“It isn’t. We get books, laptops, and equipment, along with monetary donations, though those are rarely hand-delivered. The items that arrived yesterday were brought in by UPS and signed for by reception on behalf of an anonymous donor. The only stipulation to the donation was that certain classroomsand children received specific items. Again, that’s not unusual. Parents want their children to have the best of the best.”
“What was the donation?”
“Outdoor wear for our forest school. We haven’t been able to use it much this month with all the rain we’ve had, so the children were beyond excited to use it today and get outside. When Miss Dillion arrived, she was upset but holding it together, as I said. When she asked if she could take Star early, we of course agreed. I led her out to the forest school myself. That’s when she lost it.”
“Lost what?”
“Herself,” she explains as she leads me outside through a side door. I follow behind her, confused, speeding up when I hear Amity’s voice. I can’t make out her words, but her tone is a soothing one you’d use to calm a spooked animal. We round the corner, and I see Amity leaning over someone. I leave Maggie and hurry over, crouching when I realize it’s Citi with Star in her arms. Citi is rocking backward and forward, her eyes on a point somewhere in the distance.
“What happened?” I glance up at Amity, who looks pale and freaked out herself.
“I don’t know. One minute we were walking up here to collect Star, and the next minute Citi screamed, yanked Star into her arms, and well, this… It’s like she can’t hear a single word I’m saying.”
“Alright, Havoc and G are on their way. Talk to Maggie over here and let her know they’re coming and who they are. I’ve got Star and Citi.”
“You sure?”
I nod, turning my attention back to my girl.
“Alright. I’m sorry, Ambros.”
“None of this is your fault, Amity, so get that out of your head right now.”
“Okay,” I hear her murmur, but I can’t pay her any more attention. Not when my girls need me.
“Hey, princess, you doing okay?” I ask Star, who is peering up at me from Citi’s lap.
She nods, her thumb slipping into her mouth. She isn’t crying, and she doesn’t look scared, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to try and gauge how well she’s coping, given all she’s been exposed to.
“Citi honey, can you hear me?”
I reach for her, but my hand hovers in mid-air, worried about making things worse. Right now, Citi is trapped somewhere, and she’s protecting her kid the only way she knows how. That means everyone around her is a threat. Fuck.
“Baby, come back to me. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Star, I swear it on my fucking life. They’d have to go through me and a whole MC first.”
She twitches, her eyes flickering for a moment before her gaze lands on mine. Confused, she opens her mouth and closes it again before looking around. “Ambros?”
“I’m right here, Angel. I’m not going anywhere.”
I hear voices approaching from behind us, but I keep my eyes on Citi. “Can I hold you?”
She whimpers but leans toward me. I take that as permission and drag them both into my lap. I wrap my hands around them and hold them tightly as I feel a presence step up beside me.
I look up and see Havoc. “Is she good?”
“No. But she will be.”
“Here, let me take Star.”
I’m reluctant to hand her over, but it might be easier for me to get Citi to talk to me alone.
“Hey angel, can we let Havoc have a cuddle with Star? He missed her today.”
She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t move or even appear to breathe for the longest time, but eventually she nods and loosens her grip.
Havoc bends down and kisses Citi’s head and scoops up Star. “I’ve got her mama, I promise.” Nevaeh steps up to stand beside him. I smile gratefully. I should have thought about asking her to come, but?—
I blink when I see the color drain from Neveah’s face. She whimpers, her hand moving to cover her mouth.
