“She sounds upset,” Charlie added.
My heart rate picked up by a millisecond as I took the phone.
“And get your phone fixed already. I’m not your secretary,” he chuckled before walking off.
“Hey, what’s up?” I said into the phone.
When Anita spoke, her voice shook. “Seb, hey.”
“Is everything alright?” I walked further away from the house to hear her better. One finger in my ear and a frown on my face. “Anita?”
“Not really. Chloe is in the hospital right now after falling from a tree at school. Could you take Mia for a few hours? I know you’re at work right now, but Don and I really need to be here.”
“I’m on my way.”
After Anita told me which hospital they were at, I jogged to my bike across the street. Giving Charlie his phone and the briefest of explanations before I shoved my helmet on, started the motor with a rev as I kicked up the stand and accelerated so fast from the curb, the back tire skidded on the asphalt.
Bunting in the shape of ghosts and carved pumpkins was strung up along the walls of the kids' ward as I rushed the halls to where the nurse said my niece, Chloe Howard, would be. I was looking for a door with a smiling skeleton stuck to it, and when I spotted it, I nearly ran straight past it. I gripped the doorframe and pulled myself into the room, eagerly scanning the two dozen beds inside before a familiar and cheerful, “Uncle Sebby!” was called out from the furthest end of the space.
By a window with a view of a small courtyard outside, my sister’s family was gathered around a bed. Chloe was in it, eating an ice cream and grinning from ear to ear as I approached. Her entire leg was in a cast that looked way too big for her.
I clocked the redness of my sister’s eyes as she put on a happy façade. She gathered her long box braids over one shoulder, giving me a brief smile in greeting before her dark brown eyes were back on Chloe.
Anita was a hard-working, independent young mom and my calm and collected baby sister. It was because of her maturity, most people thought she was older than me. She always acted like it was that way.
Her doting husband, Don, a guy who was built like a linebacker but worked in IT, was her rock. He was quiet, observant, and one of the best dads I knew. He was everything our dad never was.
He pulled an arm around Anita and kissed her temple. The gesture bumped his glasses as he used his free hand to gently rock one-year-old Mia in her stroller.
“Thanks for coming, Seb,” Don said.
“Yeah, of course.” I edged along Chloe’s bed and gently nudged her cheek with my knuckles. “What happened to you, huh?”
“She was trying to be like her uncle and wanted to check the school’s roof,” Anita said. There was something else she wasn’t saying. Something else neither parent was saying, at least not in front of their girls.
“I almost got to the top, but then a branch snapped, and I fell. I also scratched my elbow,” Chloe said, proudly showing off the large bandage on the back of her arm. “It took them a while to find me. Mr. Wilson said it should teach me a lesson.”
The last part caused my face to twist with a confused frown as I looked to Don and Anita for an explanation.
“Mama’s going to talk with Uncle Seb, okay?” Anita said to Chloe. Don moved to sit in the chair by her bed.
I followed Anita out into the hallway, where she struggled to hold back tears. Angry tears as she shook her head in disbelief.
“She said she was on the ground long after the bell rang. All on her own. When Mr. Wilson finally came out looking for her, he mentioned her friends had said something about her fall, but he didn’t do anything about it.” She crossed her arms tightly, visibly torn between frustration and being upset. “He’s been treating her differently from everyone else for a while, Chloe just didn’t tell us. She said he called her a difficult student because she struggles to focus.”
My jaw clenched, and I inhaled sharply. “What’s Mr. Wilson’s first name?”
“Do not do what I think you’re planning,” Anita said firmly, wiping a tear from her cheek. “The last thing she needs is her uncle getting arrested.”
“Fine.”
“Seb.”
“I won’t hurt him, I swear. But he’s still a fucking asshole.”
Anita released a shaky breath as fresh tears welled in her eyes. Eyes that were on her family as we stood in the hall. “Her leg is completely shattered. And we don’t have insurance. We won’t have enough to sue him for neglect. Or the school.” She passed her hands up over her face before resting them behind her neck, chewing her bottom lip. “And Mia is going to get restless soon and I forgot her fucking bottle.”
“That’s what I’m here for, remember? I’ll babysit for as long as you need.” I pulled her into a hug, resting my chin on her head as I held her tight. “I also have some extra work coming up. I can help.”
