Chapter 98

**Artemis**


I see red when Lilly looks at us.

“What the fuck is this?” I say before looking from my daughter to the woman still standing.

“Mr. Rhodes please calm down.” She says.

I stand to face her, and she is smart enough to look nervous. “I asked what that is? Who did that to her?”

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that information. We protect our student’s identity as requested by their parents.”

“You’re protecting the kids who hurt our daughter!” Blue snaps at the woman.

She stands next to me and between the woman and Lilly.

“It was a simple misunderstanding-“

“Misunderstanding? She has a cut on her face! That is assault! How are you planning to punish the kids who did this?” Blue asks.

“We have spoken to all the children involved and it was all an accident.”

“Was it an accident or a misunderstanding?” I ask.

She looks at me confused. “What?”

“Was it an accident or a misunderstanding? Because there is no possible way this was an accident, and if misunderstandings are solved with violence, then we have every right to take this to the police.” I tell her before pulling out my phone and selecting our lawyer’s number.

“Please we don’t need to involve the authorities. It will only make things worse.”

“Then tell us how you plan on punishing those kids and how you plan on keeping it from happening again. Lilly is in a wheelchair, how could you allow any children bully her?” Blue yells.

The woman glances around to see if anyone can hear us but I don’t give a shit who hears. I would love for someone to come after us about this because that means we would have even more people involved in the suit against this school.

“As I said-“

“No. You haven’t said much of anything other than platitudes and that isn’t enough. Our daughter has been hurt and I want the kids responsible punished.” Blue walks around Lilly’s wheelchair and digs through her backpack.

When she stands again, she has a notebook and pencil in her hand. She writes something down and rips the paper out.

“Here’s my number. You tell those kid’s parents that I want to speak with them, and if they don’t contact me by tomorrow then we will be calling the police.”

The woman is reluctant but takes the paper when she see’s how serious Blue is. She’s not kidding, and I’ve never felt prouder. This tougher, bolder side of her is sexy as fuck.

“I will make sure they get this.” The woman says.

“Good, and Lilly won’t be returning to school until I’ve heard from them. Come on sweetie.” She wheels Lilly away, but I stay behind because this woman still doesn’t understand how far we are willing to go to protect Lilly.
I turn to her and adjust my tie. “This school relies heavily on funding from the parents of the kids that attend here. We were encouraged to donate a great deal so that Lilly could be admitted so late. Being a smart businessman I don’t go into any meeting without making sure all my bases are covered in case of legal situations in the future. So I always record in these meetings. Which means I have evidence that your school was taking money beyond tuition to enroll a student. How much of that money do you report through proper channels? Because if that money isn’t used as tuition or toward the school, which I know it isn’t since no upgrades to the school have been made in the last five years, then that would be considered fraud. So here is what will happen. I will be contacting my lawyer and will begin the stesp to sue this school and the responsible parties until those parents contact us. Understand?”

“Yes Mr. Rhodes.” She says sounding like a reprimanded child.

“Good. Have a nice day.”

I turn my back on her and walk away like I don’t have a care in the world when I reality I want to force and that woman to tell us what we want to know. Maybe I should have had Dane come. The guy has a way of making people talk, and it is often more productive than my ways.

When I make it back to the car Blue is closing the side door. Our customized car was delivered quicker than usual thanks to a little financial encouragement from me, and it turned out well. We can put Lilly inside without removing her from her wheelchair and still keep her secure. None of us says a word at first and I’m not sure what Lilly and Blue’s reasons are but I’m too angry to talk right now.

“I’m sorry.” Lilly says suddenly.

“What? Why are you sorry Lilly?” Blue asks, turning to look at Lilly.

“I caused so much trouble and now you guys are mad.” she says with a sniffle.

“We aren’t mad at you Lilly, you did absolutely nothing wrong. We’re mad at the school for not protecting you and at the kids who did this. You are supposed to be safe there, and those people didn’t do their job.” Blue explains.

“Can you tell us what happened?” I ask her.
She doesn’t say anything right away but after a few encouraging words from Blue she finally speaks up.

“A group of girls were working on a project at the table behind me. One of the girls turned at the same time as me and had scissors in her hands. It cut me when her hand almost hit my face.” She explains.

“Why would they say it was a misunderstanding? It sounds like an accident.” I say.

“The girls have been saying mean things about me and the scissors were not safety scissors.” She explains further.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you Lilly, but we will make sure those girls are punished. For now lets make sure you’re okay. Do you have a lot of pain?” Blue asks.

Lilly shakes her head. “It’s not the worst cut I’ve had.”

Her mouth snaps shut, and her eyes widen as if she wasn’t supposed to say that. Blue looks at me and it’s as if I can see a flash in her eyes. She gets a distant look for a split second before she’s focused again. It’s as if she’s fighting not to fall back into her memories. She’s been doing well lately, and I’ve made sure to hold her every night so that she doesn’t feel alone. Not that it’s much of a chore since I would much rather have her tucked against me than have space.

“Just…don’t be afraid to tell us if you are in pain, okay? You don’t have to act tough anymore.”

Lilly nods and gives Blue a small smile. “I will tell you.”

“Good.”

The rest of the ride home is quiet but when we make it home Dane is standing next to the driveway. Before I have turned the car off, he opens the side door and leans in to look at Lilly’s face. She lets him examine her knowing that he won’t let it go until he’s sure she’s okay. Those two are best friends now and Dane is very protective of her, so he looks ready to shed blood over this.

“You good kid?” he asks.

“All good Danny! Do I look tough?” Lilly asks him.

He kneels to remove the straps from her chair and helps her out. “Sure kid, but you don’t have to get hurt to be tough….”

They continue talking while Blue and I follow behind them.

“What are we going to do Artemis? I can’t stand not doing anything after seeing her face. She’s supposed to feel safe now, but did we just throw her into another dangerous situation?” Blue sounds a little panicked, so I wrap my arm around her and pull her against me.

She admitted once that my touch is the only thing that grounds her when she has flash backs or is feeling anxious. I enjoy it because I get to touch her all the time. She doesn’t know that I need her to ground me just as much because I hold all my anger in until I feel like exploding. Touching her helps calm me and I can let go of some of that anger go long enough to work through whatever I have to deal with.

“We won’t let this go, and I’ll look into another school that will be safer for her.”

“Thank you.” Blue says before resting her head on my arm. “Man, I’m exhausted. I think I’ll take a nap for a little bit.”

When we get inside she says something to Lilly before heading down the hall toward our room.

“She’s been tired a lot.” Lilly says.

“She’s a busy woman that has to deal with a needy eight-year-old.” Dane says.

“And a grumpy bodyguard!” Lilly snaps back.

Dane grunts and cracks a small smile. He wheels her into the kitchen for a snack leaving me confused. Why has Blue been so tired?