the universe is seeming
really huge right now
i need something to hold on to
-e. lockhart
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Freen and Becky remained in the dark about what happened at the girls’ last visit for close to two weeks.
Emily's bruise was chalked up to be an accident in which she fell off a chair, which Freen wasn’t pleased to hear about but couldn’t argue because the girl was known to be clumsy.
It was near the end of August, as Freen and Becky were sitting out on the balcony and watching the stars above them, that Emily decided to tell the truth.
It was midnight when Emily padded her way outside, making both women sit up in their seats in confusion.
“Weren’t you supposed to be in bed?” Freen asked as Emily crawled into her lap and curled up there.
“I can’t sleep,” Emily mumbled. She was troubled by her thoughts, but Freen and Becky weren’t aware of this yet.
“Is that extra cookie I slipped you after dinner keeping you up?” Becky teased as she tickled the bottom of Emily's foot. While Emily would usually squeal and giggle, she didn’t do so this time.
“Hey. What’s got you so glum?” Becky asked as she finally noticed the sad pout on the child’s lips.
“I don’t want to go live with my mom,” Emily said, making Freen and Becky look at each other briefly.
They knew repetition was key, but Emily seemed to always go back to this conversation.
“Baby, we’ve talked about this,” Freen said as she pulled back to look at Emily's face. “Nothing is changing yet.”
“She isn’t a good person, though,” Emily protested. This was new.
“What do you mean?” Becky asked as she gently brushed back some of Emily's hair.
“Do you love me?” Emily asked, changing topics suddenly.
“Of course we do,” Freen affirmed, briefly glancing at Becky who shrugged.
“Do you love P'Nita?” Emily asked next.
“Yes, baby. Why are you asking this?” Freen asked, making Emily sigh.
“Because our mommy can’t say yes like you do. Nity said she doesn’t love us enough which means that we have to do better. But I don’t want to keep trying to make her love me when you and Becky already do,” Emily explained, finally getting her point across.
“You’re worried your mom doesn’t love you enough?” Becky asked, making Emily shake her head.
“I know she doesn’t love me and Nity enough. She hurt my arm and she made Nity cry. That isn’t love,” Emily said, making both Freen and Becky freeze before the realization dawned on them.
“You didn’t get that bruise falling off a chair?” Freen asked as she brushed her fingers over the spot where the faded bruise sat.
“No. Mommy caught me looking for food and grabbed me,” Emily explained, making Freen bristle slightly.
“What do you mean you were looking for food?”
“She doesn’t have any. She’s been asking P'Nita for money so she can get some, though,” Emily explained as she looked between Freen and Becky.
“That explains the lack of feeding them dinner,” Becky sighed as she rubbed her forehead. “We need to tell P'Beer about this.”
Freen nodded her agreement but paused when she looked back at Emily. Araya's reminder ran through her mind. “You remember to love her through it right then and there and raise hell later.”
YOU ARE READING
And Then There Was You (FreenxBecky)
Romance"There are 7 billion people in this world and then there was you. And you somehow became the most important one out of all those billions." Not my story. Converted. All credits goes to the author.
