Page 13 of Fixing Emilee

“Man, she’s a mess. She won’t speak to anyone, not us or the doctor. We don’t know what to do to help her. She didn’t even tell us what was happening, nothing. She just stares at us like she isn’t seeing us. We searched her room for something to tell us what pushed her that far. We found a couple of cases with things she used to cut with inside but nothing that helped us understand why until last night. I was going through her room again and found a drawer full of notes, letters, and pictures. All from Christian and Vanessa. I gave them to Mom and Dad but couldn’t look at them.”

“What did they do with them?”

He turns, walking back to the house with me right behind him. I stop at the steps as he continues into the house. It doesn’t feel right to walk back through that door until it’s with my girl. He isn’t gone long. When he returns, he holds a small box full of papers. He sits down, lowering the box, so it sits between us. We both grab a piece off the top and look at it. At first, it’s nothing I couldn’t guess until the third piece I grab is a diagram of an arm with a vein highlighted and written beside it is “Cut this one, and you will die quickly.” Throwing it back in the box, bile rises in my throat.

“What the fuck? She kept all of this?” I shove the box away from me. Levi picks it up, placing it back inside the door.

“Yeah,” he whispers. “Why wouldn’t she tell someone about all of that? How could they be so fucking cruel to her? God, I feel so stupid for not seeing it. She’s my sister, for fucks sake, and I just ignored her pain. I gave her a box from that fucking asshole on Sunday. She went crazy. I heard her breaking stuff. She was screaming and crying. When I went into her room, it was destroyed, but she told me it was no big deal. I knew she was lying, but why didn’t I push it?”

The more he talks, the urge to walk across the street to kill that motherfucker grows. I knew it wasn’t good, but I had no fucking idea it was that bad. She was facing that all by herself. “You’re rethinking the whole he isn’t worth it thing, aren’t you?” Turning, Levi is smirking at me.

“Yeah, I am, but he isn’t worth it. What are your parents going to do with all of that?” I point behind him.

“They are going to get a lawyer to see what can be done legally. Hey, can you send me that recording? It would really help the case, and I can have them listen to it. They aren’t your biggest fans right now either.”

“Sure. Do you think you could get Em to listen to it?” I know it’s a long shot, but I have to try. Pulling out my phone, I hand it to him so he can put his number in it.

“I can try, but I don’t know if she will listen to it right now.” He shrugs, handing me my phone back. My heart breaks a little more, but I refuse to give up hope. I will get her back one way or another.

Standing up because I need to leave before I give in to my violent urges toward Christian, I stick my hand out to shake Levi’s. “Thank you for listening to me and believing me. Look, I’ve got to get out of here before I go over there and burn his house to the fucking ground. Will you keep me updated on what’s going on?” If I have to, I will get on my knees to beg anyone at this point. I have to know how she is. Not knowing is driving me insane.

Standing up, he pushes my hand away, pulling me into a hug. “Yeah, man, I will.”

As I drive away from her house and past the graveyard, I feel better than I have in the last twenty-four hours. At least now, her family will know that I would never hurt her, and I know they have a plan in place. I wish Emilee would let me back in, but I’ll take what I can get right now.

Instead of heading home, I head to a girl named Bev’s house. I have been messaging and talking to anyone who will give me the time since the night at the park. I have found a couple of students who don’t feel comfortable speaking up, but more than not, I’m finding people are willing to do something. The number of individuals that have seen or heard something blows my mind, but that number will work in our favor. I’m getting on the administration’s nerves with my constant visits with more people, but if they had done their fucking jobs the first time around, it wouldn’t be like this. I don’t give a fuck about their feelings. I’m not going to stop until something is fucking done about this.

* * *

“Mrs. Crawford, we need Parker in the principal’s office, please,” the secretary’s voice comes over the PA system. I sigh because it’s fucking Monday morning, and I’m not in the mood to deal with whatever this shit is. I don’t wait for her to tell me I can leave. Knocking on the door that says principal, I wait for him to tell me to come in.

“Come in.” Pushing open the door, I see two people sitting at his desk. What the fuck is going on? Before I can ask the question out loud, the individuals turn around. Staring back at me are Emilee’s nana and papa. They look like they haven’t been sleeping well, just like me. Exhaustion is written all over their faces, making them look their age. My eyes start to sting, and I blink multiple times to hold the tears back. I have become the biggest fucking crybaby lately, but no one can judge me until they almost lose the person they have waited their whole life for.

