Chapter 4

"Stop talking nonsense, Daryl," Edna chided. "Alfred only bought it to cheer you up because he saw how hard you cried yesterday."

From behind them, Alfred wedged his way into the house and warned me in a low murmur, "They came here just to apologize today, honey. Please don't make things difficult for them. Just do me this favor and let it slide."

When Edna lowered her head and nudged Daryl, the sturdy little boy pouted and muttered, "Sorry."

She always had a way of putting me in impossible positions to make me look bad.

Refusing to drag Bella through this kind of exhausting power struggle on our doorstep, I stepped aside to let them in.

The moment Daryl entered the house, he didn't even bother to set his shoes straight before heading for Bella's study desk. She spent all her time drawing there and absolutely cherished that corner.

He plopped onto her chair, grabbed her markers, and began scribbling all over her sketchbook.

Edna beat me to it and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch Bella's things, Daryl!"

Losing interest, he turned around and intentionally shook the massive box of building blocks in his arms. "Look at this! Do you want it?"

When Bella stared at the box and paled, Daryl realized he had finally found a way to hurt her and raised his voice, "Mr. Manning said he'll buy me even bigger ones when we go out to play from now on!"

Bella's birthday wishlist was still taped to the fridge, held up by a small blue magnet. Her crooked, uneven handwriting spelled out the names of the toys she wanted.

She reached out to take it down, but Daryl suddenly lunged forward and snatched it away.

"What are you doing? Give it back!" she panickedly yelled.

"What's the point of writing this stupid list? Mr. Manning isn't going to spend time with you anyway!"

He grabbed the paper and ripped it right down the middle.

"Don't tear it!"

Daryl threw his hand out and gave her a hard shove.

Already weak from her fever, Bella lost her balance and had her forehead slammed into a corner of the cabinet.

I had just finished getting her medication and turned around just to see blood running down her face.

"Bella!"

Even Edna panicked, but she immediately pulled Daryl into her arms. "You scared me to death, Daryl. Does your hand hurt? Did she hurt you anywhere?"

Daryl quickly scrambled into her arms. "I'm scared, Mom. She's so mean. She yelled at me and tried to hit me."

The look I gave Edna must have been too cold because she shrank back and stammered an excuse, "I-I didn't see what really happened either. Maybe the kids were just playing around, so please don't—"

I pressed gauze against Bella's wound and picked her up to rush her off to the hospital.

Hearing the commotion, Alfred rushed over, and Edna immediately threw herself into his arms.

"I never thought this would happen, Alfred! Daryl is terrified. He's shaking all over, and it's reminding him of when his father used to beat him up…"

"Daryl, are you hurt? Don't be scared. I'm right here."

Blood was still seeping from the wound on Bella's forehead, yet her father's first instinct was to comfort the boy who had just hurt her.

My rage flared to its peak.

"Make him apologize!" I demanded.

"Take Bella to the hospital first, honey. It was just a scuffle between kids. Don't jump to conclusions."

"He snatched her belongings, tore up her wishlist, and shoved her so hard that she slammed into the cabinet," I said, advancing forward. "I want him to apologize right now!"

Edna immediately burst into tears. "Olivia, I know you're worried about Bella, but Daryl didn't do it on purpose. He grew up seeing adults fight all the time and easily gets triggered, so if you force him to admit fault now, he'll feel…"

Alfred gave me a helpless look. "You know Daryl's situation. He has the wrong way of expressing his feelings, but we can teach him later. Pushing too hard right now will only make things worse."

I pulled Bella tighter into my arms. "Isn't it bad enough that your daughter is bleeding? Do we have to die and get out of the way before you finally remember that you're a married man who's become way too involved with another woman?"

"Olivia Adkins!" he snapped. "Don't turn a problem between children into grudges between adults!"

Suddenly, Edna slapped herself across the face, then dropped to her knees and apologized, saying, "This is all my fault! I shouldn't have brought Daryl here!

"My poor Daryl is cursed with a miserable life. It's a crime for anyone to show him a shred of affection!"

Alfred instinctively looked at her with eyes full of deeper, stronger pity.

Meanwhile, Bella's forehead was still wrapped in gauze, and her face was so pale it looked almost bloodless.

"Mommy! Daddy! Please stop fighting!" she choked out, sobbing uncontrollably. "I don't want the toys anymore! I don't want any of them!"

My heart throbbed in pain as I carried her out the door.

Alfred followed us for two steps before he eventually stayed behind.

After that day, he sent a message. His tone was so formal and detached that it sounded like a corporate memo.

"I know you're worried about Bella, but what you said that day hurt Daryl too. I don't want our emotions to affect the kids."

I never replied, so he likely assumed I was just giving him the silent treatment.

A few days later, Alfred posted a photo on his social media feed. It was a photo taken at the airport departure gates, showing Daryl sitting on a suitcase, grinning brightly, while Edna held Alfred's arm. There was a shy smile on her face.

"Taking the kid somewhere new. Hopefully, someone can also learn to handle wounds a little gentler."

The wound on Bella's forehead hadn't healed. She wore her cap pulled low.

"Do you want to live somewhere new with me?" I asked.

She nodded.

Not long after Alfred left, Bella and I went to the airport, too. The home I had spent years trying to protect dissolved into a blur of city lights.

…

When Alfred returned from the trip, he spent the entire ride home thinking about how he would talk to me.

Edna followed him into the house. "Olivia isn't still mad at me, is she? She was honestly a little too—"

Before she could finish, a figure stepped out of the shadows in the living room and slapped her hard across the face twice.