N0 B0DY, N0 CRIM3 | Bang Chan

Emotional neglect

By the time the dust had settled, Kiera wasn't sure if she'd ever be the same. The secret service members had dragged her and her father back into the safety of the white house. At least, twenty of the suited men huddled around them, and hurried them back into the building. 

Kiera wasn't sure if she had imagined the whole thing or not. Her father, for once in his life, looked caught off guard. His wide eyes kept searching around the room for his wife, but she wasn't there. She'd never be coming back again. 

As reporters and journalists sprinted for their lives, Beverly Campbell's body laid on the ground untouched. Police were already in the area and were heading their way. Most of the secret service members circled around the president trying to console him. 

Kiera stood off to the side alone with her arms across her chest. Thankfully, she hadn't seen the shot fire. She had no idea who was responsible. She didn't know where the shot came from. All she knew was that whoever shot, they had fired once, and they had successfully brought down their target. 

"Here you go." 

She glanced up to see a secret service member that was a little taller than her. He held a water bottle towards her. She took it with a shaking hand. 

"I know it's not much, but you look a little pale. Are you alright?" 

She didn't respond. Not that she didn't want to, but she couldn't. Her whole body had entered a state of shock. Her tongue felt heavy and her feet felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. She kept replaying the image of her dead mother in her head over and over again. 

The man left her side for a moment and weaved his way through the crowd of secret service agents. He placed a hand on Willie's shoulder and leaned forward. The two exchanged a few whispers, Willie glanced at Kiera, and then he nodded. 

The man made his way back over to Kiera and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "How about we go back to your room? Your father is going to be here for a while and there's going to be a lot of questions. It'd probably be better if you were somewhere else." 

Finally, she forced herself to nod and turned around. She let the man's hand rest on her shoulder as he guided her back through the white house towards the private presidential family's section. Still in a state of shock, she couldn't fully digest what had happened. She blinked and tried to focus on something else. 

"I'm sorry if I'm coming off as rude." The words hurt to speak with a dry throat. She uncapped the bottle of water and took a sip of it. 

"Not at all. You just witnessed something nobody should ever have to see. I'm sorry you had to see that. Just know that the cops won't stop until the suspect is in jail." 

"What's your name?" 

"I'm Marvin Wilson." 

"Kiera Campbell." 

"Well, Kiera, it's nice to meet you in person, but I wish it could have been on different terms." 

"Yeah," she chuckled, "that would have been a lot better. You were the one who flung yourself on top of me, weren't you?" 

"I was." 

"Why would you do that? You could have gotten hurt or killed." 

"Danger is part of the job. Don't worry so much, all secret service agents wear body armor beneath their clothing." 

"That doesn't protect your head." 

"Maybe not, but that's okay. Usually, we're not the ones that people are focused on hurting." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's something that you get used to over time." 

"Thank you." 

"No problem." 

The two of them were silent as they finished walking back to Kiera's room. She stopped outside of her door and paused for a moment. Knowing that a little over twenty-four hours ago, her parents were arguing about her mother cheating caused a shiver to trickle down her spine. You really never know what life will throw at you. 

Before she opened the door, she turned around towards Marvin. He had stopped a few steps away to give her privacy. He glanced at her with kind brown eyes. Sunlight, from a window a few feet away, reflected off his ebony skin. Crows' feet sat beneath his eyes. When he smiled, it revealed a small tooth gap between his two front teeth. 

"Are you going to be alright?" 

"Yeah, I just wanted to say thank you. You didn't have to walk me back here, but you did. I might have experienced something traumatizing, but so did you." 

"It's not a problem, kiddo. You're about the same age as my daughter. Although you might be an adult, in my eyes, you're still a kid. What happened out there was horrific. If I was away from my daughter and something like this happened to her, I'd want someone to be there for her." 

Kiera blinked back tears and swallowed. The simple act of kindness that this man had shown her was something she hadn't experienced from an older adult in a long time. She nodded, "I really appreciate it." She turned around to enter her bedroom. 

"Kiera?" 

She stopped and turned to face Marvin again. 

"I know it might seem silly, but would you like a hug? You seem like you need one." 

She couldn't stop the tears from filling her eyes this time. She nodded and opened up her arms. Marvin wrapped burly arms around her and squeezed her tightly. One of his hands rubbed her back soothingly. "It's going to be okay, I promise." 

She wrapped her arms around him and let herself relax. Why couldn't her parents have provided this kind of affection and love to her over the years? Marvin continued to soothe her with his words. 

No matter how much she'd wish for it, her parents would never change. Her father didn't know how and as for her mother? She used to be kind and caring. Gentle touches and words of affection instead of affliction. Over the years, something had changed inside of her. 

It didn't matter anymore; you can't make up for the past when you're dead.