“And then he left her alone.”
I could barely speak.
Everything the homeless man had said made sense now.
“You made yourself his target?”
Alice nodded. “I thought I could handle it better than she could.”
“You made yourself his target?”
The school administrator lowered his eyes.
“We’ll call the bully’s parents in today. There will be consequences. And we will put protections in place for both girls. That’s a promise I intend to keep.”
“See that you do,” Wade said quietly beside me.
Later, we knelt in front of Alice in the hallway.
“You should have told us,” I said gently.
“That’s a promise I intend to keep.”
“I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
I pulled her close.
“You are the bravest person I know.”
Wade wrapped his arms around us both.
“We’re going to be brave with you now. You don’t carry it alone anymore.”
Alice finally smiled, the first real smile in weeks.
