The Forgotten Child by Lorhainne Eckhart (best e ink reader for manga txt) đź“•
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Emily gazed at the plate and wanted to scream at Brad. But nothing would come out of her mouth. So she dropped her eyes to the floor.
“Sorry, Em, today… I know this has to be hard for you.” He took a couple awkward steps toward her, before shoving both hands in his front pockets. Aww, here we go, the cowardly retreat. Her nose was running again and tears blurred her eyes, but she forced a smile to her shaky lips and used the back of her hand to wipe her nose.
Brad frowned.
“Thanks, I’m not really hungry.” Her voice caught, and if she didn’t do something to busy her hands, her mind; she was going to lose it. So she pulled out the plastic wrap from the middle drawer and neatly covered her plate. She walked around Brad, keeping her eyes down, and set the plate in the fridge. Then, in an afterthought, she reminded herself that no matter what, she wasn’t rude or vindictive. She let out a soft sigh and forced herself to lookup. “Thanks for cleaning up. I know it’s my job.”
Brad ran his hand down her arm. “Goodnight, Em, I’ll be bunking in the spare room in the back of the barn. So you know where I am—if you need anything.”
She leaned against the counter and just stared. She wanted to say something intelligent. Just what the hell was going on? But he looked away, and the stone wall she’d seen the first day slammed down around him. She wasn’t going to get anything out of him. This wasn’t fair to her or the kids. He had to know this. And maybe he did; he looked away and left without another word.
The floor creaked. Emily jumped. Crystal was just outside the kitchen, her icy blue eyes filled with a meanness Emily couldn’t ever remember experiencing before. The woman was quite beautiful, except coldness tarnished this beauty queen to something of a cold bitch. What did Brad ever see in her? Had she been lurking in the shadows, spying?
Crystal crossed her arms over her full perky breasts. “We need to establish some ground rules. You, your kid and Trevor can start taking your meals earlier. And make sure the kids stay out of my way. I don’t know why Brad would have hired someone with a kid. And just so we’re clear, Trevor’s my child. I’ll decide what’s best for him. You’ll clear everything you do with Trevor through me first. Are we clear?” She made no attempt to soften her voice, dictating with a heavy hand.
Emily had finally had enough. “Now you just wait; I don’t work for you. I was hired by Brad. So until Brad tells me otherwise—I work for him, not you.”
Crystal took a cocky step forward, as she flicked her sleek blonde hair over her shoulder. She was taller than Emily by a few inches. She used her height to look down on her with a wicked smile that spiked a chill up Emily’s spine.
“Let me make myself clear. Brad’s my husband and you’ll stay away from him. As for this therapy you started; it stops right now. You can look after Trevor and keep him comfortable, but you’ll no longer expose him to that kind of cruelty. I’ve heard about people like you. People who are so obsessive, they don’t see the long-term damage you’re doing emotionally. And you’re not doing that to my kid.”
Emily’s jaw dropped. Why hadn’t Brad talked to her? Instead he’d run out the door like a coward. “Crystal, I don’t know where you heard that. But that’s not true. Trevor has so much potential—how can you give up on him? I’ve researched this therapy, and he’s done so well since he started.” Crystal leaned in and bared her teeth. “I don’t give a shit what you’ve researched or brainwashed Brad with. Trevor’s my kid, not yours!”
The woman was a hyena and Emily wasn’t going to win. Crystal started to leave, but then swung back and stepped toward Emily. “Oh, and one more thing. Just so we’re clear. This is my home, and I’m here to stay. So you are very wrong in your assumption that you answer only to Brad. You work for me and you answer to me. If I have any issues with you, I’ll make sure you’re bounced out of here so fast you won’t have time to pack your things.” The floor softened beneath her feet, and her heart squeezed so tight she thought it’d explode right out of her chest. The woman climbed the stairs and slammed Brad’s door. What followed was Katy’s pitiful wail, and Trevor’s shriek.
Over the next few days, the tension in the household became untenable. Brad became scarce. At first, Emily thought he was just busy. Then was sure it was to avoid Crystal. But not so. He avoided eye contact with Emily, and slipped out the door every time she entered the room.
Emily ate with the children an hour earlier. She stayed away from Crystal the best she could. But it was hard living in a tension-filled house that seemed like a powder keg about to erupt at any moment. The kids became cranky and anxious. Trevor regressed, avoiding all eye contact, eating envelopes, paper and labels any chance he could. And when Crystal left her gold-plated pen on the kitchen table, Trevor decorated the living room wall with blue lines, circles and squiggles. Emily was in the kitchen making dinner while Katy and Trevor were supposed to be watching Arthur on TV. Crystal’s high pitch shriek had Emily dropping the lid on the floor and darting into the living room.
She slid to a stop just as Crystal snatched the pen from Trevor’s tiny hands. Emily covered both hands over her mouth. An entire wall would need to be repainted.
“How could you let him do this? You’re supposed to be watching him!” Crystal screamed, which launched Katy off the sofa to hide behind Emily. Trevor let out a high-pitch wail, as he wacked his head with his hand over and over.
Emily picked up Katy when she began to cry. She was scared, of course. Crystal was even scaring Emily, the way she carried on.
“I was making dinner, Trevor was watching TV and I’m sorry, but sometimes these things happen. That’s why it’s important to make sure you don’t leave things like a pen laying around.”
Crystal tossed her hands in the air. “Well, you’re going to have to pay for it. The cost to have this repainted by a professional is coming out of your pocket.”
“That’s not fair. It was your pen you left lying around. Of course, he’s going to pick it up and draw on something. He doesn’t understand—”
“You were hired to look after him. You’re not doing a good enough job, so don’t you dare blame your carelessness on me.” Crystal marched over to the TV and flicked it off.
“This isn’t a play room. From now on the kids need to stay out of the living room.” And then the woman sauntered up the stairs.
“Watch Dora, Momma.” Katy gazed up at Emily.
“No, everyone in the kitchen with me, dinner’s almost ready anyway.”
The days got worse. When Brad came in, he ate and left.
Katy started whining over little things. She didn’t like her dolly, the book—Trevor was bugging her.
Crystal treated Emily like a servant, always demanding. Do her laundry, make her tea, coffee, clean her bathroom, make her bed and iron her shirts. And always when Emily was busy with the children. After the second day, Cliff and Mac had stopped coming in for dinner, and last night, Brad didn’t show up at all; which had Crystal storming out of the kitchen after eating alone.
Brad never explained to her what happened in his fight with Crystal. He kept his distance from her and Trevor. How could she have been so fooled by this man, believing he had integrity?
The few times she’d seen Brad come in, Crystal was right there. She’d run her hand up his chest or arm and smile in such a seductive way; Emily wanted to knock the grin off her face. The last time, Brad gripped her wrist and pushed it away; he stared at Crystal with such contempt. None of this made sense.
Emily couldn’t sleep. She resented Brad for abandoning her. For not standing up for her—for not being the knight in shining armor she’d believed him to be. Emily could no longer subject Katy to this type of cruelty.
Crystal had stopped Trevor’s therapy, and taken over the therapy room upstairs.
It was underhanded how it happened. Emily had gone into town with the kids. It wasn’t until Emily had slipped upstairs to work with Trevor that she discovered everything gone; replaced with unfamiliar boxes and art supplies.
Crystal had appeared as if suddenly conjured up, in her designer jeans and silk blouse, looking as if she stepped off the page of a fashion magazine. “I told you there would be no more therapy.” She sauntered around Emily and Trevor into the room, raising her eyebrow as
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