Chapter 20
Serena, her hands trembling, clutched the leaves of the houseplant nearby, her lips pressed tightly together, refusing to Momany come1Will she be mad Tve only been in Lindergarten for two days, and Fre already caused trouble….
g to speak. What now! Will
And I hit Sonny but I didn’t meste hurt him. He was the one helping that girl pick on me. That’s why Escratched him. I don’t want him to be my brother anymore. I don’t like him anymore”
The soul of footsteps outside grew louder, and before long, the door to the principal’s office creaked open.
Stella was the first to look up, her eyes lighting up with surprise and joy as she saw Dominick. “Dominick,” she cried, her voice bubbling with
excitement.
She leaped off the coach and dashed toward him, her two pigtails bouncing with every step:
Dominick bent down and scooped her up into his arms. This gaze, however, immediately shifted toward Grayson, scanning him carefully.
When he saw that Grayson seemed to be unharmed, the tight frown that had been etched on his face relaxed, his tension easing for the first time
that day
He walked over to the coach and gently ser Stella down, turning his attention to Grayson. With a steady, measured gaze, he checked the injury on his son’s neck. The concem in his eyes was palpable. his brow furrowed as he examined the wound.
“It’s nothing venous just two small scratches, Michelle said, following closely behind Dominick, her voice shaky as she bent forward. The moment he was bure we had the school doctor treat the wounds.”
“How can you say it’s nothing? How did these wounds happen!” Marissa’s voice was sharp, full of concern and irritation.
“Well it seems like it was caused by a child’s nails. Michelle wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, anxiety creeping into her voice.
“Nails” Marissa atone grew even more furious. “Do you even know if there could be any viruses under those nails? His neck is full of nerves, blood vessels, and even the major arteries. What if that child’s nails carried something? What would we do then?”
The bite in Marissa’s words le Michelle feeling cornered, her mind racing. What had she hoped would be a small incident was now spiraling into something much larger than the anticipated. Her frustration shifted toward the troublemaker–Serena
wasn’t just Michelle. Every teacher in the room was now seething with anger at Serena,
Serena could feel the weight of their hostile glares bearing down on her. Her small body flinched, instinctively shrinking back, trying to hide behind the nearest houseplant like it might protect her
Dominick, however, remained unaffected by the tension in the room. With a calmness that contrasted the chaos, he carefully unwound the bandage from Grayson’s neck. He checked the injury–two small, shallow cuts.
The area had been cleaned and treated. It looked minor. A sigh of relief escaped him as he re–bandaged the wound.
When Julian had told him about Grayson’s little fight and injury at school, his expression had been so tense that Dominick had feared the worst.
He’d imagined it was something far worse. But now that he was seeing it firsthand, Dominick realized the injury was far less serious than he’d feared
“It’s my fault, Dominick thought. “This is the first time I’ve ever faced something like this as a father, and I overlooked so much. If the injury had really been that severe, the school would have sear him to the hospital already, not wasted for me to come.
“Daddy, it hurts, “Grayson’s small hands clutched at his neck, his face scrunched in pain and looking so vulnerable.
Now that Dommark could see Grayson’s red–rimmed eyes, it was clear he had been crying.
Dominick Le expression darkened, brows knitting together in disapproval. Since when did I raise such a soft child? Crying over a few small scratches and demanding attention like this?
Marisa, siting on the other side of Grayson, scooped him up into her arms, gently rocking him. “Don’t worry, Sonny, I’ll take y soon. Well make sure everything’s okay”
Her voice was soothing, beat it was clear that dir was pouring all of her attention into comforting Grayson.
you to the hospital
Dominick didn’t agree with this kind of indulgence. But as he watched Grayson cling to Marissa, seeking her out with such need, and seeing the others in the room, he didn’t comment
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Chapter 20
Stella, feeling neglected and deflated, thought to herself, I was hurt too. No one cares about me. Aunt Marissa and Dominick are all fussing ovet Sonny, but no one’s paying attention to me.
Determined to shift the adults‘ attention to herself, Stella turned to look at Serena, who was still hiding behind the money tree. “Aunt Marissa, Dominick, that mean kid hurt me and Sonny”
She pointed at Serena, eager to make sure everyone knew who was to blame. The accusation was like a spark in dry kindling. Stella’s voice was full of drama, her words ensuring the focus of everyone in the room would shift, just as she wanted
