Page 113 of Charlie
“I’ll check up on ye later, okay?”
She answered with a tiny nod.
We gave witness statements and answered the same questions over and over. A social worker came to take care of the children, but River and Nathan wouldn’t be separated from Liv, who argued with the social worker that they had already been traumatized enough.
In the end, the older woman agreed that Liv and I should accompany the children to a temporary facility until she could figure out what their family relations were.
Liv looked exhausted and it made me protective of her and the children. In the end, I refused to answer any more questions until we’d had some sleep. At the facility the five kids, Liv, and I were given a family room with extra mattresses on the floor and as we were trying to fall asleep, the children’s questions started.
“Is my mother with Conor and the others now? On the other side, like he said?”
It was Liv who answered Lumi’s question. “No, sweetheart, I don’t think that’s how it works. I think your mom is with her ancestors.”
“Good. I don’t think she would have liked to meet Conor again in the next life. Not after he shot her.” I was surprised that Lumi wasn’t crying while speaking about it, but then she had already cried on and off for the last five hours.
The light in the room was dimmed, with only a bit of light coming from the bathroom. Liv and I were on two mattresses on the floor with River sleeping on Liv’s other side. The other four children were in two bunk beds along the walls.
“At least your mom put herself between you and my dad. Aisha took a bullet to save your life while Ciara helped my dad try and kill us all,” Atlas muttered.
Lumi was in the lower bunk with Nathan above her. She was on her side with her hands under her cheek. “I just wish my mom had survived.”
I moved closer to Liv, who was holding River’s hand. “I wish they all had survived.”
“Conor too?” Nathan asked.
“Yes. I wish he hadn’t gotten away so easily. It would have been better if he’d been forced to spend the rest of his days behind bars, reflecting on what he did to the people who loved him.”
“But why did he want everyone to die?” River asked. “I don’t understand it. He told us he was excited that Carlos was going to teach us all about quantum physics next week. Carlos used to be a science professor before he started doing drag shows, did you know that?”
I answered her with the only explanation I could find. “No, I didn’t know that, but to answer your question, I think what happened tonight was that Conor lost his mind. He knew the guards were coming for him and he didn’t want to go down alone.”
“Did you say that twenty-eight people died tonight?” The question came from Nathan.
“Yes,” Liv answered.
I swallowed hard, and Liv and I intertwined her free hand with mine. For a while we were all quiet before River asked in a small voice. “What’s going to happen to us now?”
Nathan sniffled and only now did I notice that the boy was crying. “They’re going to split us up and send us to orphanages.”
“No, I don’t want that,” River cried and pressed her face against Liv’s shoulder.
I propped myself up on an elbow and spoke with all the confidence I could muster in a situation like this. “No one is going to an orphanage. Liv and I will take care of you until we find your other family. Right?” I looked at Liv, who nodded.
“That’s right.”
As the children finally fell asleep, Liv and I lay close and whispered.
“What happened in the bathroom between you and Conor?”
“He tried to force himself on me.”
“Then why didn’t you leave with me?”
“Because I had promised the children that I’d be there for them. I always knew he was dangerous, and after what he did to Nathan, I couldn’t just leave them defenseless.”
“I wish you would have told me. I would have killed him then, and then everyone else would still be alive.”
Liv sighed. “First of all, you didn’t give me a chance to explain, and you’re not a killer.”
