CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Cracks
She and Lucas were on their way to one of the occupational therapist appointments she’d scheduled. As they got out of the car and walked toward the office building, she took his hand. He stiffened at the contact and she dropped his hand, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.
“Okay, so I’ve been thinking,” she said casually. “I’ve changed my mind about my female superhero.”
He looked at her with what looked like awe, his big brown eyes widening at her words. “Who?” He signed. Then he grabbed her hand again and she had to stop herself from crying.
She stopped on the sidewalk and looked at his innocent face. “Before I tell you, is there any way you could try to explain to me why you don’t talk?”
He shook his head and walked past her. Emery knew this was a gamble. All the research she’d done about kids said to embrace whatever form of communication you could get.
“She-Hulk,” she called to his back.
His shoulders bounced a little with laughter and shook his head. He turned to her with a scowl. “She’s ugly,” he signed. “Why would you change from Wonder Woman to her?”
“Well, she’s a District Attorney, so she fights criminals in her real life, and then she turns into She-Hulk and actually kicks people’s butts…I like that.”
Emery reached Lucas and opened the door for them, then ushered Lucas in first. She was happy to be with him, almost falling into the seat next to Lucas after she signed him in. Some of the kids on her caseload were difficult to be around, either based on their circumstances or their behavior. Lucas was a borderline pleasure.
She bumped her shoulder into his. “So, how was school?”
A cloud passed over Lucas’s too skinny face. He shrugged.
Emery grabbed a Z-bar she’d started keeping in her purse for her kids. “Here, I’m sure you’re hungry.”
Lucas took it from her hand with a grin; she’d brought his favorite kind.
A guy stepped through the door and his eyes locked on Emery’s. It was an intense examination and it made her blush. “Lucas,” he called.
“I’ll wait here, okay?” Emery asked.
Lucas nodded, shoving the entire bar into his mouth before he walked back with what she assumed to be the therapist. She pulled out a book and waited for the session to be over.
“Ms. Simpson?” a man’s voice called after about an hour.
Emery looked up from her book to find the same pair of brown eyes piercing her again. “Yes?”
“Could you come back here for a few minutes before you take Lucas home?”
“Of course.” Emery followed the guy through the door into what look like a home gym. She waved at Lucas, who was playing with something at the far end of the room.
The guy guided her toward a small office and ushered her into the room, closing the door behind him. “Where’s Jane?”
Startled by the abruptness of the question, Emery took a step back.
He shook his head. “Sorry, I…I don’t want Lucas to come in here.” He extended his hand. “I’m Chris.”
“Emma,” she recited, shaking his hand. He had a firm grip and his fingers slid away from her hands slowly. “Jane left and I took over some of the kids on her caseload.”
“Listen, I think Lucas may be getting abused at home.”
Emery’s head cocked to the side in question. “The school hasn’t said anything. Why do you think that?”
“Well, any time I tried to physically guide him through anything today he withdrew, mentally and physically.”
Emery thought for a minute. “Did you see any bruising? Any marks?”
He shook his head, and then ran a hand through his blond curls. “No, but I just see this so often it feels like there’s something.”
Emery nodded. “Look, Chris, thanks for giving me a heads up, but I can’t really do anything with a feeling. I know what you mean, though, and I’ll keep an eye out. I can do more random house visits as well.”
Emery grabbed the doorknob to leave, but Chris’ grip on her bicep stopped her in her tracks.
“Do I know you from somewhere?”
Emery shook her arm out of his grasp and looked at him, really looked. He seemed vaguely familiar. “No, I don’t think so.” She quickly opened the door and motioned for Lucas to come with her.
Her calendar alerted her that she was going to have her first home visit with Lucas’ mother today. It wasn’t the agency’s first interaction with her, but Emery had never met the woman. She willed herself up out of the chair and into the shower. She’d decided she could simply live in her bathroom. It was created by someone that knew exactly what people needed to relax. Shedding her clothes, she locked her bathroom door out of habit and walked into the portion of the room separated by glass and turned on ten jets and the rain shower. Steam filled the room and her lungs. She let the water beat back the fear she had for the day.