Page 42 of Unconditional

“At dinner time, she brought me a cup of microwave noodles and apologized, saying it was all they had.It would’ve been fine, I didn't mind, except a few minutes later we heard crashing in the kitchen.Someone was throwing things—pots and pans, glass dishes shattering.And then the screaming started.”

I could still hear it so clearly in my head, the moment etched there for eternity.‘Cara, you stupid bitch!You stupid, greedy little bitch!’Wincing as it replayed in my thoughts, I squared my shoulders.

“Someone was stomping outside her door and suddenly Cara was pushing me toward the closet, begging me to get inside and stay quiet.I didn’t know what else to do, so I listened and watched through the crack in the door.Her mother came into the room just frothing at the mouth pissed, and grabbed Cara by her hair.

“She yanked her head back and got so close to her face that their noses were touching.I had never seen an adult treat a kid that way, I remember my lungs were burning from breathing so hard.‘You took the last cup of noodles, didn’t you?You selfish little bitch.You think you’re the only one in this house that’s gotta eat?I shoulda aborted you when your daddy told me to.I wish I had.’And there was more, so much more.She just kept on saying the most vile, disgusting things to her.To Cara, herdaughter, for fuck's sake.And Cara was the sweetest, kindest person I’d ever met in my life.

“I wanted to jump out of the closet right then and stop her, tell her to get her hands off my friend, to call the police, todosomething.But Cara told me to hide and not come out and I was terrified.So, I sat there and I watched while her mother punched her so hard in the face it knocked her out, then walked back out of her room like nothing had ever happened.And it was all over ramen fucking noodles that were fifteen cents at the gas station on the corner.”

Talon sucked in a breath behind me.By some miracle, I was holding my composure.

“You can’t blame yourself for—” Talon started, but I cut him off.

“That’s not all of it.That’s barely the beginning.”I pressed into him tighter, taking all of the comfort he had to give.

“Cara never let me come over to her house again, but now that I knew there was something awful going on there, I was paying closer attention.Bruises, cuts,burns…I saw them all.She never wanted to talk about it, and she refused to go to the police.When I saw the cuts on her arms, the ones she did herself…I—I went to my parents.”A breathy laugh left me that held no humor.

“I don’t know what I was thinking, but I wanted to help her.Ibeggedthem to do something.We had the means, surely we could dosomething.If they could buy cars and designer bags and their big ass house, they could give up some of their time to help a little girl who was being abused, right?

“But they brushed me off.They told me, and I quote,‘Rule Number One of Parenting says that when it comes to how someone else parents their children—you mind your business.’Any time I went to them after that, it was like talking to a wall.‘I’m sure she’s fine, Misely, you’re just being dramatic.’‘You must learn to mind your own, Misely.’‘She’s just looking for attention, Misely.’

“I went to our school counselor, but they just said they were already aware of the situation and it was ‘being handled.’It wasn’t though.”

What was coming next had my throat closing, my body tightening up painfully.Talon felt it, his hand moving up to comb through my hair, lips pressing to the top of my head.

“I was fifteen when I went to school and was pulled into the office by a resource officer and the counselor.They sat me down, offered me a box of tissues, and told me that, unfortunately, my best friend had taken her own life in her parents’ garage.”His body behind mine went stiff.I couldn’t see his face from where I sat, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to.

I’d never told anybody Cara’s story, instead choosing to keep it close to my heart.We had been kids, so of course it felt like a lifelong connection had been forged.I suppose in a lot of ways it had.She had me until the day she died and I, too, would take Cara’s memory with me until my grave.For so long, she had been my best friend.The truest friend I’d had until I met Birdie.And even though I wasn’t totally sure where I stood on the whole ‘way of the universe’ thing, part of me liked to believe that maybe Birdie had been a gift from her in some strange way.

“That’swhy I do it.That’s why I chose this career.Because I couldn’t stand the idea that another child like Cara would be out there in the world, waiting for someone to save them and failing to get to them in time.Cara couldn’t take it anymore.Her parents beat her, degraded her, starved her.Every other adult failed her and I was too young to do anything real about it.I can’t let that happen to anyone else.Not if I can do something about it.”

thirty

Talon

IwashorrifiedbyMisely’s story but also by my ignorant behavior towards her.Putting on the asshole kidnapper show or not, I had truly thought of Misely as just another stuck up, rich blonde bimbo who went into the first career she could think of.It took me seeing her in action, her dedication to her job and to those kids, and hearing this awful story for me to open my stupid eyes andseeher.

She was pressed to my chest, gently trembling in what seemed to be an attempt to hold back tears.I thought of the day I’d first seen her and every interaction we’d had since.It had to be handed to her—she was a great actress.Tucking away all the pain and heartache she’d been dealt and smiling through it, playing the part of the rebellious daughter.

“You are incredible,” I murmured against her ear and she shuddered.“So thoughtful, so compassionate.I wish I’d known you when you were fifteen.”

This earned me a small chuckle.“You wouldn’t have liked me then.I had horrid braces and my impeccable sense of style had not yet developed.I thought Hannah Montana and iCarly were theitgirls of our generation.”

“I have no idea what any of that means.”

She laughed a little harder and I thrilled in being able to lighten her mood.

“But I bet I would’ve liked you in all your phases.Braces or not.”

Misely twisted in my arms, leaning her head up to meet my gaze.“I bet I would have liked you too.Even though you were already an old man when I was fifteen.You would’ve ended up in jail.”

Pinching her side, I held her to me tightly, “I was twenty three, not sixty, you brat.You know what I mean though.I bet you were just as amazing then as you are now, and you definitely deserved more from the people around you.”And then I kissed her, because she looked like that’s what she was waiting for and was rewarded with the sweetest little sound.

“Thank you,” she said against my lips.“For listening.I’ve never told anyone about Cara.”

“What about James?”I could’ve slapped myself.I don’t know what prompted me to ask about the stupid fucker, but it was too late to take the question back.

Misely just shrugged.“I’ve known James since preschool, but Cara was different.They never really hit it off and when I realized everything that was going on with her, I didn’t want to have it spread around the school.Kids can be ruthless, and she was already having a hard enough time.When she died, he was there for me, but I never confided in him about what happened in that house.”

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