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She made her way to the seat across from mine, bit her bottom lip, and rubbed at her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
I took in her face for a moment before I shrugged, giving her space. Like I’d said, it wasn’t my place to pry.
“Okay.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re not going to force me to tell you?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Bastian does. He says it’s because he cares. I say, it’s because he’s mean.”
“You’d tell me if you want to.” I paused. “Is he mean to you?”
She considered this for a moment, her head tilting back. The wheels turning in her head were practically visible.
“No, I guess not. He’s mean to almost everyone else, but he’s not mean to me.”
I gave her a teasing smile. “You’re lucky. He’s mean to me.”
“What did he do to you?”
Pushed the boundaries of my sanity each time we were together.
Made me question my chastity.
Made me question my loyalties.
Obviously, I couldn’t say that, so I winked at her.
“For one, he just tried to trick me. Question one hundred.” I pointed to the test packet while I wrote my answer in the answer booklet.
Tessie grabbed the test packet, her eyes skimming the page before she smiled proudly.
“Alex is a girl. She’s Aaron’s daughter.”
I quirked my lips and closed my answer booklet. I’d come to the same conclusion.
“Smart girl,” I praised.
She shrugged.
“Mama’s friend is named Aronne, but it’s spelled A-R-O-N-N-E. And his daughter is named Alessandra, but we call her Alex.”
An uncomfortable look crossed her features.
I assessed her hunched shoulders. “Is Alex your friend?”
“She’s mean to me. Whenever I get good grades, she calls me a nerd. When mama gives me new clothes, she tells me they’re ugly. I don’t like to hang out with her, but I have to see her when she’s home.”
“She lives with you?”
“Sometimes. Her daddy lives with me, but she lives with her mama most days.”
I forced my face to remain neutral when the pieces fell together. Aronne was her mom’s boyfriend, and Alessandra was his daughter.
The bureau knew about the live-in boyfriend, but we didn’t know who he was. Now, I knew his name.
At the expense of a tear-stricken eight-year-old girl.
