Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Octavia: Aleesa bumped heads with a classmate during dance. Big knot. Icing it now. She’s still a little upset.
“What?” I hissed.
Below her text, an image appeared of Aleesa’s forehead, with a raised red bump on the center. My heart dropped.
I dropped my phone into the cupholder and pressed my foot on the gas, hurrying home.
Five
Octavia
“Does it still hurt?” I removed the ice pack from Aleesa’s forehead, and she looked up at me with big green eyes.
She was in the process of eating a Popsicle, which was the only thing that had calmed her down when we made it home. She smiled up at me, licking away, and you’d think the accident had never happened.
When it did, though, my heart had sunk like a rock to my stomach. I saw it coming from a mile away but figured their instructor would catch the girls before they clashed. Unfortunately, this was one of those incidents where you can see something happening but by the time you react, it’s too late to prevent it.
“Not hurting.” Aleesa licked the Popsicle.
“Good. I’m just going to keep ice on it for now. Okay? You finish your Popsicle.”
“’Kay.”
I sat on one of the barstools as Aleesa remained perched on the island counter, still dressed in her white tights and black leotard. She looked so cute . . . minus the knot.
Moments later, I heard the door to the garage open and then slam shut. Javier’s footsteps were heavy as he stepped around the corner, eyes wide and swimming with concern.
“Hey,” I said, but he ignored me, going straight to Aleesa and picking her up to inspect her head.
“Hey, Daddy.” Aleesa’s voice was bright and bubbly.
“How did this happen, again?” he asked, studying her head a few seconds longer.
“She and another girl named Rosie bumped into each other while dancing. Both girls were already sort of teetering while trying to hold a pose. Both tipped to the side and came head-to-head.”
The kitchen fell silent as he continued staring at the knot.
The silence was thick, and slightly uncomfortable, so I climbed off the stool and continued with “She’s fine now. I wouldn’t worry.”
“What if she has a concussion?” he asked, snapping his gaze to me.
“Uh . . . I don’t think she does. The run-in wasn’t that hard. They aren’t football players, Javier. They’re three- and four-year-old girls.”
“Octavia, this is not the time for you to get smart with me,” he said in a near growl. “You brought my daughter home with a knot the size of Pluto on her head. She is hurt. This is not a joke.”
“I know it’s not a joke.” I frowned as he placed Aleesa back on the counter and ran a thumb over her forehead. “I was just as concerned as you are right now, but as you can see, she’s okay. She wasn’t disoriented, and she didn’t pass out or anything. I truly don’t believe she has a concussion, but if you want me to take her to urgent care, I can.”
“Where were you when this happened?” he asked. More like demanded.
“I was sitting on the bench with all the parents.”
“Are you sure you weren’t outside of the room? Or texting? Could this not have been prevented?”
I scoffed. What was with him? “I don’t understand why you’re interrogating me about this. Children have accidents all the time.”
Javier shook his head and removed Aleesa from the counter to place her feet on the floor. “I do not want this to happen again.”
“Okay. But I can’t prevent every accident she has, and neither can you.”
“Well, I can try.”
“Look,” I said with a sigh. “I’m very sorry that it happened. I wish you could be a little more reasonable about this.”
“Reasonable?” he asked through gritted teeth. “Oh, I am being unreasonable?”
“Yes.” I folded my arms. “Unreasonable.”
“No, what is unreasonable is you acting like every serious situation is no big deal, Octavia!”
“Oh, you mean because I don’t coddle her the way you do? Sorry to tell you this, my friend, but I don’t have the helicopter gene in me. I don’t hover over her or try and dictate her every move! Kids have to explore! They have to learn!”
“You know what?” Javier cut a hand through the air. “I’m the parent. I should not be arguing with you about this. We do not see eye to eye. Clearly I was wrong to hire you.”
I blinked at him, stunned. His words were sharp and seemed to cut through me like a dozen knives. I hated that they felt so powerful, and I wasn’t sure why, out of everything he’d said to me during all these months, those words bothered me most.
Maybe because I thought I was doing right by Aleesa.
Maybe because I cared about her and liked seeing her explore and try new things.
Maybe because it was true that we didn’t see eye to eye, but I’d hoped he would eventually look past our differences and realize that, no matter what, Aleesa was okay. She was protected and she was happy with me.