Page 19 of Seven Graves

“Nice to meet you. Parents, or…well, family and friends don’t wait in here. There’s a room two doors down that you can hang out in unless you’re coming back to pick her up. There’s also screens in there with video feed if you wanna watch. Sorry, it’s a policy thing.”

“That’s cool. Is there a policy about kids bullying other kids?

” Her face went slack. Emmy didn’t say a word.

“Just trying to be transparent. There’s a reason you drew the short straw and got me today, Jenn .

And if you’re gonna try to tell me that you’re not aware of what’s been going on?

Well… you’re more transparent than you think you are.

I won’t be going anywhere. Em…you remember what I said.

Go in there and show me what you can do. I’ve got eyes on you, kid.”

Her instructor refused to look me in the eye after that.

Told me all I needed to know. Another grown ass woman afraid to deal with the obvious.

I’ll never understand it. It’s a stigma that’s been around for way too long.

If someone had done this for me as a kid, I might have turned out a little softer.

I guess it’s a good thing that I love myself and couldn’t fucking care less how rough I am around the edges.

I made my way down to the room she mentioned, and there were four other women in here.

I didn’t recognize any of them, and maybe that played in my favor because…

they obviously don’t recognize me either.

I kept one eye on Em, sliding my phone out of my bag like I was bored and putting on the facade that I’d rather be anywhere but here.

I stuck an earbud in for good measure. It didn’t take long. Never does with these cunts.

They started quietly chatting about the fact that Emmy was back.

Made mention about how Greg only took ‘half of the hint’ since he dropped her off instead of taking her outta here altogether.

I’m already about to snap, but I’m trying to keep my shit together long enough to see what else comes outta their mouths before I ram my fist into it.

I caught one of them occasionally glancing at me out of the corner of my eye.

I promised Mom that I wouldn’t do this anymore, but since I have their attention and it’s conveniently sitting at the bottom of my bag…

I dug around for my vape and pulled on it casually, making a show of pretending they didn’t exist, and then I glanced up at the screen.

Em was handling a balance beam like a boss, and for all I put in, trying to convince her to stick her nose up at these assholes…

she did me one better. Emmy was in her element.

So focused and concentrated. She barely needed any direction from Jenn at all.

I noticed at least two of the little girls watching her, and figured I’d spotted the one causing the trouble the minute she rolled her eyes. I hit my vape again.

“‘Scuse me…ma’am?” I slowly turned my head as I pressed the vape back to my lips.

She’s your typical Karen with the blonde, soccer mom haircut.

Figures. “You can’t do that in here.” I took a long hard drag and took my time blowing the haze in her direction.

I knew this was the right move. I knew one of them would say something.

Bitches like this just can’t help themselves.

It’s as much a part of them as their own moisturized skin.

“You can’t do it anywhere,” I smirked. “Gonna tell on me?”

The other three took turns audibly swallowing and found just about anything else to look at. “You must be new.”

I smiled broadly. “You must be brave .”

“Do you even have a kid in here? Who are you?”

I stood and smiled a little wider when all four of them conceded a little.

Like my mere presence might infect them.

I’m used to it. I spent my entire high school experience like this.

College was a ton easier. I stepped over to the screen and pointed at Em, who was cartwheeling circles around these tiny bitches with the grace of a spider spinning a web.

“Oh, I’ve got one. Right there . The five-year-old that makes grown women look very much like the typical mean girls that only peaked in fucking high school.

I take it this one,” I moved my finger to the little cotton-top bean pole with the perfect french braid that was still giving Emmy the stink eye. “This one must be yours.”

“Whadd’you want?” Karen asked, pinching her lips into a tight line. I could just about taste her nerves. I dropped my hand, gripping the strap on my bag so I wasn’t tempted to wrap it around her scrawny throat instead, and moved closer.

“Lemme tell you something, bitch. Emmaline Grey? I watched her play with a toy before she could sit up by herself, turning it and poking it until she figured out how it worked. Then she set it down and never touched it again. She was counting all the way to fifty and writing her full name by the time she was two years old. She landed her first somersault without a trampoline or a steady hand in the same year. Her third birthday? She asked for a chemistry set, and she’s only five years old and knows more about a respectable trade than most educated professionals do.

She’s so fucking smart that kindergarten bores her.

She goes out of her way to be compassionate.

She never leaves anybody out, and at the end of every day, she says prayers for everybody she knows. ”

I shook my head and glanced back at the screen.

“Don’t raise these girls to be like you.

Give them a future worthy of the people they’ll become.

How miserable do you have to be in your fucking lives to use your own kids to spread that shit like a disease?

Be honest with yourselves. What did this ever do for you?

Do you not want better for them than this? ”

Karen really is brave. She turned her nose up at me. I’m about to show her why that’s a mistake she won’t make twice.

“I know you. You’re Greg’s sister.”

“His sister I might be, cherub. But you don’t know me.”

They always think they do.

I let my bag drop off my shoulder and clunk to the floor, rushing the bitch until I had her by the throat and pressed her back against the wall.

The plastic chairs the other three were sitting in flew in every direction while they scattered, whimpering and gasping like they weren’t counting down the minutes until something like this eventually happened to one of them.

I got close enough to Karen’s face that I could taste the fear on her sharp breaths.

For a split second, I saw a pair of green eyes and wondered why the hell I could feel some part of Malek in me… and liked it .

“See, I was trying to be nice about it, but since you think you know me, let me clarify everything you think you know . Then you’ll have a reason to look at me and cringe.

When your pathetic life is over? I’ll be the one that gets your cold dead corpse, cuts your chest cavity open with something that looks like a bush whacker, drains your blood with sharp objects, takes out your sorry ass heart, pumps you full of embalming fluid and tries to make you look as pretty on the outside as you look ugly as sin on the inside.

Savvy? You better be grateful for people like me, bitch.

And I’d think about being a little nicer to a five-year-old little girl learning to do the same thing, because when I decide I just don’t have it in me to give a fuck about you?

She’ll be the one that takes the torch. Back your fucking kid off of her, or you won’t like the next visit I pay you.

I’ve got spare caskets at my place. They won’t find a hair on your head . ”

“You’re insane! ”

“I’m actually as level as one gets, I assure you. But I know a few that are actually insane, pumpkin. This is the only warning you get. Don’t make me come back up here. Understand?”

I forcefully pulled my hand from her neck, and she breathed raggedly, wisely choosing not to say another word and I heard the door open. Looks like the rest of the plastics went and found security.

“It’s fine boys,” I said, grabbing my bag. “I was just leaving.” I shot Karen a mock salute and strolled out with a smile, the two uniforms following me out. “Let Emmy Grey know that I’ll be waiting for her in my car, please.”

It felt good. Finally standing up to one of the people that, once upon a time, I wished I was more like.

Now, I felt like a fool for ever having that notion plague my young mind.

Back then, I just wanted to be accepted.

I just wanted a friend. Somebody I could trust with my secrets, have a sleepover with, or just be a girl.

The truth was, and I didn’t know it then, that I never realized I was one of the most rare, most real …

kind of girls. I refuse to let Em figure that out so much later in life.

I love these babies too much. I never had a sister to either learn that from or teach it to.

I think that was the moment I decided that I was gonna help Malek.

As deranged as he is…I can see how much he loves his sister and how desperate he is to protect her.

It’s what I’d do. There’s no length I wouldn’t go to keep Emmy safe.

Vivian…hell, even Greg’s big ass, himself. I’ll tell him tomorrow.

After I figure out whether or not I’ll need his infamous ‘tech guy’ to tamper with criminal records. I grinned the entire way back to the car.

Worth it.