Chapter 206: The Last Straw
Moana
The first day that my colleagues and students got wind of the bodyguard situation was already bad enough. By the second day, people were really beginning to pick up on the fact that a strange, intimidating man was sitting outside of the school and watching me with binoculars. Combined with the fact that everyone seemed to think that I was bad luck as a late bloomer, I quickly became even more of an outcast amongst the other teachers and even some of the older students.
What I was most worried about, though, was that this would somehow reflect on Ella. I could handle people looking negatively upon me, but if they began to look negatively upon Ella because of me, then I couldn’t live with it.
When I went home on the second day, I decided that I had had enough. Yes, some horrible things had happened; but this whole bodyguard situation wasn’t working out, and I couldn’t risk it ruining both mine and Ella’s reputations in an environment where our reputations were already fairly shaky because of my status as a late bloomer.
At first, Edrick seemed to be understanding. I thought that he would recommend a different approach; maybe he could talk to the headmistress about hiring a second security guard for the school or even put up cameras in my classroom just in case anything happened. But when he brought up the danger of me shifting in my classroom, he seemed to make a good point. It was a dangerous potential, and I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
However, when he told me that I would have no choice but to allow a bodyguard into my classroom with me every day for the foreseeable future, I felt angry.
“No,” he said. “You won’t send them away. You’re going to just have to deal with this new reality, Moana, or I’m going to have to take us to the mountain estate for real this time.”
I felt my eyes widen. “You can’t keep holding that over my head!” I insisted. “We stayed here because both of us agreed that we didn’t want to leave our home. You can’t just threaten to rip us away again because I rightfully don’t feel comfortable with having a bodyguard inside my classroom.”
Edrick glared at me for a moment. “You need to be kept safe, Moana,” he urged. “You and Ella. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I can protect myself,” I said. “I’m fine with finding an alternative method, and I understand why you’re worried about me, but I don’t need a bodyguard up my ass at all times. If something happens, I can handle mys—”
“Oh, can you?” Edrick growled. “Just like how you almost got yourself and my daughter killed just a couple of weeks ago? Hm? What about your supposed ability to protect yourself then?”
When Edrick finished speaking, the air between us felt thick and heavy. I felt tears beginning to well up in my eyes, and Edrick showed no signs of remorse for his harsh words. Nothing else was said between either of us before I whirled around and stormed out. I ran to my room and slammed the door behind me, not caring if it rattled the doorframe, then threw myself down on my bed and sobbed into my pillow.
Of course I knew that I f****d up by putting Ella and myself in danger. I saw that night over and over again in my head. I saw flashes of Ella tied to the chair, of Ethan holding the gun to my head. I would never forget that night, and I was well aware that I had made a major mistake.
But did Edrick need to be so cruel about it? Did he really need to make such a low blow during an argument and remind me of my fatal failure?
As I sobbed into my pillow, the images of that night flashed faster and faster through my mind until I felt sick and dizzy. I sobbed even harder, gripping my sheets so tightly in my hand that my knuckles hurt, just wishing that I could go back and undo everything that had happened that night. If I had just trusted Edrick… If I had just not listened to Olivia, and told him instead when she began talking to me…
Suddenly, I felt a familiar little hand on the back of my head. I quickly jerked my head up, drying my eyes and sniffling loudly as I forced a smile.
“Hey, love,” I whispered, looking up at Ella. She was sitting on the side of my bed with a concerned look on her face as she gently stroked my long hair. At that moment, she looked so mature. Her eyes looked so empathetic and comforting, like a little adult. And she didn’t say a word, either. She just continued to sit there, gently stroking my hair with one hand while her other hand curled up between my fingers.
The two of us laid there for a long time, Ella stroking my hair while I laid on my back and watched her. My tears slowly began to dry, and soon, everything else fell away. I knew it all along, but I really knew how much I loved her just then. The way that her sweet face looked at me wiped away the horrible image that I had of her sleeping, tied up in the chair beside me in that dark and terrifying warehouse.
I knew that Edrick had told her about it, too. He had mentioned it the day before, that he had told her, but she hadn’t said a word about it yet. What went through her little head when he told her, I wondered? Was she scared? Angry? Hurt? She didn’t show any of those emotions now; she just seemed calm and empathetic, like a little cherub.
“Are you okay, love?” I whispered, reaching up to brush some of her messy blonde hair out of her eyes. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
Ella simply shrugged. She seemed mostly unfazed by it; maybe because she didn’t actually remember that night, but had just been told about it instead. Surely Edrick kept out most of the grizzly details of the night. Maybe, when she was older, she would want to know the full truth. But for now, she seemed content.
Although, part of me wondered why she hadn’t asked about her real mom yet. Did Edrick tell her, or was he still waiting?
Suddenly, Ella popped up and jumped off of the bed.
“I’ll be right back,” she said matter-of-factly, before running out of the room.
I sat up and wiped my eyes, watching as she disappeared through the door. A few minutes passed, and I heard nothing. I began to think that she just got distracted from whatever it was that she was going to do, as children often did, and with a slight chuckle I shook my head and swung my legs over the bed to get up and shut the door the rest of the way.
But then, before I could get up, she suddenly returned holding Edrick’s hand. With a mischievous grin, she pushed him into the room and shut the door firmly behind him.
Edrick and I just stared at each other in surprise, blinking slowly in the waning light of my bedroom.
