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“Hi, Dad,” she whispers. “Sorry about all this fuss.”
He smiles sadly. “This isn’t your fault, Will. Please don’t think this is your fault.”
She falls silent.
“I spoke to the doctor. You can come home now,” he tells her.
“I can?”
“Yes.” His eyes rise to mine. “You have to have a few appointments over the next few weeks, but all is fine.”
She smiles sleepily. “Good. I’m really missing Maverick.”
“Hmm.” He rolls his eyes. “You’ll be pleased to know that I couldn’t find that damn cat when I got home last night. I had to spend three hours outside searching for it, only to come in and find it had been asleep under my pillow the whole time.”
I find myself grinning.
“I was tempted to smother it with said pillow when I found it there.”
Willow giggles. “Thanks for looking for him.”
He widens his eyes and he flashes a little smug smirk. I really have to stop myself from grabbing his hand.
Who is he kidding with this tough guy act? He’s a big pussycat underneath it all.
He pulls Willow up by her hand. “Let’s go home.”
The house is quiet, the weight of yesterday playing heavily on our minds. It’s 3:00 p.m. and Frances and Joseph are picking Samuel up from school and then dropping him home. Julian has been down to the police station, determined to press charges against whoever locked his daughter in that cupboard. The police are interviewing kids at the school right now hoping to get some answers and find out who is responsible.
We’re sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee, both lost in our own thoughts.
“What happens if they don’t find out who did it?” I ask.
“They will.” He blows into his coffee cup. “The police will get to the bottom of this.”
“We need to look for a new school for her.” Julian frowns. “What for?”
“Well, she can’t go back there.”
“Why not?” He shakes his head dismissively. “The person responsible will be charged and expelled. After that, she can return.”
“Julian, twenty-five children were in that class. Not one of them stepped in and told someone she was locked in there.” His brows furrow.
“This problem runs much deeper than a few mean girls.”
“Don’t be so dramatic.”
My face falls. "Can you hear yourself? Teenage depression is the number one cause of suicide in the world right now. Your daughter is being bullied. She's trying to find herself."
“She’s not suicidal,” he snaps.
“Like you can tell when people are suicidal!” I cry in outrage. His face falls and he rubs his fingertips over his lips, clenching his jaw.
“Sorry.” I shake my head, instantly regretting the words I just spat at him. “I didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, you did.”
I grab his hand over the table. "Julian, please, let's change her school. She doesn't need to put up with this. She's just a baby."
