Page 30 of Fight For Us
Her eyes snapped open. “I bet she does.”
“I’ll call my mom, have her bring Lilly over.”
Luckily, I caught my mom right before she left the house. Lilly was in her room drawing. Apparently, she’d been there all afternoon. We passed the beer back and forth, taking swigs until there wasn’t a drop left in the bottle. Olivia had gone quiet and I respected that. She needed to retreat into herself and that was okay. As long as she knew she wasn’t alone out here.
They knocked lightly but Olivia was already there waiting beside the door for them. “Oh, Olivia. I’m so sorry.” My mother cooed over her and brought her into a hug. “I’m going to set you up with the church. Pastor John will mention Alex in his sermon so he’ll have speedy healing and the ladies will all get together so you won’t have to worry about meals for weeks.”
I unwrapped my moms arms from Olivia. “Thanks Mom, but can this wait?” I asked, conveying a look that said,you’re being a bit much.
She let out a small laugh and backed away. “Sorry dear. I’ll wait in the car so you can talk with Lilly.”
“Thanks so much, Mrs. Reed,” Olivia said with a weak smile.
“Honey, please, just call me Val.” My mother squeezed Olivia again before heading outside. Lilly hasn’t said a word, which was out of character.
“Let’s go sit on the couch,” Olivia said. “Lilly, can we talk?”
Lilly brought her gaze to mine and I nodded. “Okay.” Even her voice sounded off. Like it took effort to say one word.
I settled on the loveseat, fighting a groan from how good it felt to sit on something comfortable. I needed to get my prosthesis off for the day and relax but that would have to wait. Oliva satnext to Lilly, facing her. As the silence grew, I wished then and there that I could read minds.
“Lil, we need to talk to you about Alex,” I said. “I promise you won’t be in trouble. Whatever you say can stay between us.”
She played with a loose seam in her shirt, keeping her eyes trained on the floor.
“We think something is going on at school. Is that why Alex keeps getting hurt?” Olivia asked. Silence stretched between us and I huffed out a breath, ready to push a little harder but then Lilly nodded. “So that’s a yes? Something is going on at school?” I could hear the barely restrained panic in her voice.
“Yes, but I can’t talk about it.”
I sat forward. “You can talk to us, Lil. We need you to tell us.”
“Is Alex okay?” she asked in such a hushed tone I could hardly hear her.
“Not really,” Olivia said. “His leg is hurt again and he’ll have to be in a cast for a while.”
“Forever?” Lilly asked, finally looking up at Olivia with wide eyes.
Olivia took her hand. “No, not forever. But I’m worried if we don’t figure out what’s going on, he’ll keep getting hurt. Can you please tell us what happened today?”
“Okay.” She clutched her knees to her chest, resting her forehead against them. “It was Brady and his friends. They pushed Alex and he fell off the playground.”
She had to be kidding. I clenched my jaw and zeroed in on what she was saying.
“Today?” Olivia asked.
“Not today. That was the first time.” Lilly hesitated and looked at me. I nodded for her to keep going. It was like her letting that one piece of information slip cracked the whole dam open. She told us that Alex had come to her aid when these kids were pushing her around and they shoved him. His flip-flop got caught and he fell from the playground in a way that had him landing on his leg. This group of bullies had been targeting Lilly, and then Alex, all year long. Finally, she told us that today Alex said he was going to end it once and for all and he challenged Brady to a fight by the parking lot. He didn’t want Lilly to be there but she hid and watched anyway. Brady brought three other kids and they pushed Alex. They knocked him to the ground and one of them kicked his leg.
“That’s when I ran to get help,” she said, tears welling in the corner of her eyes. “But by the time I came back, the kids were gone and Alex couldn’t feel his leg. I’m scared.”
“Come here, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay.” I opened my arms and Lilly collapsed against my chest. “Thank you for telling us. I’m so proud of you.” She nodded against me. I looked up, realizing Olivia left the couch.
“Last time they said if we told they’d kill us.”
“Like hell they will.” I rubbed circles against her back. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
“Or Alex?” she asked.
“Or Alex.”
