Paqman, oooh spoilers. I've just posted Chapter 22 so it's not really a spoiler to say your right. But so much of this story is how he got where he is now and who he is.

Thanks for the feedback. Liam is being looked after by professionals, finally getting the help he needs. These people know what they are doing, they don't just take things at face-value. Of course, this won't be an easy or simple process, and it will take more than a low dose of antidepressants, but if it was I won't have much of a story.

The last person he met at Nurton Cross, the last professional who would have such an impact on his life there, was Dr Farah Sayeed, his psychiatrist. He had been there nearly a week when he did meet her. It was Friday afternoon and Aiden come up to the Education Centre to escort him back to the ward. It had been Cindi, another nurse on the ward, who escorted him to the Education Centre after lunch, and it was usually the same nurse who collected him from there, or it had been the last three

Liam is now being looked after by skilled professionals. Cecelia Williams is a teacher to the very tip of her fingers, and she can spot a child's protentional. Aiden and Janet are both very skilled nurses, they know people and the workings of the human mind. Of course, Cecelia Williams has a lot of resources to call upon. She was able to give Liam one-to-one attention. His old English Teacher, Miss James, barely had enough resources for the very bright kids in her class, let alone for all her pupils. But no journey is ever on a smooth and gentle path. Liam still has a lot of things to deal with and he has to learn to open up to people, which is something alien to him.

He likes having someone paying him attention and showing him he is not stupid, as he was previously told he was. About time too.

He met Mrs Williams on his first full day at Nurton Cross. All the nurses called her Cecelia Williams, but to him, she was always Mrs Williams. That was what he always called teachers. Just after nine o’clock that morning, Liam and two other lads were taken to the Education Centre by Gary, another nurse there. Gary was a short wiry man, whose short dark hair was streaked with white highlights, but there was something strong and commanding about Gary. Liam didn’t want to question any of Gary

I couldn't not have had his mother make an appearance, she really explains so much about Liam's behaviour. But she was an awful character to write.

As his barrister, Mrs Stewart-Graham, said, Liam would never have survived in a young offenders’ unit (prison). He barely survived his school. But there isn't an alternative than this hospital, and at least he'll get therapy and treatment here. Yes, there was certainly something disturbed about Rhys Clarke, he bullied to fulfil something missing in his life. His mother's evidence, at Liam's trial, showed someone who didn't know her son or who was in complete denial about him. This is a very strange world but he hasn't been here a whole day yet.

His previous life hasn't equipped him to be a social able person, who values people and can manage friendships. But he's at the start of such a big journey here, he's going to learn so much. As for his upbringing, wait until you met his mother (!!).

The first person he really met at Nurton Cross was his nurse, Aiden. He’d been sat there in his room waiting for whatever was going to happen to him, when he heard someone knocking at his room’s door. He’d looked up at it but didn’t say anything - he couldn’t deny anyone entry there. It was just like at home - he could never stop his mother entering his bedroom. He just waited for what was to come next. He heard the sound of a key turning in the door’s lock. The moment the door was pul