Page 23 of Hush 3: Hidden Family

“I want to help her, but I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” Uri muses.

I pause to think for a bit. The Trovati family is hers. Although I will be the face, it will be her right. It might not be a bad idea to prepare her.

“I think she might make a better hitter than either of us. Why not help her?”

“That is what I’m afraid of. I don’t believe she has a switch to be broken. Not like we had. Teaching her would be like teaching a machine. How do we control that?”

“We’ll figure it out. If we don’t try, she will continue to train herself. Better to know we’ve trained her properly.”

“Bloody hell. You have a point. I will teach Baby Terminator, but you will be responsible for her. You have to help her understand the boundaries.”

“I have no problem with that. She’s smarter than you think.”

“I know she’s a genius, Michael. I am not ignorant of this fact, but I also don’t want to make any assumptions. We will have to come to know her limitations.”

“Agreed.”

As we finish our conversation, Sim turns to us both with her chest heaving. All her blades have been pulled from her vest and thrown.

She drops to the floor on her butt and covers her face with her hands. I have never seen Symphony cry, not even when it was confirmed to her that her mother was dead. It is as she sitssobbing that I notice a patch of hair missing from the back of her head.

Only it doesn’t look like the patches she used to make by tearing her own hair out. All I see is rage. Someone did this to her. Someone who will pay.

Symphony

“Why don’t they like me? What am I doing wrong? Why are they so mean to me?

“Why do this to my person? I’m doing my best. I’m doing my best,” I sob into my hands as I sit on the training room floor.

I couldn’t sit at the piano. Music isn’t going to fix this for me. My feelings are hurt. My heart aches.

I did nothing to deserve this. I sob harder because everything has been ruined. I don’t know how to fix this.

Not even the vest could calm me today. I had to go to school for science club. We had our monthly meeting.

Sandra and her friends were there for their own activities as well. Someone pulled the alarm, so everyone had to report to the auditorium while the situation was dealt with. Daphne, Sandra’s friend asked me to come and sit with her.

I was already overwhelmed by the flashing lights and the noise. I thought she was trying to be a friend. She never teases me as much as the other girls.

I want desperately to begin to make friends. Michael and Annabella are my only friends. I want to make more friends and have others to talk to.

Sandra and the rest of her friends all sat behind me and started to talk trash. I had ignored them at first but then there was a loud collective gasp as I felt a tug at the back of my head.

Those mean girls cut my hair. I had just gotten it to a length I was happy with. Annabella and I have been talking about hairstyles and what I plan to do with it now.

Michael had complemented me on how pretty I looked just the other day. I’m trying. I’ve been doing my best and they ruined everything.

I was so angry. When I returned home, I took the extra vest Annabella gave me, and I sewed loops onto it to hold the blades I bought last month with my allowance. I had already wanted to learn how to use weapons and had been watching videos on knife throwing.

I needed to calm down, so I came down here to practice. I hadn’t known Michael and Uri were watching me. I just needed the pain to go away.

“Why would they do this to me?” I sob as I’m scooped up into strong arms.

Michael sits on the floor and places me on his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and cry harder than I ever have. He tightens his hold around me and crushes me against his chest.

“I didn’t do anything to deserve this. I never bother anyone. Why would they do this to me? Why cut my hair?” I cry.

“Shh, you are still beautiful. They can never take that from you. No matter what, you will always be beautiful, and they will always be filled with hate because they can’t be you.

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