Page 13 of Protecting Addison
Addison felt happier than normal today. Maybe it was the orgasm she’d started the day with, maybe it was the kisses she’d gotten from her husband, or the way her daughter had leaned over the backseat before she’d gotten out of the car at school to say she was glad her mom had married Ricky.
Or maybe it was the way her phone kept vibrating on the counter next to the cake she’d just finished decorating.
As Ricky had warned, the “girls” had texted her as soon as they’d gotten her number. She’d been added to a group text with them all, and the amount of exclamation points that had been used so far was amusing. Everyone seemed genuinely happy that she was joining them that weekend.
Each woman had introduced herself and shared a little about what they did for a living. Addison had reciprocated, warning them that she wouldn’t be able to text a lot as she had three cakes to bake today. No one seemed offended, and to prove it, the texts continued throughout the day. When the girls took breaks from their own work, they would check in with everyone else. Say hi. Ask what everyone was planning on bringing to the potluck that weekend.
Remi took the time to give Addison an abbreviated history of Wolf and Caroline. Who they were and how the SEALs knew them.
Addison felt included and welcomed. She couldn’t remember a time when a group of women had been so friendly.
She’d almost always been the odd one out. In both elementary and high school, she got picked on a lot because of her height and hair. Seventh grade was when the worst of the bullying had started for Addison, the so-called popular clique taking great delight in tormenting and making fun of her. It had been hell, and she’d felt like an outsider from that moment on. Which was why she was so worried about Ellory, with her daughter going through the same thing.
But Remi, Josie, Wren, and Maggie made all those old feelings disappear in one afternoon. With their constant texting, joking, and easy banter, Addison felt as if she was already best friends with the women. Of course, she could be disappointed when she met them in person this weekend, but she hoped not.
A couple of hours later, just as she was finishing her last cake, her phone rang. It was Ellory. Wiping her hands on a nearby towel, Addison quickly answered.
“Hey, El.”
“Mom? Can you come get me?”
“Of course. Are you all right?” Addison didn’t hesitate to pull off her apron and head around the counter toward her purse. Ellory wasn’t the kind of kid to lie about whether she was sick or not. She actually loved school. Loved learning. So if she asked to come home, something was wrong.
“I just don’t feel good.”
Her daughter didn’t sound like herself. There was more going on…and Addison’s belly clenched with concern. “I’m on my way.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
Addison stared at her cell for a beat before putting it into her pocket. Ellory was curt on the phone. She never hung up like that. Her worry ramped up even more. The only other time she’d heard her daughter act like this was right before she’d ended up in the hospital for a week. The pain had been so bad, she hadn’t been able to stand or walk, and the doctors had ended up giving her some hard-core pain pills as they did test after test to try to figure out what was wrong. That was when she’d first gotten the Crohn’s disease diagnosis.
She prayed Ellory was all right. That she wouldn’t need to go back into the hospital. She drove way too fast on her way to the school and parked haphazardly before hurrying into the building. Ellory was waiting in the nurse’s office, and after Addison signed her out, she followed her mom silently to the car.
“Talk to me, El,” Addison said in a low voice.
“I’m okay. I just want to lie down,” Ellory replied.
Addison frowned. It wasn’t like her not to talk about her pain. From the first time she’d been diagnosed, they’d talked about everything and anything. Even the embarrassing stuff. The bloody diarrhea, the black stools, the cramping, the gas, the constipation—all of it. So for her to not want to talk about what was really bothering her now was…concerning.
As soon as Ellory sat inside the car and put on her seat belt, she bent forward, holding onto her stomach as she did.
For the millionth time, Addison wished she could take the pain away from her daughter.
“Mom?” Ellory asked. She hadn’t sat up, was still hunched over with her arms wrapped around her stomach.
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“Why are people so mean?”
Addison’s stomach dropped and she pressed her lips together. She, more than most people, knew how horrible that felt. How it made her dread going to school every day. How she’d gone out of her way to avoid certain hallways and kids. She absolutelyhatedthat Ellory was now going through the same thing.
“I don’t know, honey. Because they feel inferior in some way, so they have to take out their feelings on others? Because no one ever taught them common human decency? Because they’re simply rotten people? I don’t know that there’s a good answer to that.” Her response felt inadequate, but she wasn’t sure what else to say. She had no answers for her daughter. None that would make her feel better, at least.
Ellory didn’t respond, and Addison didn’t push. She wanted to go back to the school and find the girls who were harassing Ellory and shake them. But confronting them would make Ellory’s situation worse. She knew that firsthand. Her own mother had talked to the principal, and he’d contacted the parents of the girls making fun of her. Which had only made the girls double down on their harassment…they were just more careful not to do or say anything where adults might witness it.
Her daughter sniffed, and the small sound shattered Addison’s heart. “What do you need from me?” she asked quietly.
“Nothing.”