Taking a step toward them, her nana stands up, coming to the back of the chair, pulling me in for a hug. She is so tiny that she doesn’t even come up to my chest, but her hug feels a hundred times her size. I pull her close and squeeze her tightly, probably too tight, but she doesn’t pull back or complain. It feels like I’m hugging a little bit of Emilee, and an ache grows because I would give anything to hold her.

“She’s doing all right, son. She’s at her therapy appointment. She is determined to get better,” she says, patting my back. I pull back, looking down at her face, which is wet with tears.

“Levi told me she tried to come back today but couldn’t get on the bus.”

She grabs my hands, pulling me toward the empty seat between them. “That’s true, sweetie. Which is why she’s in therapy right now. She just tried to push herself too fast. She will try again when Emilee, her therapist, and we think she’s ready. It could be days, weeks, or never. But the most important thing is that she is safe.”

My heart plummets to my stomach at the thought of her never returning to school. I hadn’t thought about that; I assumed she would eventually return. If she doesn’t, what will I do then? My emotions start to spiral out of control until I feel a hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I see her grandfather staring at me, reading everything written on my face. “She will come back, son. She is stubborn and wants to finish out the school year here.”

A sigh of relief falls from me. I turn my attention to Mr. Clark. “Why am I here?” Before he can open his mouth to answer me, her grandfather does.

“Mr. Clark, let us listen to the recording you brought to his attention. We told him we also had a copy and had already heard it. He told us about all the individuals you have been bringing by who are willing to talk about what they have seen or heard. We brought all the items that were at the house to show him. You know, all the things the teachers witnessed being placed in or on her lockers and didn’t say anything about?” His tone is easy to read. He’s pissed off, and someone is going to pay.

Looking down, I see the box of disgusting shit sitting by his feet. Seeing that box and hearing the disdain in his voice makes me breathe a little easier. I came to terms with the fact that I was willing to fight a war for Emilee. Whether I would do that alone or with someone wasn’t clear before, but it is now. There is no doubt in my mind that Emilee and I are not alone in this anymore. “I want to do everything I can so that when she returns, she feels safe. That she knows it will never happen again, sir. I know it will never happen again, but she needs to know. I will put a stop to….”

“Mr. West, as I told you, we are taking this very seriously. However, you will be suspended if you get into one more fight,” Mr. Clark interrupts me.

I roll my eyes and lean forward so he has no problem hearing me as I repeat what I told him last week. “Like I’ve told you before, get your pen and write-up sheet ready now because the first time either Vanessa or Christian even looks at her wrong, I will stop it. I will gladly take that suspension and treat it like a vacation. I told you last week, I’m not scared of you or the threats coming from your mouth. We all failed to protect her before, but I won’t fail again. You and this school can fail if you choose to, but not me. No one in this whole fucking building will be able to stop me. No one hurts what is mine. And she is mine, mine to protect. Do what you feel like you need to because I sure as shit will,” I say, not caring that I’m using foul language.

Before he can say one word about anything I just said, her nana speaks up. “You treat this young man like he is responsible for all this. You seem to forget that the adults in this school didn’t step up and stop our granddaughter from being harmed. It should be all of them, plus Christian and Vanessa, getting talked to like that, not him. He is the only one who did anything to protect her.” I’m touched that she is willing to also go to war over me.

I squeeze the hand that is still holding mine, “Thank you, ma’am. Don’t worry about me. I will prove to everyone that Emilee is never to be talked down to or talked bad about and definitely never to be touched again. No matter what anyone says.”

She pats my hand as Emilee’s grandfather turns his attention to Mr. Clark. “Well, Parker has made his plans clear as day, and so have we. However, you have failed to inform us what you will do to ensure Emilee’s safety at this school. From what we have seen so far, you are doing nothing to right the wrongs. You thought a three-day suspension was a good punishment for the little cowards when they have been doing bodily harm to my granddaughter for months. So what is your plan?” I’ve been asking the same question but haven’t got a straight answer. Hopefully, he will.

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