I followed close behind him. Tears came to my eyes when I spotted Robbie. Lily, her long, wispy hair hanging over her face like a golden veil, was bent over, untying the ropes that bound Robbie to the chair. His head was hanging forward, and blood dripped down his cheek and trailed down his neck—from his ear. Bile rose to my throat, but I swallowed it down, along with all the bitterness I felt for my sister right now. How could she allow this to happen to Robbie? Tears distorted my vision, and I wiped them away. It appeared as though Robbie had been beaten across the side of his head several times, so hard that his right ear was almost unrecognisable. This is what Damir must have done to Marko when he was little. Beat him so hard that he’d lost all hearing in one ear. ‘Rob?’ Marko knelt down in front of Robbie and tenderly raised his chin so that he could meet his eyes. Robbie raised his head, but said nothing and kept his eyes on the floor. I took a cloth, dipped it in a jug of water and handed it to Marko, who, with a gentle hand, pressed it against Robbie’s wounds.
