Chapter 15
As Rebecca screeches into a handicap space at the school and flies from the minivan, she can hear Maddy’s cries all the way over in the nurse’s office. She sprints through the corridors, passing open classroom doors, students’ heads swiveling to watch her blaze by.
Having Mr. Man at the house was a godsend—he registered her state with a single look and held the door to the garage open for her, keys resting on his gray palm. On the drive over, she called Mark three times, but despite his promise, he did not pick up.
When she bursts into the nurse’s office, Maddy’s screams intensify; the sight of her mother has made it safe for her to access even greater anguish.
Maddy lies on the padded exam table, her short dress pulled up.
A bright-red burn mars her left hip, like a raspberry from sliding across gravel.
It is already starting to bubble at the edges.
There are ice packs wrapped in paper towels and water in a bucket and gauze pads.
The principal is there, as well as the yard monitor.
Maddy is hysterical, rocking violently, chewing the collar of her dress, flapping her hands. Rebecca steps past the agitated nurse, and Maddy clutches at her. Rebecca presses Maddy’s ear to her chest and breathes deep and slow, mirroring the respiration Maddy needs to slow herself down.
It is a process.
Maddy migrates from screaming to inconsolable sobbing. “Daddy! I want Daddy!”
Rebecca rocks her, dialing and dialing again. All the while her phone hasn’t stopped dinging—dentist confirmation for next week, her long-suffering mother, the supermom kiss-and-ride scheduler, and it looks like she missed the fucking solar repair guy again.
Amid all this, she manages to piece together what happened from the nurse, the yard monitor, and the principal. Evidently Sydney and her crew bullied Maddy into going down the slide like a big girl, knowing the metal was hot enough to burn.
Rebecca is livid.
She breathes steadily, still cupping Maddy’s cheek against her chest, one hand flat against Maddy’s other ear to diminish audio stimulation. Maddy murmurs, “Daddy, want Daddy,” over and over again, Rebecca’s heart disintegrating with each wail.
Principal de La Rosa is equal parts empathetic and apprehensive.
“The metal equipment is supposed to be off limits on days with temperatures over ninety degrees,” she says, shooting a look of admonishment at the yard monitor.
“We’ve had it agenda-ed for two quarters to swap the slide out for plastic, but you know how funding is right now with LA Unified.
We’re making do until Parent Givefest next month.
We really can’t afford any . . . additional expenses. ”
Maddy is still snuffling against Rebecca’s chest.
“Don’t worry, Veronica,” Rebecca says. “We’re not gonna sue you.”
Principal de La Rosa visibly exhales.
“But,” Rebecca continues, through clenched teeth, “I want a meeting with Sydney’s parents.”