Chapter 2 - The Eviction And Emma's Secret
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Emma had always adored photographs.
She’d make ridiculous faces whenever I took one. Crossed eyes. Puffy cheeks. Giant toothy smiles.
Now she was hiding her mouth behind both hands.
“Get out.”
Diane blinked.
“What?”
“Get your belongings and leave.”
Her expression hardened.
“You’re kicking me out after everything I’ve done for you?”
“I’m kicking you out because you made my seven-year-old believe there was something wrong with her face.”
Diane grabbed her purse.
Then, right before reaching the door, she turned around.
“You should ask Emma why she never stopped me.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
Diane looked toward my daughter.
“If it was honestly so terrible, ask her why she continued letting me help.”
Then she walked outside.
The door slammed.
I turned toward Emma.
She was looking at the floor.
I wanted to chase after Diane.
Instead, I knelt.
“Emma, look at me.”
She wouldn’t.
I gently touched her arm.
“You are not in trouble.”
Her eyes eventually lifted.
“Did Grandma pull more than one tooth at once?”
A small nod.
“Did you want her to?”
Emma’s eyes filled with tears.
“At first.”
My anger kept me from speaking.
“What do you mean, at first?”
She wiped her nose against her sleeve.
“The first one was wiggly.”
That made sense. Emma had shown me that tooth before I left. It had been loose for weeks.
“Grandma said she knew a trick so it wouldn’t hurt.”
“Did it hurt?”
“A little bit.”
She opened her mouth.
I carefully examined the gaps.
“What about the others?”
Emma’s voice became quieter.
“She said those needed help too.”
My stomach twisted.
“Did you tell her no?”
Emma nodded.
“Then why did Grandma say you kept coming back?”
Her face coll@psed.
“Because she said if I let her finish, she’d stop.”
I went cold.
“But every time she said she was finished, she found another one.”
I wrapped Emma tightly in my arms.
She pressed her face against my shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Mommy.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
I held her even closer.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
Once she’d calmed down, I called our dentist.
The office was preparing to close, but after I explained what had happened, they told me to bring Emma in right away.
I took pictures first.
Every gap.
Every swollen area.
May you like
Every place Emma said was hurting.
Then I texted Mark.
