Page 30 of Bide

No one wanted to stay in that house tonight.

It was like in one visit, an almighty speech and a hefty dose of thinly veiled threats, all the warmth we’ve worked so hard to inject into our home was sucked right out. So, after the quickest packing session known to man, I loaded the girls into my car and swept them away to Sun Valley.

Maybe it’s the silence that’s making the journey drag. It’s an odd thing, my sisters being so quiet. I don’t mind though; the longer they go without speaking, the more time I have to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to say.

The more time I have to articulate my emotions beyond being pissed off.

Lux should’ve told me. That’s our deal, we both share the girls and any burdens they might induce. I might not be physically there all of the time but I still want to be present. To be involved. There are enough absentee parent figures in our lives, and I have no intention of becoming another.

The girls spark back to life a little when we pull into the Walmart near my house—us Jacksons eat our emotions and my house is pitifully devoid of… well, anything but beer and frozen pizza. When the click of seatbelts being undone fills the truck interior, I shift to face the girl in my passenger seat and the three crammed in the back. “Everyone good?”

Four nodding heads respond, one shakier than the rest.

Sliding Lux a concerned look, we both hone in on the slumped, pale fourteen-year-old. “Eliza?”

The dark eyes looking everywhere but at us shine as Eliza fights a losing battle against a wobbly bottom lip. “Please don’t send me away.”

God, I’m on a steady path towards heartbreak today.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I promise. Reaching back, I set a hand on her knee, the fabric of her godawful grandmother-approved dress rustling beneath my fingertips. “Tell me what happened.”

Eliza stiffens, glancing quickly at the twin on either side of her before sighing. “Some kids at school make fun of me sometimes.”

It’s so quick and subtle, I almost miss the slow slide of Lottie’s arm as she links it through one of Eliza’s, red nails settling against a tan forearm. Grace encroaches on the opposite side, wrapping a protective arm around a pair of defeatedly hunched shoulders.

“Why?”

A hard swallow precedes a quiet, “for not having parents.“

Suddenly, my heart is a lump of granite. Lodged in my throat and sitting there uncomfortably, unmovable no matter how many times I swallow.

“I tried to ignore it, I promise I did, but one of them…” Eliza sniffs loudly, and the utterly dejected look on her face causes me actual pain. “He called me an orphan.”

Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell is wrong with the kids in this school? “So, you…”

“I punched him.”

“Good girl.”

I shoot Lottie a hard look, opening my mouth to chastise her but nothing comes out. I don’t know what to say. The parental, guardian side of me? He knows there has to be some kind of reprimand for violence, some punishment.

But the big brother?

God, he is trying so hard not to give Eliza a high five.

“I'm sorry.“ Eliza’s voice quivers as a few tears spill. “I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to, I swear, it just happened.”

Breaths, Jackson. Long, deep breaths.“How long were you suspended for?”

“Three days.”

Okay. Three days isn't bad. Three days is redeemable. Most importantly, a three-day suspension is not an expulsion.

Silver linings.

“I'm sorry,” Eliza repeats, desperation heavy in her tone.

“I know,” I exhale a long breath. “You can’t punch people, Eliza, okay? Not on school grounds, anyways. Or with any witnesses present.”

---