“And you didn’t think to inform me that my daughter had disappeared?”
“By the time we realized she was gone, she’d been discovered.” The woman glanced at Emma behind him. “She refused to tell me or anyone else what had happened, or why she decided to go hiding.” Her voice lowered, but not low enough that everyone else in the small room couldn’t hear her. “Have you thought about some kind of…assistance with her? She’s, well, she’s a bit odd, no?”
By this point, Gavin was seeing red. He knew he couldn’t strangle a nurse—no matter how much he wanted to—so instead, he said in a low voice, “My daughter is not odd, and you can keep your opinions to yourself, ma’am.” He turned and took Emma’s hand. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”
The nurse didn’t say anything as they left the room, except to harrumph under her breath, like they’d tracked mud through her living room.
Emma followed, not letting go of his hand. She’d once been a happy, vibrant child, but she’d become so shy and reticent as of late that Gavin was at a loss as to what to do. Oh, he’d taken her to all the requisite therapists after Teagan’s overdose, but they’d made the situation worse. Emma would refuse to speak for days after each session, sometimes hiding underneath the stairwell or her bed, Gavin discovering her and having to coax her out like a terrified animal. It was almost like she was a shy toddler instead of a second grader, hiding behind Gavin more often than not.
As he hurried Emma out, he saw a flash of bright green, and then Kat Williamson was walking toward them, concern etched in her expression.
“Mr. Danvers, good, I’m so glad to see you.” She softened her voice as she addressed Emma. “How are you feeling?”
Emma pressed her face into Gavin’s arm. He touched her shoulder. “Answer the question, please.”
She blinked those large blue eyes, rather like a snowy owl. “I’m okay,” she whispered.
Kat didn’t seem remotely convinced. Her gaze returned to Gavin, and he drank her in. He couldn’t help it: from her dark, curly hair in its Afro to her bright magenta lips to her green dress with boots, she was pretty as a picture. Her skin practically glowed, too. She was way too pretty for Gavin’s peace of mind.
“Can I talk to you privately for a second?” she asked.
He mostly just wanted to get home with his daughter, but he told Emma to go sit on a nearby bench, handing her his phone to play games on.
“Did they tell you I was the one who found her?” When his eyes widened, she made a noise in the back of her throat. “Figures. But I thought you’d like to know what happened, or at least what I could glean before they took her away to the nurse’s office.”
She looked around and drew him to a more private corner, although he could still keep an eye on Emma as they talked.
He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling weary to his bones. When would things turn around? When could he catch a breath for once?
“Hey, you okay?” Kat touched his arm.
Her touch sent an electric charge through his body, and he opened his eyes to see her looking at him with an expression of concern. His gut twisted. It was an expression he’d seen too much of in the last year.
“Tell me what happened,” he said, even though there was a small, cowardly part of him that almost didn’t want to know the answer.
Chapter Three
After finishing her lunch in the teacher’s lounge, Kat had headed to the restroom before returning to her classroom for the rest of the afternoon. As she passed a supply closet, she noticed that the door was cracked open, but there was no janitor in sight. She knew the cleaning staff never left the door unlocked or open in case kids wandered inside and played with things they shouldn’t, and as she was about to shut the door, she saw movement in the corner.
Her heart stuttered. A rat? Maybe a raccoon that had gotten in last night? Or had a kid gotten inside? She walked in, flicking on the light overhead, and scanned the room. She saw a flash of pink in the corner. Kat was about to reprimand whoever had decided playing in the supply closet had been a good idea when she saw that the child in question was huddled on the floor, her head in between her knees, completely still and quiet, even as Kat approached.
“Emma,” she breathed, kneeling in front of her. She touched her shoulder gently so as not to startle the girl, who looked up but didn’t say anything. “Emma, what are you doing in here?”
Emma stared at her, like she didn’t understand the words. The girl’s face was pale and tear-streaked.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Kat coaxed. She tried to draw Emma up, but the girl pulled away and curled in on herself.
Kat was at a loss. Should she carry Emma from the room? But surely that would only make things worse. The girl looked like she’d seen a ghost or something.
“Emma, we need to get out of here. This isn’t a nice place to talk.”
Emma shook her head and mumbled something under her breath. Kat leaned toward her, trying to make out the girl’s words.
“Can’t leave,” Emma mumbled over and over to herself. “It’s not safe.”
Now Kat was on high alert. She pulled out her phone and texted Silas to let him know what was going on before sitting down in front of Emma, taking her hands from her face. “What’s not safe? Can you tell me?”
Emma just shook her head.
“Maybe we can figure out how to stay safe together, if you’ll tell me.”
Emma looked embarrassed suddenly, biting
