Her heart seized at his answer to her question. “I like Wonder Woman,” she replied. There aren’t that many female superheroes, though.”
He signed enthusiastically. His real favorite was Ironman, because he had everything in the world and decided to help people.
Holy fucking kid putting you in your place.
His hands started flying around.
“Slow down…” She laughed and then began nodding at his signs.
Apparently there are plenty of woman superheroes—Storm, Black Widow, Black Canary…she lost count.
“Okay, well, you’ll have to tell me all their stories so I can pick.”
He agreed with a smile and a nod.
When she left the school that day after talking to Lucas she felt she’d done something. She’d helped him, maybe made his life better, even it if was only for an hour. He’d acted like he was starved for someone to just communicate with him. Her heart hurt for him.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Solitary Confinement
Emery was drinking wine and going through Lucas’s file when her phone rang. Tearing her eyes off the words lifting off the page and seeping into her heart, she saw her favorite face on her phone’s screen.
“Hey, Rach,” she answered.
“Emery…” Rachel covered the phone and Emery heard muffled words and pauses.
“Rach? What’s going on?”
“Okay, sorry about that. I was trying to make sure I was…” Rachel’s voice died on the line.
Emery’s anxiety spiked. Ashley.
“Shit,” Rachel murmured. “I spilled fucking Coke all over my shirt and had to take it off to wash it in the sink and people keep coming in the bathroom.”
“Is Ashley okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. She won state in gymnastics last weekend. That’s what I was calling to tell you.”
“She did?” Pride filled Emery’s heart and then the loss of not being able to be there and congratulate her consumed all good emotions.
“From what I hear, she knocked it out of the park. Like she rocked the judge’s balls off.”
Emery laughed in spite of herself.
“Any way you could try to get a video somehow? I mean…”
“I can try, Em. I’ll try.”
Emery nodded. This was what she’d given up to save herself, to be able to make the marks on her paper now, the ones that showed she was okay. Supposed to be okay. It made her wonder if she was really okay at all, if all of this loss was worth it. She missed Ashley, but the pain that had been in every cell when she lived in Atlanta had waned, making walking through this life every day somewhat manageable.
“Okay, please try. I miss her.”
“I know. Fuck.”
“What?”
“Well, Em…Emma. I’m a little naked right now and need to go.” The phone clattered to the floor. “Shit, now I have shit on my fucking phone.”
“Nasty.” Emery laughed, picturing a half-naked Rachel cursing and trying to figure out how to sanitize her iPhone.
“By the way, I’m coming this weekend. What do you want to do?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I’ll figure something out.”
“Must go.”
“Go.”
Emery smiled at the phone as Rachel’s face disappeared from the screen. Taking another sip of her wine, she turned the page to the most current psychological evaluation of Lucas. His childhood was scattered around south Georgia. His mother had custody of him. His father wasn’t even mentioned. He wasn’t diagnosed with autism until two years ago, when he was in second grade. Prior to that, schools had attempted to get his mother’s consent to evaluate him for special education services and the mother had always refused.
Lucas had developmental delays across the board, but his test scores were contradictory. On some assessments, he didn’t even meet the threshold of intelligence, but his scores were through the roof on others. He’d passed a hearing screening, though Lucas had always been non-verbal. There was a note in the file that he’d taught himself sign language and would attempt to communicate that way.
“Why the fuck did the school think this kid was deaf then?” Emery shook her head. She’d learned quickly that kids fall through the cracks, sometimes at the fault of no one. There just wasn’t an advocate for the kid to make sure he was getting what he needed.
“This kid’s mother seems to be an asshole,” she said to no one in particular.
She made notes through the entire file in order to be prepared for the fight to get this kid what he was entitled to and what he needed to be able to learn.
On a Friday night a few weeks later, Emery was bored and burned out on work, so she decided to walk over to Mansion and eat dinner. This was a big deal for her; she hadn’t been out without Rachel since she’d moved to Savannah. Standing in her closet, she scanned through the clothes she’d brought with her and the few she’d purchased. Emery pulled a black and white polka dot dress off the rack. She paired it with her leather jacket and black boots, straightened her now dirty blond hair that fell down her back in sheets, and put makeup on. She was Emma Simpson. Gorgeous and ready to go out on the town.