No Greater Love: PT 3

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For Part 2 Click HERE

The social worker said it shouldn't take long, fifteen to twenty minutes max. An hour dragged by. Angie's eyes began darting up towards the door every few minutes. "What's going on?" She asked sensing something was up.

"Your daddy is just in there giving the judge some paperwork so the judge can let him take you home," I said also wondering what was taking so long.

Another hour dragged by.

Angie's belly grumbled. We went into the hall and asked the woman who had scolded me for letting Angie jump off the stacks of boxes if Angie could have some of the Cheetos we saw her eating. She gave Angie a few which quickly disappeared and Angie was asking for more. While Angie was paying attention to Cheetos and charming the girl at the desk, I noticed an armed policeman now outside the door. Angie and I were the only ones behind the door.

104 Packs for 39.99. Great for Halloween!

The guard was there because something was terribly terribly wrong.

I wondered if someone had managed to smuggle a gun in. I wondered if Alex was now in a hostage situation. I remembered my friend who was at Columbine during the shootings and the nightmares she'd had for years after.

Angie charmed her way into getting a cup of water from the girl at the desk. She was complaining it didn't have ice. "Angie, she did her best, don't be rude." I scolded. Angie looked at me and then her eyes darted to the door behind me. Her eyes widened seeing the guard.

"Let's let this nice lady get back to her job okay?" I said wanting to get Angie behind an extra door and wall in case it was a bomb or violence was about to break out in the hall. I needed to protect her and it would be easier if whoever was causing the problems didn't know we were there.

When we got back into the room Angie looked up at me with a glare. "What's he doing out there?"

Playing dumb because I hoped she wasn't referring to the same thing that was causing me to panic slightly, "Your daddy or...?" I trailed off.

Angie rolled her eyes, sighing as though dealing with adults playing dumb was all too familiar to her and she'd long ago lost patience with it. "The police," she said in a tone that sounded like a teacher scolding naughty student.

"He's just there to make sure we're safe," I said trying to reassure her.

Angie huffed at me. I knew enough from Messy's huffs to know it was one of complete and total annoyance, only it wasn't me she was annoyed with. For some reason, she was annoyed with the guard.

I supposed it was annoying to be little and have everyone thinking they needed to protect you when you felt perfectly capable of protecting yourself, but it ran far deeper than that for Angie.

I sat studying her. Her forehead creased with stress, stress a seven-year-old shouldn't have. Then I remembered Alex telling me Ashlea taught Angie police were bad, but that still didn't explain the anger humming in her little shoulders and the clenching of her fists. Angie's mouth was tight and her nostrils flared.

Angie bit her bottom lip, her face pale her fists clenched around the toys until her knuckles turned white.

She'd been opening up, she was getting comfortable with me. The guard being outside, his hand on his gun changed things, scared her.

It scared me too. Was all this an elaborate trick? Would Angie ever get to go home? My stomach tightened. I wondered if it came down to a zombie apocalypse if I could get us out of here and somewhere safe.

I wondered if the reason Ashlea took off with Angie, to begin with, was because she was running from the police.



Another half-hour dragged by. I listened for gunshots. I listened for screaming.

Alex burst into the room. His forehead sweaty, his cheeks flushed and his eyes crazed.


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Lots of love and thanks for reading!